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

References Death in Venice (1971)

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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

ganz toll!

`Maybe, Maybe Not' is one of the most odd movies I've ever seen. I liked it. I think I liked it because it is so completely different than all the American movies I'm used to seeing. In the beginning, the main character, Axel, decides to randomly have sex with some girl in the bathroom of his workplace. A woman in the next stall recognizes the key chain that dropped from one of the fornicating couple's clothes. She peeks over the stall to find her boyfriend of three years mindlessly humping another woman. She kicks him out of their apartment and throughout the rest of the movie he struggles with where to live. Initially he calls old girlfriends who all readily turn him away. Then he ends up at a `men's group' with a lot of gay guys. After that, he gets drunk at a party and goes home to sleep at one of their houses. This is when the gender preference battle begins. A lot of stereotypes were defied in this movie and I found that extremely refreshing. For example, it is commonly thought in American society that gay men are promiscuous, however in this movie, no homosexual sex is shown. There is one man-to-man kiss in the club and in another scene homosexual activity is inferred while watching slides but not directly shown on the screen. There are, however, two comparatively graphic heterosexual scenes. Another stereotype defied was the `effeminate gay men' stereotype. The main gay character, Norbert, didn't act effeminate at all, not even in drag. My favorite part of the movie however perpetuated and made fun of an existing stereotype - the stupid Stallone-loving straight guy. The guys in the movie theater were very intriguing. I thought they added welcome comic relief to an otherwise tense and dark movie.