Germany's first Nazi Comedy: Meet Hitler, the Bed-Wetting Drug Addict

[Kellanved]

German cinema breaks new ground in January with its first comedy about Hitler. Jewish director Dani Levy is following in the footsteps of Charlie Chaplin, maker of "The Great Dictator," with a decidedly unsympathetic portrayal of Hitler as a bed-wetting drug addict who is making the world suffer for his beatings as a child.

Hitler likes to play with his toy battleship in the bath, wets his bed, can't get an erection and is addicted to drugs he keeps in his giant globe, according to Germany's first comedy about the Führer, made by Jewish director Dani Levy.

"Mein Führer: The Truly Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler," which received public funding, opens in January and fits a recent trend in Germany to break new ground in dealing with its Nazi history. It follows the 2004 movie "The Downfall," one of the first German films to show Hitler up close and personal.
...
Levy, who won critical acclaim for his 2004 comedy " Alles Auf Zucker" about Jewish people in post-unification Germany, sees nothing wrong with a tragicomic approach to the Holocaust. "I don't want to give this cynical, psychological wreck of a person the honor of a realistic portrayal," he says in a statement.

And indeed he doesn't. In the film, Hitler, played by comedian Helge Schneider -- who imitates the Führer's clipped, gutteral speech -- crawls around his giant Chancellery office on all fours barking like his pet Alsatian Blondi, whom he has taught to make the Hitler salute and has dressed in a little SS uniform.
...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,450286,00.html


Not just the somewhat lacking enjoyability of Helge Schneider's humor makes this seem like a strange idea. We'll see.

[Ian David]

1. If Matt and Trey can make, "That's My Bush!" then Levy can make this film! n/t

[Fenris]

2. Someone should tell them it's been done before.

[terrya]

12. I seriously doubt that they could even begin to approach Chaplin's genius.

It's damn near impossible to improve on "The Great Dictator"

[Cleita]

3. I don't think Germans do humor very well. It always seems to

descend to phallic and toilet jokes. They are better at irony and intellectual wit, but not as good as the British. They seem to fall flat on farce too, which the French are so excellent at.

Better they should stick to their gothic stories and tragedies.

[nam78_two]

4. I think Americans have the market cornered on poop and dick jokes

Except, here we apparently think they are high art and cutting edge satire....

[Cleita]

9. Just among conservatives. They shouldn't do humor either. n/t

[wake.up.america]

5. German humor is not funny, seriously speaking.

[Kellanved]

6. It depends

Cinematic comedies tend not to be funny at all (or highly specific). Satire and word-based humor can be extremely good.

And there's the totally not political correct humor, which also has a few high points, but is utterly in-exportable.

[kineneb]

8. word-based humor

works well in German because of the way the language works... easy to change a simple statement into an insult, simply by a change from formal address to informal... etc.

I actually think Germans do have a sense of humor, but it does not translate well into other languages, especially English. It also tends to be on the dark side, which should surprise no one, if they understand German history (and not just 20th century history).

I may be 5th(+, depending on which branch) generation American, but my family has maintained a lot of the German traditions.

[wake.up.america]

21. Gerhard Polt: Einer der wenigen, die mich zum Lachen bringen

[Karenina]

13. Helge is a dear to me...

I'm sorry you don't appreciate him.

[Karenina]

7. I BEG to DISAGREE

Wer Hat an Mein Kopf Gemacht?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. Feh. That's nothing. What about...

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.

[wake.up.america]

22. Monty Python gibberish

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.

[Karenina]

14. Doch, doch!!!

Deutsch is nicht meine Muttersprache. But I LOVE going to the Theatre. I'm rolling in the aisle as the other patrons scratch their heads wondering exactly WHAT IT WAS I found so funny. If I recount my "take" to other longstanding Ami expats, THEY will get it, but it's often the case that you had to BE THERE.

Peter was reading from his newly-published book, which had a short story about a guy jumping out a window. It was the "terrible detail" (a phrase Mrs. Tauben, my 11th grade English teacher, often used to describe James Joyce's writings) that set me off. When he got to the sentence about Abba playing on the radio, I could no longer hold it in and BURST OUT LAUGHING till the tears rolled. The ALL-GERMAN audience could not comprehend what this tiny little ol' black lady found so funny. I was asked afterward and explained as best I could. Humor is a spiritual communication. Peter was DELIGHTED that I'd enjoyed his work so much, knowing how I struggle with the language and how I'd picked up such tiny details.

[spillthebeans]

11. I hope it's better than the Sitcom "Heil Honey I'm home" from Great Britain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbj9otRPdiM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnord5ZSM2M

[spillthebeans]

15. I would prefer a Harald Schmidt comedy over Helge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCLralhpcdI (German Late Night)

[Karenina]

16. Harald ist DÜNNSCHISS

in comparison to Helge.

[spillthebeans]

17. Katzeklo

[Karenina]

18. Verpiss Dich!

Harald is a talking head. Helge is an amazing musician and performance artist. You wanna fight??? ;-)

[spillthebeans]

19. na na na. Harald played some roles, too

I like how Harald does Hitler...
Helge is a great Jazz musician but it's not the question.

Maybe Helge is going to open a new dimension, we will see.

http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/leute/aktuell/2006/03/07/helge-schneider-hitler/helge-schneider-hitler.html
he looks more scary than the original

[undeterred]

20. Someday we'll have: Meet the Chimperor, the farting alcoholic lamebrained president!

:bounce: