Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man (2001)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Lars Kraume

Writers:

Lars Kraume (writer)
Thomas Schlesinger (writer)

Release Date:

12 April 2001 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

In der Liebe und in der Karriere ist alles erlaubt.

Plot:

Edward Kaminsky, an aging ad man, wants a golden parachute from his agency; he must first land the Opel auto contract...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Beach | Art Gallery | Art Exhibition | Car

Cast

Alexander Scheer	...	Victor Vogel
Götz George	...	Eddie Kaminsky
Chulpan Khamatova	...	Rosa Braun
Maria Schrader	...	Johanna von Schulenberg
Vadim Glowna	...	Werner Stahl
Nele Mueller-Stöfen	...	Michelle
Heinz-Werner Kraehkamp	...	Günter Pflüger
Steffen Münster	...	Till
Andreas Schmidt	...	Alfi
Guntram Brattia	...	Benjamin Schwarz
Hans Löw	...	Boiler
Julien Lambroschini	...	Hackel
Samuel Weiss	...	Anatole Lanzerac
Ellen Schlootz	...	Assistentin v. Schulenberg
Hendrick Haese	...	Marketing-Mann Opel

Also Known As:

Advertising Rules! (USA) (video title)
Commercial Men (Germany) (short title)
Viktor Vogel (Germany) (short title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

108 min | Spain:112 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (DVD) | USA:Unrated (original release) | Iceland:LH | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:Atp | France:U | Germany:6 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Ahrenshoop, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Columbia TriStar Filmproduktion

Movie Connections:

References Le Mans (1971)

Soundtrack:

Call Me

funny?!

One of the sentences you learn going to a filmschool is: "A comedy is only a comedy if someone is laughing. If nobody is laughing, then it is not a comedy. It is something else."

I think this is what best fits for this film. It is a story about a young guy (Viktor Vogel, whyever this comic-name) seeking a job in a big commercial company. He finally gets there, but only because the company needs him to make a deal with Opel. After the deal has gone, he is kind of thrown out.

That's the story. I don't think it's funny. Let alone all those little things like the (german) synchronization, of the mumbling voice of Götz George, of all the stereotyped characters without any depth nor wound. The film was okay if it would have been broadcast on the television. But it simply doesn't fit into a cinema room. For this it is too "small".

I'd recommend this film only for: how not to make a funny film.