Der schönste Mann im Staate: A Bizarre Little Trip

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s European slapstick. If you get impatient with movies that rely entirely on people walking into rooms and acting surprised, you will probably hate this. It is a very specific flavor of vintage, but it has a weird, twitchy energy that kept me watching.

Norbert Fels is just doing his absolute best here, and there’s something kind of sweet about how hard he tries to be the center of attention. The whole setup—this guy being named the most handsome man in the state—feels like a premise cooked up in ten minutes, but they really commit to the bit.

The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like it’s sprinting toward the next joke, and other times it just… hangs there. There is a scene about halfway through where someone is talking, and the camera just stays on them for about five seconds too long. It is awkward. I kind of loved it.

It feels a lot like watching There Goes the Bride if you swapped the location and turned the volume on the absurdity up just a notch. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it barely leaves a footprint.

Odd bits I wrote down:

• The lighting in the ballroom scene looks like they were using a single candle and a prayer.
• I swear the background actors are just guessing what they should be doing half the time.
• The dialogue is so fast I missed half of it, but it didn't really matter.
• Why is everyone so obsessed with hats?

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a particularly good movie by modern standards, I guess. But it has this weird, frantic pulse to it. It reminds me of the energy in Mademoiselle Monte Cristo—just people rushing around trying to keep their dignity while everything falls apart around them. 🎭

You can tell the director was just trying to get the job done. No ego here. Just a bunch of people in suits trying to make a comedy work in a very short window. It works better than it has any right to, honestly.