Chubby and in heat: ARD shows Eberhofer thriller "Kaiserschmarrndrama"

Created: 08/08/2022 11:54 am

The seventh part of the always cheerful homeland thrillers with Sebastian Bezzel and Simon Schwarz is again a great pleasure.

Frankfurt – Like everything in life, the Lower Bavarian Eberhofer thrillers can be viewed from two sides. The film adaptations of Rita Falk’s successful series of novels reliably consist of the same ingredients over and over again: the teasing between the best friends Eberhofer and Birkenberger, the arguments between the village policeman and his father, the discussions with his friend Susi, from which he is regularly rescued by a call from the boss , the nasty jokes about the drinking buddies; and of course the inevitable roundabout where Eberhofer always does at least one lap of honor. So it would be easy to blame the series director Ed Herzog and his co-author Stefan Betz, who has been a regular since “Schweinskopf al dente” (2016), that they made it easy for themselves. In fact, with “Kaiserschmarrndrama” Herzog has succeeded for the seventh time in assembling the familiar pieces of the puzzle into a new picture.

Seventh Eberhofer thriller: ARD shows “Kaiserschmarrndrama”

Of course, the criminal case in question also plays its part, but the investigations are ultimately just a means to an end. The decisive quality feature is different anyway. Strictly speaking, there are two, but they depend on each other: the entire ensemble is always characterized by great enthusiasm and in this way constantly provides surprises. The fact that the characters are not allowed to leave their skin is part of the concept: Franz Eberhofer (Sebastian Bezzel) remains the eternal Schluffi, who fulfills his police duties with a certain reluctance and is lost without the criminalistic skills of his actual better half Rudi Birkenberger (Simon Schwarz). would. Susi (Lisa Maria Potthoff) is convinced that she actually deserves something better, but she likes him too much to run away. This time the family level revolves around building a house: Nothing would be further from Franz’s mind than leaving his beloved room in his parents’ house, but Susi forced him to build a semi-detached house together with his brother Leopold (Gerhard Wittmann). Papa Eberhofer (Eisi Gulp), the eternal revolutionary, finds the “bourgeois” and sabotages the construction work with a crane occupation.

Eberhofer’s drinking friend Flötzinger (Daniel Christensen) also becomes a rebel, albeit against his will: the rocker club “Born Rebels” has made him an honorary member, and it’s quite amazing that a simple joke like the spelling mistake in the large-format tattoo on Flötzi’s back (” Rebles) can become such a funny “running gag”. Ultimately, the crime level also only serves to introduce more bizarre characters: the slain jogger Simone has earned herself as webcam girl Mona, trademark “chubby and in heat”. Eberhofer chooses her pious brother as the number one murder suspect, which is not all that wrong. Two deaths don’t make a series, but when another female victim (Christine Neubauer in an unfamiliar role) lies shortly afterwards in the same place, Commissioner Elisabeth Mayerhofen (Nora Waldstätten) promptly appears and declares the case a top priority.

Eberhofer thriller on ARD: In the “Kaiserschmarrndrama” it’s Krachleder

Funnier than the eternal adversary, however, are the squabbles between the friends. With the combination of the two main actors, those responsible for the start of the series (“Dampfnudelblues”, 2013) managed a real stroke of luck. At that time, Sebastian Bezzel had long been established as a “Tatort” inspector from Lake Constance, but Simon Schwarz, who also had “Tatort” experience as the Viennese “Inkasso-Heinzi”, basically only became known in this country through the Eberhofer crime novels. This time, too, the Austrian has a more multifaceted role: Birkenberger broke several bones in a car accident, is now in a wheelchair, is quartered on the farm despite Eberhofer’s protests (“We’re not a sanctuary”) and is on the help of his friend reliant; the corresponding potential for cheerfulness is of course appropriately exploited.

It’s pretty badass a few times anyway, and the dialogues are also quite hearty at times. Whoever wants to can turn up their noses at that; it’s funny anyway. But it also gets sad: the faithful four-legged friend Ludwig dies. However, Papa Eberhofer’s meatballs mixed with marijuana give him an enviably relaxed exit and also result in Birkenberger bursting out laughing during the rather dicey finale. The eighth film, “Guglhupfgeschwader”, is currently showing in cinemas. (Tilman P. Gangloff)