''Guys and Balls'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Männer wie wir'', literally ''Men like us'', UK title: Balls) is a 2004

sports comedy A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

film by

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

director

Sherry Hormann Sherry Hormann (born 20 April 1960) is a German-American film director. Hormann is best known for her movies ''Guys and Balls'' (2004), '' Desert Flower'' (2009) and '' 3096 Days'' (2013). Hormann was born in the United States, but moved to Germa ...

about a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

goalkeeper who assembles a gay-only soccer team to play against his ex-team, which fired him due to

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

Plot

Ecki ( Maximilian Brückner) lives with his parents who own a bakery in Boldrup, a (fictitious) small German town near

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

. Football, the German national pastime, is particularly popular in this heavily industrialized region and Ecki has been an avid and successful player in a local club FC Boldrup, since his childhood days. In a decisive game, he fails to keep a ball at a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

and the team fails to get the promotion to the district league. The team are devastated and get drunk at a party. Ecki is then evicted from the team, with his mistake being used to cover the real reason—the revelation that he is gay that comes about when he is observed by some of his teammates kissing another player Tobias on the mouth. Ecki is defiant and immediately sets out to form his own team and beat his ex-teammates at their game. So he sets off for

to find members for his new team with the help of his sister Susanne, who is living there. From the fans of his favorite club

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

he finds confusion, but he gradually succeeds in others places, such as a kebab shop and the leather bar 'Steel Tube' to recruit more homosexual players for his team. Among the greatest hopes are the two Brazilians Ronaldo and Ronaldinho and the actually hidden heterosexual bookseller Klaus. Meanwhile, he also manages to win the heart of dreamboy Sven ( David Rott), who becomes his first boyfriend. Training of the team is done by Karl (

Rolf Zacher Rolf Zacher (28 March 1941 – 3 February 2018) was a German actor. Life and career Zacher appeared in about 190 films and television shows between 1961 and 2016, often in illustrious or eccentric character roles. He starred in the 1971 fil ...

), an ex-soccer player himself who quit the sport years ago after a stinging defeat. When the big day of the game comes, the match starts out badly for Ecki's team, but ultimately they are able to triumph over his old teammates by allowing their

to turn against themselves.

Cast

* Eileen Eilender as Susanne jung 1 * Leon Breitenborn as Ecki jung 1 * Dietmar Bär as Vater (Father) *

Saskia Vester Saskia Vester (born 24 July 1959) is a German actress and author. Life Vester was born in Saarbrücken, the daughter of the biochemist and environmentalist Frederic Vester and the sister of actress . After completing her training at the , V ...

as Mutter (Mother) * Anna Koesling as Susanne jung 2 *

Steven Wellmann Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...

as Ecki jung 2 *

Melody Sitta A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

as Cordula jung *

Jan Giffel Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

as Udo jung * Maximilian Brückner as Ecki *

Willi Thomczyk Willi is a given name, nickname (often a short form or hypocorism of Wilhelm) and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Willi Apel (1893–1988), German-American musicologist * Willi Boskovsky (1909–1991), Austrian violini ...

as Wirt, Ticket seller *

Jochen Stern Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

as Rentner Rudi * Judith Hoersch as Cordula (billed as Judith Delphine Hoersch) *

Carlo Ljubek Carlo Ljubek (born May 21, 1976 in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German actor. Life Carlo Ljubek was born as a son of Croatian migrants in Bocholt, Germany. He graduated after his actor's training 2002 in Munich, Germany at the Otto- ...

as Udo *

Mirko Lang Mirko Lang is a German actor, who has appeared in many different screenplays, television shows, as well as stage productions. Born in October 1978 in Bremen, Germany, he currently lives in Berlin. After doing his Abitur he started studying musi ...

as Tobias *

Tobias van Dieken Tobias is the transliteration of the Greek which is a translation of the Hebrew biblical name he, טוֹבִיה, Toviyah, JahGod is good, label=none. With the biblical Book of Tobias being present in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha of the Bible, To ...

as Bernhard (billed as Tobias Vandieken) *

Simon Solberg Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

as Frank * Felix Vörtler as Udos Vater * Lisa Maria Potthoff as Susanne *

Hans Löw Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

as Klaus * Nikolai Will as Kunde in der Bäckerei, Customer *

as Trainer Karl *

Mariele Millowitsch Marie-Luise Millowitsch (born 23 November 1955) is a German actress. Life Millowitsch was born on 23 November 1955 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westfalia. She is the daughter of Willy Millowitsch and one of the three sisters of Peter Millowitsch. ...

as Wirtin Elke * Ute Maria Lerner as Pregnant lady (Schwangere Frau) *

Nicholas Bodeux Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

as Ehemann * David Rott as Sven * Heppi Pohl as beer garden Guest 1 * Dirk Koch as beer garden Guest 2 * Andreas Schmidt as Jürgen * Michael Kleiber as BVB Fan 1 * Hans-Joachim Bauer as BVB Fan 2 * Billey Demirtas as Ercin * Markus John as Tom *

Christian Berkel Christian Berkel (born 28 October 1957) is a German actor. He is known for his appearances in '' Downfall'' (2004), ''Valkyrie'' (2008), ''Inglourious Basterds'' (2009) and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (2015). Life and career Berkel was born on 2 ...

as Rudolf *

Charly Hübner Carsten Johannes Marcus Hübner (born 4 December 1972 in Neustrelitz) is a German actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 2003, including ''Magical Mystery or: The Return of Karl Schmidt'' (in 2017) and The Good Neighbour (''Unter Nachb ...

as Horst * Jeanette Goetz as male nurse (Krankenschwester) 1 * Sunia-Shahana Ali as male nurse (Krankenschwester) 2 * Marcel Nievelstein as Jan * Sascha Herzogenrath as transvestite * Thomas Fischer as Gay Firefighter 1 * Heup Henning Heup as Gay Firefighter 2 * Michael von Burg as Martin * Edesson Batista De Jesus as Ronaldo * Edilton Pereira Da Cruz as Ronaldino * Judith Döker as Prostitute * Sybille J. Schedwill as Jan's Mutter * Mohammad-Ali Behboudi as Ercin's Vater * Max Hopp as Steffen * Helmut Schenkel as Harley rider (Harleyfahrer) * Rolf Vogel as Harleyfahrer * Klaus Schwen as Harleyfahrer * Frank Krebs as Harleyfahrer * Franz-Josef Neumann as Harleyfahrer * Markus Kaiser as Harleyfahrer * Dennis Schenkel as Harleyfahrer * Wolfgang Jansen as Harleyfahrer * Markus Meisinger as FC Boldrup Fan * J. Geraldo Datovo as Samba-Truppe * Heinrich Weitz as referee (Schiedsrichter) 1 * Willi Meuser as Schiedsrichter 2 * Oskar Bläser as Trainer Boldrup * Frank Tepferd as footballer (Fußballspieler) FC Boldrup * Stefan Nüsser as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Heiko von der Bey as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * David Careno as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Daniel Careno as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Martin Watson as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Christoph Paeßens as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Oli Scheel as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Lutz Herdener as Fußballspieler FC Boldrup * Jan Platte as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Willi Schaaf as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Marc Gößlig as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Daniel Edingloh as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Sebastian Klein as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Detlev Henke as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Christoph Kanne as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Miklas Melin as Fussballspieler FC Ruhrgold 8 (as Niklas Melin) * Malte Kossleck as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Christian Ernst as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold * Eric Beta as Fußballspieler FC Ruhrgold

Reaction

''Männer wie wir'' may be regarded as the first major German sports comedy. While this genre is far more established in the United States with movies such as ''

Hardball Hardball, in English, more specifically American English, generally refers to baseball (as opposed to its variant softball), especially when played very competitively. Metaphorically, it refers to uncompromising and ruthless methods or dealings, ...

'' (2001) or ''

The Mighty Ducks ''The Mighty Ducks'' is an American media franchise. It features a trilogy of live-action films released in the 1990s by Walt Disney Pictures, an animated television series, a live-action sequel television series, and a real-world hockey team ...

'' (1992) in which an underdog team is posed to somehow find the spirit to win an important game against a far superior opponent, these kinds of movies are relatively rare in German cinema. It may therefore not be surprising that this particular movie was made by an American-born director.

Awards

* Audience Award of the Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2006 in the category Best Feature Film (3rd place) * Audience Award of the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2005 in Philadelphia in the category Best Feature * Audience Award of the Milano Festival Internazionale di Cinema Gaylesbico 2006 in the category Best Film * Audience Award of Outfest 2005 in Los Angeles in the category Outstanding Narrative Feature * Jury Award of the Lesbian & Gay Festival Brussels 2005 in the category Best Foreign Language Film * Le Prix du public of the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2005 in Long Island in the category Meilleur Long Gay

Critical reception

Joshua Katzman of the '' Chicago Reader'' called the film "engaging" and "well-paced" with "a vibrantly funny script". Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' states that the film is "by-the-numbers ensemble dramedy that hits every underdog and gay-fish-out-of-water cliche on the nose". Jeanette Catsoulis of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said the "script groans with double-entendres" and it contains "lots of cheerful nudity, loving threesomes and more synonyms for "gay"".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guys and Balls 2004 films 2000s German-language films Films directed by Sherry Hormann Films scored by Martin Todsharow 2004 romantic comedy films German association football films LGBT-related sports comedy films LGBT-related coming-of-age films 2000s sports comedy films Football mass media in Germany German LGBT-related films Films shot in Cologne LGBT-related romantic comedy films 2004 LGBT-related films 2000s German films