Horst in Translation ([email protected])

"Antonio, ihm schmeckt's nicht!" or "Antonio in Wonderland" is a German 90-minute movie from 2016, so still pretty new and it is the sequel to "Maria, ihm schmeckt's nicht!", a fairly successful German film from 2009. No idea why they decided to make this film after such a long time, but at least the got Ulmen and Tander on board to reprise their roles. I initially wasn't sure Ulmen would return as prominently as he did, judging from how far behind he is here in the cast list, but he is back as the central character and he is also the most known cast member for sure. The director is Sven Unterwaldt Jr., which may not make for the most promising premise looking at some other works from him. Anyway, German film buffs will perhaps also recognize some other cast members like Prager and Kroymann, even if their parts really aren't that big. Let me say that the actor who played the female protagonist's dad in the original film was by far the best thing about it, so reading another name here for the same character is another letdown and maybe also another reason why this sequel should not have been made.Overall, the film fits in nicely with the German comedy film spectrum these days and that sure isn't a compliment as you really don't want to be on the same level as M'Barek or, even worse, Schweighöfer these days. It's a bit of a shame as Ulmen is far more talented in terms of comedy, especially when it comes to unconventional, politically incorrect material, but this film does nothing from that perspective. It is all predictable, nothing daring in here at all sadly and the outcome is a film that can be proud of being mediocre already. Then again, I never thought Tander for example was too talented to begin with, so maybe I am a bit biased. The original film was not a success with its more dramatic moments, but at least that one was funny and entertaining at times and this one here isn't even that. It's definitely not a good sign if so-so moments like the customs bomb sequence were still the highlight in terms of comedy. The core plot about traveling and pregnancy did almost nothing for me at all. The film's overall reception, including the accurate IMDb rating makes me think that they will probably keep it at 2 and not make a third film about a story and characters that perhaps should have been left alone after film number one, or at least should have gotten something better than these 1.5 hours. It's not a failure admittedly, but miles away from quality entertainment. It's a cheap uninspired attempt to cash in with fans of the 2009 film. Don't watch.

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