My Wife the Champion Shot: Berlin, Bullets, and Bother

Is it worth the time?

Look, if you are the kind of person who likes rooting through the bargain bin of history just to see how people handled comedy back in the day, then sure. Give it a go. But if you need your pacing tight and your jokes to land with modern speed, you are going to be checking your watch. A lot. It is definitely for the crowd that appreciates a slower, more old-fashioned kind of storytelling.

Lucie Englisch is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She plays the titular character with this sort of frantic energy that feels like she’s trying to keep the whole thing from falling over. There’s a scene where she’s practicing her aim that goes on just a little too long. It’s almost like the director forgot to yell 'cut' and just decided to let her keep shooting until she got bored.

Oddly specific observations

• The sound of the rifles is incredibly fake. It sounds like someone smacking a wooden board with a wet towel.
• The background extras in the Berlin scenes have this dazed look. I think half of them were just wandering around looking for a place to get lunch.
• The lighting in the indoor shooting range is so dim I’m surprised anyone hit the target at all.
• There is a moment involving a hat that I still don't quite understand. It’s just… there.

You can tell the movie *really* wants you to think the big city is scary and overwhelming. It pushes that point so hard that the city looks like a cartoon backdrop. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in A Close Call, though maybe with less actual running away from things. The movie gets noticeably better when it stops trying to build up the 'drama' of the shooting tournament and just lets the characters be weird.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like a stage play that someone decided to film on a Tuesday. It doesn’t have the polish of The Double Event, but it has this strange, shaky heart to it. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you that winning a shooting contest is the most important thing in the world. It’s sweet, in a way. Even if it is a bit goofy.

If you watch this, don’t look for deep meaning. Just watch how the lead handles the props. She’s really good at making it look like she’s actually doing the work, even when the camera is clearly focused on her feet instead of the target. A weird choice, but whatever. It works. 🎯