Männersache
Männersache (German for "Men's business"; alternative English title Man's Business) is a 2009 German comedy film and the first theatrical feature of the comedian Mario Barth, who plays Paul, a Berlin pet-shop employee who becomes successful as a stand-up comedian only by telling jokes at the expense of his best friend and the friend's girlfriend1 • 2. It was produced by Oliver Berben for Constantin Film and released in German cinemas on 19 March 20091 • 3.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | Männersache (DE); alternative title Man's Business1 • 2 |
| Genre / country | Comedy, Germany, 20091 |
| Direction | Gernot Roll; kino.de, FILMSTARTS and Deutschlandfunk Kultur also credit Mario Barth as co-director1 • 4 |
| Screenplay | Mario Barth and Dieter Tappert1 |
| Release | Premiere 15 March 2009 (Berlin); German theatrical release 19 March 20091 |
| Admissions | 1,831,111 in Germany as of May 2009 (FFA figure)1 |
| Rating | FSK 123 |
Spoilers
Plot
Paul works by day in a Berlin pet shop and spends his evenings pursuing a career as a comedian, without success1. His fortunes change when he begins telling jokes about his best friend Hotte and Hotte's girlfriend Susi, drawing on the everyday absurdities of their relationship; the audiences react enthusiastically, while Hotte and Susi are furious once they learn how their private life is being used on stage1. Paul is left to choose between his friendship and his career1.
In the FILMSTARTS synopsis, Paul's breakthrough comes after the shady businessman Heinz König takes over as his manager, and the career stakes include a TV show called "Germany on Stage"5. Paul and Hotte are childhood friends in this telling of the story4.
Production
The screenplay was written by Mario Barth together with Dieter Tappert, a fellow Deutscher Comedy Prize winner who here appears as himself rather than in his stage persona Paul Panzer3. Oliver Berben produced the film for Constantin Film; Martin Moszkowicz served as executive producer, and the production company was Moovie – the art of entertainment GmbH, Berlin1. Filming ran from 9 June to 11 August 2008 in Berlin and the surrounding area1 • 3. The film was shot on 35 mm in color with Dolby sound1.
Funding came from the Deutscher Filmförderfonds (DFFF), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), and FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (FFFB)1. Constantin Film's 2008 annual report describes the film as an in-house production by Oliver Berben, Barth's first theatrical film6.
Cast
- Mario Barth as Paul1
- Dieter Tappert as Hotte1
- Anja Kling as Susi1
- Michael Gwisdek as Rudi1
- Michael Brandner as Heinz König7
- Thomas Thieme as Ingo Kloos, Florentine Lahme as Monique, Katrin Filzen as Steffi von Niggemeier, Michael Lott as Walter1
- Guest appearances include Jürgen Vogel, Leander Haußmann, and Sido3; Uwe Ochsenknecht plays Susi's father8
Release and reception
The film premiered in Berlin on 15 March 2009 and opened in German cinemas on 19 March 20091. It sold 1,831,111 tickets in Germany as of May 2009, according to the FFA figure recorded by filmportal.de1. Moviepilot reports that the film earned almost 13 million euros through DVD sales9. The German television premiere followed on 26 September 2010 on Sky Cinema2.
Critical reception was poor. The FILMSTARTS editorial review rated the film 1.5 out of 10 ("enttäuschend", disappointing), with a user rating of 1.7 from 62 votes5. On Videobuster, users gave it 2.6 of 5 stars across 582 ratings10, and Moviepilot users averaged 4.2 of 109. cinema.de noted that the film was not shown to the press in advance7. A Deutschlandfunk Kultur piece from 18 March 2009 described the film as the story of a male friendship put to a hard test, and reported Barth's insistence that it is a film for both sexes rather than one in which women come off badly11.
Context in Mario Barth's career
Barth came to the film as the most successful live comedian in Germany by his own publicity: his stage program Männer sind primitiv, aber glücklich! had drawn around 1.7 million visitors in Germany by the end of 2008, and on 12 July he performed before roughly 70,000 spectators at the Olympiastadion Berlin, which Constantin Film called a comedy world record3. Moviepilot likewise identifies him as the record holder for the stadium appearance9. In the film, Sido appears in a guest role as a production manager in which he jokes about a rapper with a mask, effectively poking fun at himself9.
Versions and runtime
Sources disagree on the running time: filmportal.de and cinema.de list 90 minutes1 • 7, while fernsehserien.de, kino.de, and Cinestar list 95 minutes2 • 4 • 12. The DVD release runs about 92 minutes and the Blu-ray about 95 minutes, both issued on 24 September 200910. kino.de lists the age rating as FSK 64, whereas Constantin Film, filmportal.de, and cinema.de give FSK 123 • 1 • 7.
References
- Männersache, filmportal.de
- Männersache, fernsehserien.de
- Männersache, Constantin Film
- Männersache · Film 2009, kino.de
- Männersache – Film 2009, FILMSTARTS.de
- Constantin Film AG, Annual Report 2008, Highlight Communications
- Männersache (2009), cinema.de
- Männersache, Apple TV
- Männersache | Film 2009, Moviepilot
- Männersache – DVD/Blu-ray, Videobuster
- "Männersache", Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 18 March 2009
- Männersache, Cinestar
Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2009
Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026
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