ZDF comedy "Dreiraumwohnung": Everything easy-peasy in the second

The enjoyable “twin room” continuation with Anja Kling and Carol Schuler consistently exploits the comedy motto “Two like Nitro and Glycerin”.

If two people complement each other in an ideal way, it is considered a “perfect match”. It’s romantic, but of course not weird. Comedies therefore prefer to focus on opposites: the stronger the contrasts, the greater the potential for humor. Ideally, it’s a “perfect mismatch”, and that’s what Isabell Kleefeld’s ZDF comedy “Twin” (2017) with Anja Kling and Carol Schuler was all about: cardiac surgeon Konstanze, who has her life perfectly under control, and glitter noodle Jackie landed in the same hospital room, had to get along somehow and despite all the differences even became friends.

The sequel “Dreiraumwohnung” takes place three years later. The friendship apparently didn’t last longer than the joint stay in the rehab clinic. One day Jackie stands in front of Konstanzes door and asks for help: a water pipe broke in her apartment, she needs alternative quarters for herself and her children. One night turns into a weekend, and it doesn’t stop there either.

“Three-room apartment” on ZDF: When the chaotic girlfriend causes disorder

Kleefeld, who has revised Kirsten Peters’ script to turn it into a turbulent and extremely funny comedy, is sufficient for this arid plot. The sequel basically tells the same story as “Twin Room”, but that doesn’t matter because it is again a great pleasure to watch Kling and Schuler. In “Dreiraumwohnung”, too, the charm of the story lies alongside the diametricality of the two main characters in the inevitability of being: Jackie’s children bring Constance’s ideal world into disorder (whereby “disorder” is a pure euphemism), but she does not want the family in front either set the door because that would finally put her down with her own children. In addition, the authors set a clever omen right from the start: the post of chief doctor is vacated in the clinic. Technically, Konstanze is predestined for the post, but the interviews carried out by an external personnel consultancy reveal certain human weaknesses: When asked about friendships, she remains silent; Jackie comes in at the right time with her motto “Everything is easy-peasy”.

In addition to the many ideas for small and large disasters in Konstanze’s meticulously designed villa, “Dreiraumwohnung” thrives on the complete incompatibility of the two life plans. Jackie and her three children of three different men break into the meticulously structured existence of the doctor like a wrecking ball. Their biodynamically nourished offspring, on the other hand, are enthusiastic, even if the stomach of their son Malte (Bruno Grüner) promptly rebels after an evening with chips and cola; Not to mention his new enthusiasm for shooting games. The daughter’s visit does not leave its mark either: thanks to Jackie’s niece (Cosima Henman in a guest role), she discovers the advantages of the bright make-up. Lotte, already endowed with pronounced maternal skepticism as a girl in puberty, gives Konstanze a strong opposition; the young Lene Oderich plays it excellently.

Continuation of the ZDF comedy “Twin Room”: “Three-room apartment” with strong dialogues

The dialogues are one of the movie’s great strengths, the leadership of the actors the other. The Chaos Queen is again a prime role for Carol Schuler, and how Anja Klings Konstanze tries to keep the fun out of the bad game before she puts on the killer look is no less worth seeing. Another great idea is to put a musical motif reminiscent of the famous chords from “Jaws” under the dark clouds that regularly gather over the doctor; apart from that, the music by Iva Zabkar puts you in a good mood.

Apparently, Kleefeld’s favorite actress Caroline Peters, as Konstanze’s colleague and competitor Marit, also has a lot of joy in her role, whose poker face means that the effect of her nasty swipes takes time. The third strength is a feeling for detail. What is often referred to as “good timing” in comedies is in reality often enough a question of editing (Renata Salazar Ivanca): An emotional outburst of constancy during the job interview only develops its comic effect when it is cut to the confused face of the consultant (Alexander Schubert ).

“Dreiraumwohnung” on ZDF: Award-winning director and author

The rest is an almost exuberant joy in the chaos that Jackie creates: After turning the living room into a nightmare in pink and purple, a fatal household accident occurs, as a result of which the control-friendly Konstanze is helplessly at the mercy of her guest. What the two are now experiencing, from the boozy karaoke evening to the nightly “double cop”, would also do a movie comedy to honor.

Kleefeld, honored with the Grimme Prize for her Eifel thriller “Arnies Welt” (2005), has recently mainly shot dramas: On “Aufbruch in die Freiheit” (2018, German TV Prize for Best Film) with Anna Schudt as the butcher’s wife from the provinces, who left her husband in the early seventies was followed by “Eine Harte Tour” (2019), an ensemble drama in which a group of friends turns out to be a self-righteous bunch; the film won her the German Television Award for best director. (Tilmann P. Gangloff)