Search - Guys & Balls (Sub) on DVD

Fun film if you can get beyond all the clichés..

M. J Leonard | Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States | 09/14/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This German film seems intent to roll out all the gay clichés in the book. There are effeminate men, drag queens, leather men and the obligatory sexual references. Guys and Balls certainly isn't going to light the world of German cinema on fire any time soon, but those who like their films good natured and fun will probably get a "kick" out of it.

The lovable and naïve Ecki (Maximilian Bruckner) is a baker's son from small-town Boldrup and has loved soccer since he was a child. Now in his early twenties, he plays goalie on a local team with his longtime rival, Udo (Carlo Ljubek), and is pursued by the gorgeous Cordula (Judith Hoersch), who's had a crush on him since they were kids.

One night after a game at the local watering hole, Ecki is suddenly caught kissing another teammate. Appalled, the men rail into him, cussing him out with vitriolic homophobic remarks. Thrown off the team, Ecki packs his bags - but not before threatening to return with an all-gay team and to beat his former friends in a match. Travelling to Dortmund, Ecki enlists the help of his sister Susanne (Lisa Maria Potthoff) to create his new team and together they troll the city's various bars and leather clubs.

The pack of rag-tag players is indeed a bunch of clichés. There's the closeted Jurgen (Andreas Schmidt), swishy falafel maker Ercin (Billey Demirtas), who loves soccer players - especially the dreamy David Beckham, three motorcycle-riding leather daddies (Markus John, Charly Hubner, Christian Berkel) and Sven (David Rott), the sexiest nurse on Susanne's ward, whom Ecki develops a crush on.

The boys eventually get it on together while Ecki copes with the trials of having a homophobic father - his dead even takes him to a brothel in the hopes the girls can convert him. There are also lots of soccer and numerous bawdy jokes back and forth about gays and masculinity - we're heard it all before. But if you can see past the clichéd oddball humour there are some moments of genuine emotion as Ecki and his mates train up for the big game.

Of course the outcome is utterly predictable, but director Sherry Hormann and screenwriter Benedikt Gollhardt treat their gutsy and courageous band of odd men out with such fondness and warmth that it's hard not to root for their right to play their game against the homophobic and mean-spirited straight boys. Mike Leonard September 06.
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A GREAT FEEL GOOD MOVIE

lorenzo | 11/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This will not be an Oscar winner but it is one that will be there for you when you had a bad day or when winter gets to you !!!!
In the league of Full Monty it is all predictible.
It is funny - soft and the actors are good looking too.
A very good quality / feel good movie a good little wine and pizza to go with it PERFECT.
And you don't have to be a footy fan to enjoy !!!
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In Many Ways, This is Yesterday's Lunch - But a Fun and Ende

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 09/24/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Director Sherry Horman and writer Benedikt Gollhardt have not introduced any new ideas in 'Männer wie wir' ('Guys and Balls') - team sports dependent on camaraderie, outsiders getting the last laugh, coming out stories with sports as a background, homophobia to the max, and stereotypical depictions of gay men - but they have created a movie that has enough charm to get past all of the above. It is that kind of movie that makes you groan 'Oh no, not again', but then ends up making you feel warm and sentimental despite yourself!

Ecki (a very charismatic and hunky Maximilian Brückner) has grown up in a rural town, the son of a baker, and a committed soccer fan since childhood. Now as a young man he is sought after by his girlfriend Cordula (Melody Sitta) but is unable to respond to her advances. As the popular goalie on his soccer team he is hailed until quite by accident he is discovered in warm embrace with a teammate: the teammate and the team trash him for being gay, his father (Dietmar Bär) throws him out of the house, and poor Ecki departs for Dortmund to live with his sister, swearing to his team that he will return with a gay soccer team to defeat the homophobic jerks.

Ecki and his sister Susanne (Lisa Potthoff) pair off to find gay team players and find them they do, in the strangest places (this is where the film sags due to the stereotypes the director elected to cast). Ecki creates a solid team, falls in love with his sister's co-worker nurse Sven (David Rott) and despite some minor setbacks, the team boards the bus to return to Ecki's hometown to face off the enemy home team. Yes, it ends as you would imagine, but along the way the writer and director manage to make a few healthy comments about being true to yourself and your convictions.

Despite everything predictable about the film, the actors - Brückner, Roth, Potthoff, Bär, Carlo Ljubek, Saskia Vester et al - bring a homespun credibility to the story. This is one of those films that requires forgiving its shortcomings to just enjoy the ride. Grady Harp, September 06
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Cute and fun

Michael L. Wiersma | Springfield, MA United States | 12/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There isn't much in the way of criticism I have for this fun and interesting and colorful (and German) sports movie (which isn't really about sports.)

The characters are a bunch of gay misfits who take on the evil (and straight) soccer studs of the primary character's hometown. It's the underdog story done with a gay team and in German style and language. It's worth wading through the subtitles and covers a range of gay and family issues. It's topical and refreshing, and the ending is suitably fun.

This is a film worth your time. It's a charmer gay underdog story with a fresh German flair. Recommended."