The comedy “Wrinkle Free” portrays very different images of women. They all also deal with ideals of beauty in very different ways. That inevitably leads to conflicts, implemented with a lot of puns.
Berlin – “When things get difficult, women buy lipstick. Remember that, ”Stella Martin says at her assistant. She is considered a beauty icon and has written various lifestyle guides. Successful – this is not only evident from the pool in the garden of your villa.
The fame also flattered her ego – so much that she has become or has remained aloof and strange to her husband and daughters. In order to be able to speak to his career wife and wife, the husband even has to formally ask for a conversation.
Stella doesn’t think much of aging. She never went under the knife to look younger. However, she largely tries to suppress the fact that she is no longer the youngest. On her birthday, she stopped a serenade from the guests with the words: “From a certain age the words ‘Happy’ and ‘Birthday’ go their separate ways.”
It is slogans like this that make the comedy “Wrinkle-Free” fun in itself. In addition, “Tatort” actress Adele Neuhauser embodies the diva in a great way. The joint production by Bavarian and Austrian radio can be seen on “Film Wednesday in the First” (8:15 pm).
While Stella and her family have become estranged, the assistant tries in vain to convince modern women of a new self-image and the publisher prefers not to print the photo of the aging author on the new book cover, she supports the head of a beauty clinic. It promises potential customers not just three free wishes, “but as many as you can pay for”. The bonus is the free enlargement of the G-spot. If the man does not pull out the credit card, the woman could threaten to reduce the size of the clitoris, advises the doctor.
When Stella suspects that her husband is having an affair with her assistant, she goes to her lawyer: “I want a divorce. And in the course of this I want the brand that I created. ”But the familiar tells her the reality: her last book was no longer a bestseller. And her husband, whose company manufactures her brand’s products from body peeling to anti-wrinkle cream, wants to discontinue this line because of falling sales. She does not accept a word of it. But tears flow in secret.
Beauty madness, misunderstood ideals, role models – the subject of the film is not new and has been dealt with in many ways. The comedy succeeds in doing this in an entertaining way – especially by juxtaposing Stella’s daughters: while Fiona (Henriette Richter-Röhl) seems to continue her mother’s unemotional Etepetete style and the baby fat of her offspring with “What do you want to do? Liposuction is only possible when you are 18 ”, Johanna (Olga von Luckwald) goes on a confrontational course and blatantly and brazenly shows the vain and unapproachable mother her behavior.
However, they only open after a somewhat strange incident: After an accident, Stella takes an overdose of painkillers. Suddenly she can hear other people’s thoughts.
At first it seems a bit weird and superfluous in the comedy, which has been entertaining due to the dialogues up to now. Director Dirk Kummer (including “Herren”) also admits in the press release that he initially thought this turn by author Uli Breé was not feasible. But Breé is “merciless”. “If he sees it as imperative for the story, he doesn’t argue,” says Kummer. “Thank God! He has an innate nose for wild constellations and fantasy. “
In fact, this results in new possibilities. Not only for Stella, who now relentlessly learns how others think of her. The audience also gets their money’s worth: Stella can’t hear any thoughts from daughter Fiona of all places – who promptly and credibly states that she doesn’t think anything at all. But Fiona’s husband has one thing on his mind when choosing rough words: his lack of sex. dpa
