In recent years, it has almost become a rule that major French cinema hits are re-released for German audiences only a short time later with local staff: “The First Name”, “Contra” and “A Festival for Life” are the most prominent examples, all of which performed quite well at the box office. That’s why it’s no wonder that “What’s normal?” (currently available as a flat rate subscription on Amazon Prime Video*) is getting a German remake under the title “That certain something” – after all, the original attracted more than ten million visitors to French cinemas. What is very surprising, however, is that Christoph Maria Herbst, for once, is not there.
“Manta Manta 2” screenwriter Murmel Clausen and “Wochenendrebellen” director Marc Rothemund have created their new edition extremely closely to the original. Characters, dialogue and sometimes even the camera angles were almost one-to-one from “What’s normal?” taken over. The only minor adjustments are geographical and cultural. So if you are one of the approximately 200,000 Germans who saw the French film by and with comedy star Artus (“My Terribly Spoiled Family”) in autumn 2024, you can actually save yourself “That certain something”. However, everyone else can look forward to an amusing, feel-good comedy.
The entire cast – whether with or without restrictions – harmonizes brilliantly with each other.
The committed social worker Polly (Mala Emde) looks after a group of young people with different disabilities who want to go on holiday together with Mona (Jasmin Schwiers) and Marko (Lorenzo Germeno). The entourage is about to board the coach in Munich in a good mood when a crook duo consisting of Karlo (Florian Lukas) and his son Alex (Max von der Groeben) flees from the police. Polly mistakenly thinks Alex is a newcomer who is late. Since the sirens are already approaching, Karlo seizes the opportunity and quickly introduces Alex as the missing fellow traveler and himself as his personal carer.
Everyone jumps on the bus and sets off towards a mountain hut. There, Karlo and Alex have to keep up the charade at least until the grass grows over their last coup – which, however, turns out to be difficult. While the actually kind-hearted Alex falls head over heels in love with Polly, his notorious hothead father starts to get nervous because his accomplice (Dieter Landuris) is breathing down his neck on the phone…
The impossible made possible
“I’m very happy that we were able to sell the remake rights, but in my opinion it’s not a film that you can just remake,” said Artus in an interview on the occasion of the free TV premiere of “What’s Normal?” in his homeland. Apparently Arthur had not yet seen “That Certain Something” at this point. Otherwise he would probably have had to admit that Marc Rothemund is either a directing genius or that he himself was simply wrong. Artus wrote his original script after getting to know the residents of a shared apartment for people with disabilities, who essentially play themselves in the film.
They all showed their own personal characteristics and quirks on set as naturally and with noticeable enthusiasm. In this respect, it is quite astonishing that Rothemund and his casting team have found such a well-functioning ensemble of newcomers with very similar disabilities. Together they reproduce the story in an authentic, touching way and with first-class comedic timing.
As if the situation wasn’t tricky enough, young crook Alex (Max von der Groeben) also develops a crush on the committed Polly (Mala Emde).
FILMSTARTS author Gaby Sikorski has already explained why filming with such a large number of people who have mental and possibly physical disabilities not only requires a lot of sensitivity but also thick skin in her 3.5-star review of “What’s Normal?” executed conclusively. So there is no need to repeat this again here. What remains clear, however, is that Rothemund apparently mastered this task just as brilliantly as Arthur did with his original. In addition, the “This Stupid Heart” director even manages to pick up the pace a little, which is definitely good for the whole thing.
And the German main actors also do a great job. “Fack ju Göhte” dumbass Max von der Groeben collects sympathy points from the start with his warm-hearted and open playing. Likewise Mala Emde (“Summer on Asphalt”), who, as the good soul of the film, does everything emotionally right. That still leaves the role of the grumpy crook father, which would actually have been ideal for Christoph Maria Herbst. But Florian Lukas (“Good Bye, Lenin!”) also fills this out very well. Of all of them, he can even give his character the most individual character compared to the one in “What’s Normal?” role model played by ex-Asterix Clovis Cornillac. Jasmin Schwiers and Lorenzo Germeno On the other hand, they seem a little paler than their counterparts, but that’s tolerable – their parts are rarely in the foreground.
Good mood guarantee, no matter the language
Of course, one can debate whether such a direct remake really needs to be done. The fact is, however, that the brisk story, seasoned with a bit of tongue-in-cheek criticism of the still widespread prejudice against people with physical and mental disabilities, is really entertaining. The characters come across as generally likable, the humor is sometimes nice and brisk and the mostly positive and touching mood spills over to the audience in the cinema. As a comedy fan, you should definitely treat yourself to one of the two versions – but in the end it almost doesn’t matter which one.
Conclusion: Warm-hearted, funny, cosmopolitan – the German remake of the French super hit “What’s normal?” It’s a 1:1 remake, but it works just as well. Whether “That Certain Something” can trigger a similar rush to cinemas in this country as the original remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t be entirely surprising.