Echte Kerle / Regular Guys (1996) DE, ENG, ESP, POR

Country:............Germany
Runtime:............100 min
Language:...........German, Russian (a few words) 
Subtitles:..........ENG, ESP, POR
Genres:.............Comedy, Crime, Romance
Released:...........30 May 1996 (USA)
Director:...........Rolf Silber
Writers:............Rolf Silber, Rudolf Bergmann
Stars:..............Christoph M. Ohrt, Carin C. Tietze and Tim Bergmann
Also Known As:......Regular Guys (Australia)
                    A veces es difícil ser un hombre (Spain)
                    Peccato che sia maschio (Italy)
                    Perheen piirissä (Finland)
Filming Locations:..Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany
More details:.......http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116164/

Brief Storyline:

Christoph, cop and self-confident macho, has trouble with his fiance. 
After a long night he wakes up in the arms of Edgar, a good-looking, 
gay auto-mechanic. His live gets more and more troublesome after his 
girl friend throws him out of their apartment and as last resort 
he moves to Edgars place.


Review 1:

Christoph (Christoph M. Ohrt) a plainclothes policeman has been lax in his relationship 
with his girlfriend. He picks up a stuffed animal thinking that he is being thoughtful. 
He will be forgiven his thoughtlessness and all will be well. It doesn’t work out that way.

Without notice, his girlfriend has dropped him and kicks him out of their apartment with 
his already packed belongings. Out he goes. In a daze over this rejection, 
he gradually starts having his belongings stolen; can’t find a place to stay. 
Sleeps in his car, until his car gets stolen while he’s shaving in a diner mensroom. 
He gets completely wasted and passes out. When he wakes up, he is in a unfamiliar bed, 
naked, next to Edgar (Tim Bergmann), a gorgeous gay mechanic.

You may have seen several "straight guy wakes up with gay guy" scenarios. 
Ryan Reynolds played this in 2002s "Buying the Cow." Thankfully, Reynolds 
isn’t homophobic like Christoph. (One reason to mention "Cow" is you get to see a 
deliciously nude Reynolds). Or, you might remember 1994’s "Maybe, Maybe Not." 
(Der Bewegte Mann). A very well made German, girlfriend throws boyfriend out film. 
Til Schweiger plays the hunky hetero.

Stereotypes run wild. They seem almost outrageous for a film released in 1996. 
Points made in "Regular Guys" may necessitate the cliched characterization. 
The strength of this film is in combining gay and straight experience with a 
crime drama. These pieces may fit a bit too easily. There are fresh, unforgettable 
scenes in this film. The Police Station locker room is always the scene of 
interesting action. The evolution of Christoph and Edgar’s relationship may not end 
as we wish. Edgar says, "The best love stories have sad endings."

Even though Christoph constantly proclaimed his straightness, Edgar gradually put 
the moves and sexual pressure on Christoph. There is an acceptable level of male 
nudity. It’s natural and not gratuitous. There are No soft core sex scenes.

Even though this is a foreign language film, the characterizations and plot 
movements are understandable. You won’t feel like you have missed anything too 
important in the translated subtitles.

I recommend this film for nice, light entertainment.


Review 2:

ECHTE KERLE or REGULAR GUYS is a polished little 1996 comedy from Germany that 
manages to tell a tale of mixing genders and satisfy all viewers no matter their 
viewpoint. Rarely has a film handled straight/gay juxtapostions with such an unbiased, 
honest and relaxed vantage. So often these gender bender films have the look of 
mini-budget movies, but this film as directed by Rolf Silber based on a screenplay 
by Silber and Rudolf Bergmann is photographed with panache by Jurgen Herrmann is 
slickly creative and wholly professional.

Christoph Schwenk (Christoph Ohrt) is a plainclothesman police officer who does 
stakeouts spying on criminals with his partners Mike (Oliver Stokowski) and Helen 
(Carin Tietze). As the film opens Christoph is thrown out of his place by his "ignored" girlfriend who has replaced him with a bodybuilder lover. 

Dismayed and angry, Christoph 
begins to drink, loses his car keys, his belongings on the street, and ends up with no place to stay as he stumbles into a gay bar where he passes out completely drunk. When he awakens he discovers he is in the arms of Edgar, a handsome auto mechanic who rehabs cars (?stolen?) and the question arises as to whether the two had sex during the night. Edgar is a kind and gentle man who evades this question, obviously feeling an attraction to Christoph. Edgar clothes Christoph so that he can find a place to 
stay and make it to work at the current stake out which just happens to be spying on 
car thieves.

At work Mike and Helen notice something different in the paranoid Christoph who is 
more interested in finding an apartment and resolving his question of the previous 
night's sexual occurrences than he is with work. Unable to find any kind of hotel or 
apartment at all, he sleeps in his car until he eventually has the nerve to accept 
Edgar's offer for him to move in with him. Christoph makes it clear that is his 
Straight and Edgar makes it equally clear that he is Gay and likes Christoph.

The relationship between Christoph and Edgar gradually strengthens, the threat of 
sexuality weakens to the point that as Christoph is seen in public with Edgar and 
when razzed at work, Christoph sides with the idea of appearing gay and has a 
wonderful locker room confrontation with his fellow cops that says a lot about 
the barriers between gays and straights! Slowly, as Christoph settles into his 
new living conditions, he becomes enamored with Helen who is more than ready to 
pursue Christoph as she notices his "machoisms" dwindle. At the same time Edgar's 
weekend lover Marco (Andreas Pietschmann) causes Christoph to query his surprising "jealousy". 
The three police become friendly with Edgar and Marco and when it seems they may 
be involved in the car theft ring under stakeout, they each find it easier to 
turn the other cheek and support each other.

The ending pairs off the various members of this story in a warm and funny way, 
a manner which some may find predictable, but still satisfying and allowing 
all barriers to be down.

The cast is uniformly excellent - the cameo supporting roles are very well done - 
and for once a film about straight perceptions of gay life makes ALL of the 
characters non-stereotyped: the men are all handsome hunks and the women are 
all beauties. This is light entertainment, a comedy with a message well stated.


TECHNICAL DETAILS:

If you don't know how to watch the movie with the SUBITITLES - I recommend
VLC MEDIA Player. Open the movie file and then in the Top menue pannel choose : 
VIDEO > Subtitles Track > Open File. Then choose the suitable subtitles.

MOTTO: 

We live in a very homophobic world full of prejudice and violence against the
LGBT community. Let’s change the world, reeducate the world in a good, modern, correct spirit! 
Let’s explain directly and indirectly to people how important is to respect 
and treat the LGBT community with respect. Spread the word! 
Share the movie with your straight and gay friends. 
A picture says a 1000 words. A Movie – says a Million words.

Enjoy!