Directed by:
Jiří VejdělekScreenplay:
Jiří VejdělekCinematography:
Martin ŠáchaComposer:
Jan P. MuchowCast:
Jiří Macháček, Bolek Polívka, Vica Kerekes, Petra Hřebíčková, Simona Stašová, Lukáš Langmajer, Hynek Čermák, Michal Novotný, Emma Smetana, Ester Kočičková (more)Plots(1)
Can a happy marriage be based on cheating? Charming lady-killer Rudolf is convinced so: "A woman needs to feel she's fighting for her man, she must try hard to keep him. And most of all – she must not get bored!"
Rudolf is good at applying this wild theory in everyday life putting in loads of unrelenting vigor which is quite enviable in his early sixties. The more he struggles to understand the naivety of his unbearably correct son-in-law Ondrej, who is so snowed under with duties that he oversees how dangerously bored his wife Alice starts to be. Rudolf, the loving father and friendly father-in-law, is quick to come up with a handful of reliable hints on how to pep up the dying marriage. It's his only daughter's family happiness that's at stake, after all... Thanks to an affair with beautiful Sarlota, Ondrej actually does turn from a boring decent man into the master of all creatures, pampered by his mistress and admired by his wife. A wonderful situation, yet hardly sustainable in the long run. Not only because the real masters of all creatures are women, of course. Ondrej is in for a flood of comic situations that he faces with a disarming mixture of typically masculine characteristics – playful invention and the indestructible hope that all turns out well. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (8)
After a very long time, I gave Czech cinema a chance and it turned out as tragically as expected. I naturally expected a made-for-TV feeling – that's the standard in Czech productions. I also expected weak and stiff performances from some of the actors – that's also normal. But I haven't seen such a terribly bad adaptation of a screenplay in a long time. It could have been a decent film on its level (after all, Polívka knows how to act), one that tackles a sensitive social issue in a slightly light-hearted way, but instead, it's a ridiculous farce where everything is good and nothing is wrong. I wonder how the director functions in his personal life.
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I consider myself a simple viewer who enjoys the small things, but how am I supposed to enjoy a film that sells something as morally decrepit as a noncommittal comedy? The moment the protagonists start to question their conscience and look for a way out, there is a catharsis in the restaurant. That solves the situation in a truly shrewd way, but most importantly, it DEFENDS all their behavior because it's actually the best thing for everyone, instead of them feeling any shame. The same goes for Vejdělek and the smiling crowds of satisfied viewers seem to be swept away after leaving the movie theater.
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Jiří Vejdělek needs a proper script, Bolek Polívka needs a proper non-clown role... Jiří Macháček needs a good slap. Men in Hope took the templated characters, which I was able to tolerate in Women in Temptation, to absurdly amoral proportions that I couldn't stand - the men are shown only as stupid idiots, the women as stupid "sluts" (I can't think of a more polite term). The good jokes are few, the stupid ones are almost shameful, and the message that infidelity is fine and solves everything is garbage. However, judging by the good time audiences are having, it seems that the earnings of this film will be decent, and I'm almost afraid of what comes next. Unconscious children?
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Czech comedy has long been struggling to fit the requirements of the genre, and this film is no exception. I’m not a huge fan of Bolek Polívka, his increasingly darker nose is giving me the creeps, but his presence here was nicely balanced by Jiří Macháček. Similarly, Petra Hřebíčková was balanced out by Vica Kerekes. So, what it came down to was the plot which was pretty decent most of the time but it wasn't without flaws.
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I'm very pleasantly surprised and I dare say I haven't been so nicely entertained by a Czech film in a few years. Everything revolves a good script, which is at times unlikely, but has no dull spots. The acting duo of Macháček and Polívka is a perfect combination. And the new starlets Kerekes and Hřebíčková were at times more than just nice backdrops. Simona Stašová's departure was quite a shock and the whole hall roared. Nice music, good humor... I'm satisfied, so I'm re-evaluating (5 stars).
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