Given the year (1996) of its release this film "Regular Guys" was quite progressive. A German police officer, who thinks of himself as "straight", unwittingly (he was falling-down drunk) goes home and ends up in the bed of a gay car mechanic. The two become roommates and grow very fond of each other. The car mechanic has an immediate crush on the cop. Gradually, the cop begins to question his sexuality in regards to rigid definitions of "straight" or "gay". The ending is a pleasant surprise -- although not a complete surprise.

Christoph M. Ohrt (who resembles a very young Richard Johnson) is outstanding in the lead role of a rather insensitive cop who suddenly finds his entire ego eroding when his girlfriend dumps him for a bodybuilder. This confused state of affairs is precipitated by his classic "god was I drunk last night" syndrome stemming from the fact that he wakes up one morning in bed and in the arms of a bigger and younger man who quite honesty declares he's in love with him! It is truly priceless to watch Ohrt's character deal with this...as he retreats into himself and gradually changes his nature...his only way of attempting to understand this forces him to be more observant and tolerant of others as he comes to learn more about himself. It's a painful and even a humorous situation which compromises him more than once, and in its unfolding imparts a great deal of joy and pleasure (entertainment!) to viewers. This comedic gem should not be overlooked. And hopefully, we will see much more of the delightful Mr. Orht in future.

that America is still quite puritanical despite what appears to be the contrary.i have to say that i adore German cinema, though can only understand less than 0.5% of the language (i don't mind the subtitles). the movie, on the surface, would seem formulaic, but it actually has a few twists and unexpected turns. there's some morality lesson in there, but it wasn't delivered in a preachy way -- rather it made for some hilarious dialogue among the main character and his supposed comrades.not much more to say other than it was a really great film. if you find witty and fast-paced dialogues, you'll enjoy the film. the movie makes you really reconsider and think twice about your preconceived notions about certain "types" of people...if you know what i mean.

The only copy I've seen was an all-region import disk from Kowloon; the subtitles which appear with Mandarin with English below, they are very sloppy, fading in and out, and not always jiving with the action. There are also lots of noticeable pops and crack in both score and screen.The story follows Christoph Schwenck, (or Schwenky, as some of the women he's bedded call him), a cop in some hard to pinpoint German town, who hits a streak of bad luck. More accurately is that he causes it himself. He prefers cruising the Autobahn and watching a football match to spending couple time with his lady, who proceeds to kick Schwenck to the curb, with his meager belongings in tow. For some hard to believe reason, there are apparently no rooms at nary an Inn, Boarding House or Brothel anywhere within like a hundred mile radius... With no place to stay, he proceeds to get tanked, lose all his possessions, and wake up the next morning in the bed of, as well as the arms of another man. YIKES! "What the *@!? did I just do?" He leaves not knowing how far things went, or even who this other dude is, for that matter.But alas, he returns to become this gay dude's straight roommate (only temporarily, he assures us) and this bizarre mènage à quatre develops between Schwenck, Edgar (gay roomie), longtime police pal (male), and new partner (female). Pretty much every imaginable embarrassing situation that can happen to Schwenck does, and he proceeds thru the picture from embarrassment, humiliation and fervent denials to almost coming to embrace being gay. But Schwencky is straight, and stays true to that till the end. He gets the girl in the end, and the original quartet reshuffle, recouple and drive off into the sunset.Not a bad flick, it's fun watching Christoph squirm and rebuff Edgar, who never seems to give up. Some scenes are pretty graphic, and arguably distateful, to say the least, but you come away liking and maybe even identifying with one (or more) of the quartet, and thinking a bit more about tolerance and understanding. Best luck finding on ebay or something similar, and worth adding to your collection if you are: a) gay, b) female, c) open minded; but don't spend too much. I'll probably not watch the thing repeatedly, but I'll almost definitely pass it along.