"Vollidiot" or "Complete Idiot" is a German 100-minute movie from almost 10 years ago and it stars comedian Oliver Pocher as the title character in the big screen adaptation of Tommy Jaud's novel. Jaud adapted his own work here. Director is Christian Zübert and co-writer is Christian Zübert ("Lammbock"). First of all the positive: I think that Pocher's approach to comedy and entertainment fits the main character here, so he was not the worst casting choice. And he is not bad either compared to other cast members. This, however, is only the case because they were really not good. And overall, Pocher is simply not a trained actor, not talented enough to carry a film for 100 minutes during which he is basically in every scene from start to finish. The story is so-so. There are good moments and there are bad moments. And there is certainly some irony about Pocher's character looking for love here and telling everybody how unhappy he is as a single male at the age of 30 given what happened recently between him and Sabine Lisicki. But that is another story, back to this film here. What I liked about it the most is that, unlike many other German comedies, it wasn't really predictable what would happen in the end and there are a couple wtf-moments. Also nice to see some familiar faces like Anke Engelke and Herbert Feuerstein in minor roles. Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good and overall the script is simply not too entertaining or convincing. I am not sure if this is the novel's fault (haven't read it) or the screenplay's fault, but in any case it is Jaud who is to blame. Maybe he should not have adapted his own work and let the job be done by a true professional. I do not recommend "Vollidiot". Thumbs down. This is another one of these German films where stand-up comedians turn into actors and the outcome is nothing great. People should not judge German humor based on this movie. There are many better ones out there.
Review of Vollidiot
