Willi und die Windzors (1996 TV Movie) User Reviews

Counterfactual comedy

[Karl Self · 7/10 · 18 August 2009]

This is a cute little comedy with a brilliant premise: an upshot revolutionary British prime minister (probably a premonition of Tony Blair, who took office the year after the movie was released) disposes the royal family and has them sent back to drab Hannover (they are the House of Hanover, after all), Lower Saxony, Germany. The German government decides to treat them as "late resettlers" (i. e. like ethnic Germans from the territory of the former Soviet Union) and shacks them up with their closest surviving relatives, son (Hape Kerkeling) and mother Bettenberg. The decidedly proletarian Bettenbergs (German for "a pile of beds") are themselves struggling to keep their poxy furniture business afloat, and are none too pleased about having to put up with the snooty Battenbergs, who, despite their fall from grace, still insist on "being served from the left".

German comedy star Hape Kerkeling acts, writes and directs in this venture. It has a workable plot and some great actors who make the most of the somewhat threadbare dialogue and limited budget. Tara Schanzara (mother Bettenburg), Brigitte Mira as Queen Mum (a counter-casting, as Mira usually plays proletarian biddies, which works brilliantly) but also minor roles such as Heinrich Giskes (the local upshot), Ludger Pistor (Prince Charles), Charles Brauer (Prince Philipp) and Katharina Schubert as the ditzy Di are all memorable. This movie was undeservedly rendered obsolete when the real "Lady Di" (Diana Spencer) was killed a year after the release.

A solid, though necessarily dated, comedy which shines through its amazing actors.

Kerkeling's take on monarchy

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 21 July 2016]

"Willi und die Windzors" or "Willi and the Windsors" is a German television film from 1996, so this one has its 20th anniversary this year. It a television production and the man behind this is (not Didi Hallervorden who also made Willi films, but) Hape Kerkeling. He co-wrote, directed and also acted in here. It's one of the rare occasions where we also see him direct. After having watched quite a few Kerkeling films (recently), I must say that there is positive and negative. However, his greatest strength is still hosting in my opinion and then there is a big gap and then there is other stuff like acting, writing or directing. The plot is fairly absurd as so many other times with Kerkeling. Britain abolishes the monarchy and the royal family flees to relatives in Germany. Unlucky for them (lucky for us), they are completely different compared to the Queen and the rest of the bunch. The good thing here is that they weren't scared of using the real names of the royals and that also includes Lady Di shortly before her death. The cast is okay all in all. There are really good actors in here like Fassbinder regulars Brigitte Mira (perfect casting for Queen Mum) and Irm Hermann, but there are also people in here very limited in range such as Isabell Varell. The one who is most known to international audiences is probably Ludger Pistor thanks to his work on Bond and other international productions. But back to this film here. It's 100 comedy really, but it's sadly not really funny that often and the romance parts did very little for me. All in all, I would not say that this is among the very best Kerkeling has come up with. Thumbs down and I don't recommend the watch of this 85-minute film.