Maybe... Maybe Not (1994)

Thrown out by his girlfriend from her apartment, Axel lives for a while with Norbert, a gay man he met some days before.

Director:

Sönke Wortmann

Writers:

Sönke Wortmann (screenplay), Ralf König (comics "Der bewegte Mann" and "Pretty Baby")

Stars:

Til Schweiger, Katja Riemann, Joachim Król

10 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Til Schweiger	...	Axel Feldheim
Joachim Król	...	Norbert Brommer
Katja Riemann	...	Doro Feldheim
Rufus Beck	...	Waltraud
Armin Rohde	...	Metzger
Nico van der Knaap	...	Fränzchen
Antonia Lang	...	Elke Schmitt
Martina Gedeck	...	Jutta
Judith Reinartz	...	Claudia
Kai Wiesinger	...	Aufreißer
Horst D. Scheel	...	Günter
Christof Wackernagel	...	Rüdiger
Martin Armknecht	...	Lutz
Heinrich Schafmeister	...	Klaus Dieter
Helmut Buchel	...	Dirk (as Helmut Büchel)

Storyline

The handsome young Axel is always on the hunt for women although he already has a girlfriend named Doro. One day Doro catches Axel in the act with another woman. She ends their relationship and throws him out of her apartment. Seeking a new home, Axel is introduced to Walter, a homosexual, who finds Axel quite attractive. Walter takes Axel to a gay party where they meet Norbert, who has a big apartment and is more than willing to let Axel stay for a while because he thinks he can seduce him. Meanwhile, Doro finds out that she is pregnant with Axel's child and now she tries to get him back, not knowing that he lives among homosexuals. This makes for a lot of funny incidents between the gay world and the straight world. But will Doro get Axel back or will he stay with Norbert instead?

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Plot Keywords:

gay | homosexual | male in shower | male nudity | male objectification | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language, including some explicit sexual dialogue

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maybe... Maybe Not

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$172,000, 19 July 1996

Gross USA:

$366,506, 11 August 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film,Olga Film,Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the time of release, this was the biggest grossing homegrown film at the German box office.

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Quotes

Axel Feldheim: [getting in a car full of transvestites] Good morning, girls.
Norbert Brommer: [with deep voice] Hello.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Striptease/Cold Fever/The Nutty Professor/A Perfect Candidate/Maybe, Maybe Not (1996)

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Soundtracks

Kein Schwein ruft mich an
Music and Lyrics by Max Raabe
Performed by Palast Orchester featuring Max Raabe

User Reviews

Beware of the subtitles

This is yet another of those cases where Anglosaxon audiences might be tempted to think that it reenforces their prejudice that German humour is a no-show.

The problem can be described in one word: subtitles. I (a native German speaker) watched the UK release which is the original German version with English subtitles. The dialogue of this film is very funny and sharp; it is quite different from contemporary funny English dialogue which usually goes for funny one-liners, it has more in common with the humour you find in Oscar Wilde, for example in The Importance of Being Earnest. In other words, the characters are constantly trying to (literally) outwit each other whilst keeping the conversation afloat. This kind of dialogue is quite fashionable in certain parts of German culture, but at least in Britain it has become fairly rare. Consequently, the translators had a difficult job on their hands.

Occasionally my eyes wandered towards the subtitles to see what the translators did with the latest banter - and I was appalled with what I found. Yes, the translation was factually accurate, i.e. the content of what was said was accurately translated, but all the wit, the sharpness, the humour had gone. As already mentioned, this was a difficult translation job, but the translators did not try hard enough.