Review: Happy Burnout đź‘Ť
What happens when you combine an unemployed, alternative, leftist and disorganized layabout with a clinic that helps people with burnout syndrome?A surprisingly enjoyable movie called Happy Burnout [IMDb, Trailer (German)]. Writing about this movie in English is a little strange, because it is a very typical German comedy movie and — as far as I can tell — only scheduled to be released in Germany. But here it goes:
Fussel (Wotan Wilke Möhring) lives in a socially problematic part of Hamburg. He has been living on unemployment pay for years, sleeps in a tent he pitched in his apartment and has some fairly shallow relationships with his neighborhood. One day the clerk at the employment bureau, who he bamboozled into extending his unemployment pay indefinitely, suddenly tells him that an internal audit threatens his way of life and her job. The solution? He is declared mentally unwell and sent to a clinic to get help with his burnout syndrome. And so he shows up in those venerable, great halls out in the countryside wearing combat boots and an anarchy shirt.
Right from the start it is obvious that he does not only stand out, because of his appearance. With every passing day, the stories of the other patients are revealed and they could not be more different from Fussel’s situation. He tries to blend in, but has difficulties sticking to the symptoms described in his “Burnout for Dummies” book. His easy-going approach to life peeks through and starts to affect the other patients. When he is called out on his deception, the only way out is to continue his stay as patient, but as “undercover” nurse. He is supposed to use his unique connection to the others to help them cope with their burnout.
To balance out the hilarity of the situation, the patient’s stories are quite sad and easy to relate to. And then there is Fussel’s own story, which starts to come together. These ingredients are combined very well into an engaging story. The turns from light and whimsical to moody, sad or tragic feel quite natural and somehow come at just the right time. This is a quality I always liked in Germany comedies in the past and I am happy to see it back on the screen.
Movies like this one don’t benefit from impressive imagery, massive action scenes or just overall big production. Their strengths are solid writing, well thought-out characters and taking time to actually tell a story. I can appreciate these characteristics and therefore this movie joins the illustrious round of my most-liked German movies, next to titles like “The Elementary Particles / Elementarteilchen”, “A Friend of Mine / Ein Freund von mir” or “Soul Kitchen”.
