'Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run': Netflix's German comedy fails miserably with its dull love triangle plot
Spoilers for Netflix's 'Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run'
It has been 17 years since the German show 'Berlin, Berlin' last made an appearance on television. Most of the movie revolves around Lolle Holzmann (Felicitas Woll) who finds herself in the same conundrum, as she is left to choose between two men. Netflix's movie 'Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run' is a sort of sequel to the German series that picks up over a decade after the events of the end of the show.
This time around, Lolle attempts to finally resolve the decade-long dilemma that she finds herself in again and again. Lolle knows that she has made the right decision. Confident that she is finally over her ex Sven and ready to marry Hart (Matthias Klimsa), she is ready to begin a new married life, sell the company they both created to Hollywood, have children and lead a happy life for the foreseeable future.
But things obviously don't go according to plan. At the beginning of the movie, she is arrested after running away from her own wedding. Why did she run away when she was so sure of tying the knot with Hart, the right man for her? That's because Sven Ehlers (Jan Sosniok) showed up -- the cousin she fell in love with all those years ago. As it turns out, they had met shortly before the wedding and ended up sleeping together. When he shows up at the wedding, Lolle is put on the spot to choose between him and Hart, and just chooses to flee.
The judge sentenced her to 40 days of community service. It is here that she meets Dana (Janina Uhse), a woman much younger than herself who isn't afraid of breaking laws and doing her bidding. And so ensues a long chaotic turn of events that she must embark on in order to save her life. After Dana spikes her drink, the duo gets each other into more trouble than they can handle. Lolle and Dana jump from one tangled mess to the next.
Directed by Franziska Meyer Price, 'Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run' stays true to its title. Lolle is quite literally on the run escaping the responsibilities that come with love and relationships. "If you stand between two men, you really love neither," Dana tells her early on during their shenanigans. The entire movie revolves around how Lolle must arrive at the conclusion. But for 2020, this story is far too old -- told one too many times and driven to redundancy. There is no point in the movie that will genuinely impress you or, for what a comedy is worth, even induce a chuckle. In fact, many exchanges between the lead protagonists are plain cringe-worthy and childish.
Of course, the desire to not hurt one party when staying true to oneself comes with the territory of a love triangle, but in the German movie, it only gets absurd. Each character is rather old for the chaos they repeatedly find themselves in. And frankly, a genuine surprise that they don't get tired of the leading lady simply trampling all over their feelings. For a comedy, the plot really takes its characters' actions lightly and the comic effect is meant to be brought on by external stimuli than anything else. The backstories of the new addition to the cast (Dana) are poorly written. But not just that, Dana is actually just an impetus for Lolle to take her decisions.
Skip 'Berlin Berlin: Lolle on the Run' altogether. Even at 1.21 hours runtime, it is not worth a watch. At the end of the movie, Lolle comes to the realization that needs to be happy by herself before she can marry someone -- a conclusion that has been building up through the movie but doesn't provide any satisfaction.
'Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run' is currently streaming on Netflix.