Alicia
I love this movie so much
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Claire Dunne
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
gavin6942
A man's wife leaves him to take up with an artist, so the man responds by becoming the artist's roommate.First of all, the plot here is brilliant. Maybe it is not original, maybe it's been done before. I don't know. But the concept is clever enough to get some great situations. And the humor, which is evident in the script, is somewhat amplified in the American release by the weird dubbing. This is far from the worst dubbing I have ever heard, but it does have them saying things I find hard to believe were in the original.Unfortunately, at the time of this writing (January 2017), it seems that the best way to see the film is on a DVD that is very obviously a VHS transfer. The picture is bad. Really, really bad. In the age of 2K and 4K scans, hopefully someone comes along and gets a better release out there.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Männer..." is a West German movie from over 30 years ago. It runs for 95 minutes and was the breakthrough for writer and director Doris Dörrie and lead actor Heiner Lauterbach. His co-lead Uwe Ochsenknecht was already a bit more famous at this point thanks to "Das Boot". The film is basically about two men and their interaction with each other and with the women in their lives. Occasionally, their professional life (business, creativity) also becomes part of the story. But it is really all about masculinity or lack thereof and what women really prefer. Unfortunately, I cannot say I found this film as good as awards bodies everywhere around the world did. One problem is that Lauterbach and Ochsenknecht may have good charisma and recognition value, but they do not have great range or talent in terms of acting and this is as true today as it was back then as both actors are still pretty famous here in Germany.Sadly, this movie is evidence that the 1980s really weren't the greatest decade in terms of film for Germany. It's a sad state of affairs when a film like this gets picked up to represent Germany at the Academy Awards. needless to say, it did not manage to get nominated. As for Dörrie, I have seen some of her other works and it shows that she wasn't even 30 when she made this. It is nowhere near her best in terms of story-telling or character evaluation. It is extremely showy and many fell for it, but it lacks (besides great acting) convincing subtlety and relatable characters. It is still better than Dörrie's most recent work "Grüße aus Fukushima", but this does not make "Men..." a satisfying watch. Not at all. I give it a thumbs down as this is a mix of bad and mediocre and nowhere near the filmmaker's best work, even if it is still, despite the age, among her most known. Not recommended.
Michael Neumann
When an uptight, inhibited middle-class husband learns his wife is having an affair with a young bohemian artist he does what any obsessed cuckold might do, contriving to become his rival's roommate, without revealing his true identity. The two men clash like natural enemies, but gradually their mutual antagonism is transformed into grudging respect and later into friendship, with each benefiting from his exposure to the other until, finally, they all but trade characters, the husband becoming more spontaneous and the lover more responsible. Writer director Dorris Dorrie is remarkably impartial in her assessment of the opposite sex, presenting both roommates (and the woman between them) with generous sympathy despite their obvious shortcomings. Unfortunately the modest charm and offhand humor of her screenplay is pretty much destroyed by insensitive English overdubbing, and it requires a lot of effort to mentally translate the dialogue back into more effective subtitles.
emm
Maybe I'll start to appreciate comedy movies after all! This German-made production actually makes a bit of common sense! The movie tells it all, involving two buddies who talk, fuss, and complain about the natural feminist state. It is not a romance like many of the U.S. comedies, but a dramatic and humorous account of the sexual revolution. The proven point is simple: nothing in the world can keep men from being addicted to the opposite sex! I'll admit that it also has one of the silliest, catchiest endings I have ever seen, not to mention the actual crew members showing up on the elevators in the final credits. To add greater sense to the movie is the fact that it was directed by a woman. Sounds like the battle of the sexes all over again! Highly recommended!