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  REGULAR GUYS Germany, 1996 This is one of the many films that jumped on the “gay is here to stay” bandwagon that arrived after the AIDS epidemic started to settle down in the mid 90’s. The social presence of gay guys was amplified and exaggerated during the epidemic, and immediately following, there seemed to be a rush to retell old stories in a way that included the new element (gays) in the mainstream, and that was hip to the new rules of dating, gender roles and social expectations that came after the arrival of condoms, HIV tests, and Ellen de Generes.
Like most such films, Regular Guys (Echte Kerle) is a conservative film trying to be groovy, full of every stereotype under the sun, and a early-adolescent approach to sexual relations that can’t get over its stifled-giggle titillation over two guys sharing a bed, even if they aren’t having sex. Christoph (Christoph M Ohrt) is the coffee-and-donut cop who prefers tv and cars to his fiancé, who in turn hooks up with a bodybuilder and kicks Christoph out as a result. Without a place to stay, he somehow encounters Edgar (Tim Bergmann), a gorgeous gay mechanic whose bed he wakes up in the next morning. Whether he’s badly hungover or revolted by what he thinks has been a drunken anal invasion, Christoph spends the next scene in a frantic state, trying to vomit in the toilet, and avoid all the pictures and statues of priapic nude men that decorate every square inch of Edgar’s flat. Things get complicated - and madcap! - as Edgar’s lover and mother take turns dropping in unexpectedly, and an inconvenient/begrudging friendship starts to develop between the ad-hoc odd couple.
Lame second-act plot points obediently escalate the action: Edgar is not just any old mechanic, but a retuner of stolen cars, and Christoph is on the trail - surprise! - of a stolen car racket; Christoph stands in as Helen’s “fiancé” when she needs to look her best during a real estate inspection, but their playacting turns out to be an audition for their "unexpected" real-life romance. So there’s no great surprises in Regular Guys, and unlike another mid-nineties German odd couple/gay love triangle comedy, the very good Maybe, Maybe Not, it falls over its earnest and ill-informed approach to well, not just homosexuality, but adulthood in general. All the adult characters act like teenagers, or characters that only teenagers would find credible, and the film is written and directed into archetype city. For example, tinkling piano music overlays romantically lit, pseudo-lesbian female scenes, while the all-male action is strictly business, and full of fast-food eating, loveable klutzes. The central gay character is impossibly well groomed but also a resident of the criminal fringe, drawing his straight-laced prey into a crazy world of vice and innuendo. Like his female counterpart, the gay guy is inexorably attracted to the lead straight guy, who, despite being fairly average looking and a total loser, is guaranteed the heart of every gay or female person he encounters. In one scene, Christoph and Edgar argue over AIDS, with Christoph paranoid of infection, and Edgar insulted by the assumption of infection. Like almost every other in the film, this is a scene that goes no where. It's a meaningless time-stamping device that does nothing beyond reminding us that one of the characters is straight, and the other one is not straight. A later scene shows Christoph coming around to open minded tolerance, by accosting his judgmental and anti-gay colleagues for their own equivalent “deviances”, such as handcuffing and beating up their wives, or leaning on hookers for free quickies. Related Reading: Maybe, Maybe Not Review by Mark Adnum  Film Reviews - Interviews - Features - Film Festival - About - Contact |
TIm McGraw meets Regular Guys
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