There are many pairs of fictional heroes as inseparable as oil and vinegar : Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are but one example. To this list one can add Winnetou, a noble Native American chief, and Old Shatterhand, his white friend and blood brother. The books containing both characters have been read, translated, adapted, serialized, filmed and studied to the point where they have become an institution throughout the German-speaking world. (I once watched German street performers telling a W & OS tale by using painted Easter eggs : it was good, though somewhat light on backstories and motivation.) It is debatable whether Karl May was a great author, but he did have two great qualities : he could make people dream and he was capable of selling any old toot as if it were gold. Read his tips and descriptions about hunting, fighting, shooting, exploring : they sound good, don't they ? But much of it is as useful as a jukebox in a nunnery.May's books have also been spoofed. "Der Schuh" is a very elaborate spoof, made with a great deal of money. The lavish budget made possible some very impressive locations and scenery. It isn't a very good movie, although it contains some good jokes, gags and puns. (Trying to translate these puns must be hell on earth.) The plot is mainly an excuse for the said jokes, gags and puns. A well-constructed, witty screenplay might have lifted the movie to a whole new level.I've laughed out loud a couple of times, especially during the "Superperforator Song", which rather worries me. The most remarkable thing about "Der Schuh" is that it contains a great big honking stereotype about homosexual males, in the shape of a gay man (the twin brother of the pseudo-Winnetou) who lives on a pale pink ranch, picks darling little flowers, giggles and wiggles and prances, and drinks colourful cocktails with paper umbrellas. We're talking the year 2001 and gays are still funny, because.

I really liked this hilarious German parody of western films.Even when the humor from this movie isn't something incredibly subtle or refined, but it was pretty effective, anyway, being highly entertaining to watch from beginning to end.In many ways, this reminded me the Lucky Luke comics and animated films (And personally, I found this to be much better than the "Lucky Luke" live-action films from the nineties and the 2009) In many ways, this managed to be more charming, more dynamic and funnier than most of the awful Hollywood live-actions films which include slapstick humor. And it was much more enjoyable too.8.5/10

Germany might possibly be the no. 1 country in producing awful movies, but this one is probably the absolute pits: an overlong, seemingly endless gay joke told by director Michel "Bully" Herbig, whose brain apparently didn't make any development since age 9 and who probably would have roared about homosexuals presented with a pink star in the Third Reich. But there is comfort: When Herbig's dead, people will remember him as the most spineless director since Veit Harlan, a repulsive joke of a director who made a dirt "comedy" out of his childish ressentiments, a miserable existence without any wit, humor, or intelligence. I'm sure he's similarly fond of farting. He surely will make a movie out of it.

The production values are OK, the cinematography, SFx, costumes, set design etc. are remarkably good (for a comedy) and the acting is OK, but personally I would rather not dwell on the fact that this was the commercially most successful German movie ever. In fact, the good visuals expose the script as rather lame -- jokes that work well in the "trashier" environment of Michael Herbig's TV show ("Bully Parade") come across as a bit lackluster (viz, not all that funny) in this feature-length movie (most of the characters and jokes have essentially been copied-and-pasted from the TV show, in case you haven't had a chance to see it).So what about the tremendous box office success? I have a theory which sadly exposes the cinema audience as a rather unadventurous lot: the movie reaped its accolades not on account of the movie being so insanely great, but because it dependably serves the jokes from the TV show in a larger format; plus it has a low common denominator, meaning that you can take your mates, your girl friend or your nephews to see it, and at least none of them will be terribly disappointed. It's a bit like going to McDonalds, no-one would claim that the food is so exceptionally tasty there, but at least you know what you are going to get.Overall the movie is bearable time waster if you get to see it for free on TV, nothing more -- it's like watching a Bud Spencer movie, good for a few chuckles. Foreigners: for the love of God, please don't mistake this for the "crème de la crème" of German comedy!