This film focuses on Phil, a teenager who returns to his (Austrian? German?) hometown after spending time away at a summer camp and is dismayed to find that in his absence something has happened to cause his twin sister Dianne and tediously non-conformist mother Glass to stop speaking to each other. But distracting him from that mystery is Nicholas, the sporty, handsome new classmate who quickly invites Phil to join him in the changing room showers...
This feels like two separate films. On the one hand we have the dark, threatening tone of the segments involving the mystery of Glass and Dianne's falling out; on the other the (at first) light-hearted romance (whose most amusing moment comes when Phil's two jolly, middle-aged lesbian friends congratulate him for having sex rather than, eg, counselling against carnal activity in public showers). As a result of this contradiction in tone the viewer at times wonders what kind of film he's watching. But there is no denying that within themselves the plots are well-handled: clues about the Glass/Dianne troubles are there for the taking (although this viewer missed the major one!); while the scenes between Phil and Nicholas are at times amusing and at other times pleasingly erotic.
As for the acting, lead Louis Hofmann makes Phil effeminate without being politically incorrect, and Jannik Schümann does what he can with the thankless role of seductive, muscular eye candy, treating Phil with thoughtless indifference (when not locking lips). Meanwhile, in the major 'adult' role, Sabine Timoteo makes the somewhat irresponsible and self-indulgent Glass a lot more likable than I should have found her!
This feels like two separate films. On the one hand we have the dark, threatening tone of the segments involving the mystery of Glass and Dianne's falling out; on the other the (at first) light-hearted romance (whose most amusing moment comes when Phil's two jolly, middle-aged lesbian friends congratulate him for having sex rather than, eg, counselling against carnal activity in public showers). As a result of this contradiction in tone the viewer at times wonders what kind of film he's watching. But there is no denying that within themselves the plots are well-handled: clues about the Glass/Dianne troubles are there for the taking (although this viewer missed the major one!); while the scenes between Phil and Nicholas are at times amusing and at other times pleasingly erotic.
As for the acting, lead Louis Hofmann makes Phil effeminate without being politically incorrect, and Jannik Schümann does what he can with the thankless role of seductive, muscular eye candy, treating Phil with thoughtless indifference (when not locking lips). Meanwhile, in the major 'adult' role, Sabine Timoteo makes the somewhat irresponsible and self-indulgent Glass a lot more likable than I should have found her!