Of course this is a film where the soundtrack (and selling it) matters more than the film itself. Of course this is a film where the sponsors matter more than the film itself. Rather sadly, there are some stupid inconsistencies in the script (especially in the dialog) that could have been easily avoided by a careful revision.
But in spite of all this I must say that commercial filmmaking - that is only (re)inventing itself nowadays - in Hungary has produced a nice, watchable comedy that is not annoying at all, despite all its clichés and its cartoonish characters.
In fact, Hungarian commercial filmmaking seems to have found its voice at last. After some highly successful movies in the Nineties that looked back on the years of communism with a mixture of nostalgia and irony (Sose halunk meg, Csinibaba) and recently the "modernized" remakes of two Thirties blockbusters (Hippolyt, Meseautó), this is a last a film that talks about this young, successful Budapest people of today. This is probably the secret of its success: it features a simple story that is not very realistic but with which on can well identify, some nice ideas (these days, it seems to be the ultimate "laugh-getter" in comedies everywhere these days that an older, conservative, petit-bourgeois person gets high on cannabis products by accident - this scene is very funnily played by Ila Schütz) and especially good directing, costume and set design and believable actors that seem to have fun bringing a human side to their often quite clichéd characters. (I would especially point out Eszter Ónodi's touching performance.)
Though the story and the characters themselves are nothing new, the scriptwriters and the director have nevertheless managed to give the whole environment a feeling of authenticity: there is not a single scene where you would think (though most situations are exaggerated and overdrawn) that a situation like this could never happen in Hungary, in an environment like this. It is probably this feel: "yes, this is what life is like in Budapest today", that has made the movie such a huge success.
Though definitely a popcorn movie, it is nevertheless worth watching because it captures the approach to life of a certain group of young Budapest people, of their hopes and dreams. It is also an example that a commercial film industry has started to establish itself in Hungary that is well able to create successful movies on its own, aimed to a Hungarian public that has up to now to be satisfied with Hollywood flicks. These Hungarian commercial films are of course not at all of higher artistic quality than their Hollywood counterparts, but they are closer to their own public and thus have good chances of capturing their attention and interest. This may also help to recreate a market for Hungarian films that has been lost after the fall of Communism and ameliorate the image of Hungarian filmmaking.
But in spite of all this I must say that commercial filmmaking - that is only (re)inventing itself nowadays - in Hungary has produced a nice, watchable comedy that is not annoying at all, despite all its clichés and its cartoonish characters.
In fact, Hungarian commercial filmmaking seems to have found its voice at last. After some highly successful movies in the Nineties that looked back on the years of communism with a mixture of nostalgia and irony (Sose halunk meg, Csinibaba) and recently the "modernized" remakes of two Thirties blockbusters (Hippolyt, Meseautó), this is a last a film that talks about this young, successful Budapest people of today. This is probably the secret of its success: it features a simple story that is not very realistic but with which on can well identify, some nice ideas (these days, it seems to be the ultimate "laugh-getter" in comedies everywhere these days that an older, conservative, petit-bourgeois person gets high on cannabis products by accident - this scene is very funnily played by Ila Schütz) and especially good directing, costume and set design and believable actors that seem to have fun bringing a human side to their often quite clichéd characters. (I would especially point out Eszter Ónodi's touching performance.)
Though the story and the characters themselves are nothing new, the scriptwriters and the director have nevertheless managed to give the whole environment a feeling of authenticity: there is not a single scene where you would think (though most situations are exaggerated and overdrawn) that a situation like this could never happen in Hungary, in an environment like this. It is probably this feel: "yes, this is what life is like in Budapest today", that has made the movie such a huge success.
Though definitely a popcorn movie, it is nevertheless worth watching because it captures the approach to life of a certain group of young Budapest people, of their hopes and dreams. It is also an example that a commercial film industry has started to establish itself in Hungary that is well able to create successful movies on its own, aimed to a Hungarian public that has up to now to be satisfied with Hollywood flicks. These Hungarian commercial films are of course not at all of higher artistic quality than their Hollywood counterparts, but they are closer to their own public and thus have good chances of capturing their attention and interest. This may also help to recreate a market for Hungarian films that has been lost after the fall of Communism and ameliorate the image of Hungarian filmmaking.