“Nobody asked me” (ZDF): When the daughter's wedding plunges the single mother into a crisis

ZDF shows a very amusing summer comedy about a single mother who falls into an identity crisis shortly before her daughter’s wedding.

Frankfurt – The fact that an upcoming wedding can trigger an identity crisis has not just been a popular comedy theme since “The Bride Who Doesn’t Dare” (1999) with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. However, it is usually the fiancé who questions her relationship life, and not the mother: When daughter Carla announces that she will marry her boyfriend, Anna (Meike Droste) asks herself why none of the various men in her life ever do her has made an application. This may seem a bit thin as a summarized plot, but the script for “Nobody asked me” turns out to be surprisingly complex, because the authors Stefani Straka and Gabriele M. Walther have not reduced their common main character to just this one question.

In fact, at first glance, Anna, in her early forties, has no reason to complain, especially since her love life has always followed the motto that the best men are those who say goodbye before breakfast. She also has a job that more than fulfills her: she makes unusual furniture from scrap metal and wood in her own workshop. The most important person in her life, besides Clara (Vita Tepel) of course, is the neighbor and best friend Daisy (Elena Uhlig), who is eagerly waiting for her partner Leo (Jan Messutat) to finally propose to her. However, he takes the point of view that love does not need official certification. That’s how Anna sees it too; if it weren’t for this question that suddenly gnaws at her.

Meike Droste with “Nobody asked me”: Award-winning performance on ZDF

There are at least a handful of arguments that make “Nobody asked me” a comedy worth seeing on ZDF, but the most important is Meike Droste, who noticeably enjoys this role as well as her dialogues that meander between irony and sarcasm. The actress has so far only received awards for stage performances, and her performances have often been worthy of prizes in TV productions, for example as the title actress in the ARD series “Frau Temme sucht das Glück” (2017).

Their game also prevents the story from developing into a conservative pattern: no matter how independent a woman is, in the end her existence is only complete with a man. Anna, on the other hand, always remains the mistress of the plot; after all, it is not uncommon for her to draw a kind of interim balance in mid-life. Because Clara wants to be led to the altar in the classic way, Anna rattles off her former lovers in search of a surrogate father. Finally, out of the blue, childhood sweetheart Robert (Stephan Luca) appears again, and it turns out that he is to blame for the whole mess.

“Nobody asked me” (ZDF): summer comedy with well-known cast

The cast is extremely well-known; The ensemble also includes Victoria Trauttmansdorff and Heio von Stetten as the groom’s parents. However, neither of them have much to do, apart from the fact that Clara’s future mother-in-law takes over the planning of all the celebrations in the face of Anna’s obvious refusal. Nonetheless, the authors – Walther also produced the film – gave the actors a lot of play material; when things get really funny, Elena Uhlig is always involved.

The director was Nico Sommer, who recommended himself for this film with the romantic Degeto production “Verliebt auf Island” (2019) and the movie “Lucky Loser” (2017, a coproduction with the ZDF editorial team Das kleine Fernsehspiel). Both comedies were characterized not least by the good work they did with the respective ensemble. This also applies to “Nobody asked me”: All roles are well cast and played well. Vita Tepel is very present simply because the serious Clara is the only character that is not funny; Of course, at some point she as well asks herself whether a wedding in her early twenties is really sensible. The actress was one of the leading actresses in the Grimme award-winning mystery web series “Wishlist” (2016).

The quick implementation is also a lot of fun. The pictures (camera: Eugen Gritschneder) create a cheerful summer mood, the light conveys a sense of wellbeing; it is no coincidence that the sun is already quite low in many scenes. Stefan Maria Schneider provides the right background with his lively music. The pleasure is rounded off by funny ideas like the one when Anna pulls a heavy package towards the workshop at the beginning and thus also brings the film title into the picture. Only the end does not really fit the nature of this strong woman and the message of the ZDF film. (Tilmann P. Gangloff)