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Hape Kerkeling Brings Back Horst Schlämmer in New German Theatrical Release

Early reviews describe a nostalgia play that struggles with dated jokes.

Overview

  • The mockumentary road movie, which opened Thursday in German cinemas, follows the gruff local reporter on a cross‑country search for happiness after the pandemic.
  • Reviewers praise the lively sketch detours and Kerkeling’s range but fault clichéd set‑ups, out‑of‑date humor, thin satire, and scenes that blur lines on consent and boundaries.
  • Kerkeling says the character has not changed much and casts an off‑screen young camerawoman, Anna, to check his conduct and add a generational counterpoint.
  • Markus Söder and Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki make guest appearances in restrained encounters that critics say stop short of sharper satire.
  • The film runs 93 minutes, is directed by Sven Unterwaldt Jr., features Tahnee Schaffarczyk and Laura Thomas, and revives a cult persona 17 years after Schlämmer’s last feature.