Guys and Balls (2004)
"Männer wie wir" (original title)

After their most recent loss, a soccer team discovers its goalie is gay and casts him out. He retaliates by bringing back an all-gay team for a game to prove who's better.

Director:

Sherry Hormann

Writer:

Benedikt Gollhardt

Stars:

Maximilian Brückner, David Rott, Lisa Potthoff

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maximilian Brückner	...	Ecki
David Rott	...	Sven
Lisa Potthoff	...	Susanne (as Lisa Maria Potthoff)
Rolf Zacher	...	Trainer Karl
Christian Berkel	...	Rudolf
Dietmar Bär	...	Vater Gerd
Saskia Vester	...	Mutter Renate
Mariele Millowitsch	...	Wirtin Elke (as Als Gast Mariele Millowitsch)
Markus John	...	Tom
Billey Demirtas	...	Ercin
Andreas Schmidt	...	Jürgen
Michael von Burg	...	Martin
Max Hopp	...	Steffen
Edesson Batista De Jesus	...	Ronaldo (as Edesson Batista de Jesus)
Charly Hübner	...	Horst 'Hotte'

Storyline

Fair-haired Ecki, the baker's son, has grown up the golden boy of his home town. All that changes the instant he and his soccer teammates discover he's gay. Now the object of scorn and ridicule (and finding himself unceremoniously kicked off his team), Ecki travels to the city of Dortmund to recruit an all-gay soccer team to return and prove to his town and his former soccer mates who the best men are. As first-time-out Ecki searches blindly through gay watering holes for players, his parents endure a rash of derisive gay jokes from the townies, leaving Ecki's gruff father to hope for a change in his son's orientation while also considering closing down the family business.

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Plot Keywords:

soccer | gay | teammate | gay joke | goalie | 

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Taglines:

Jeder gibt sein bestes Stück. (Everyone gives his best part.)

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [de]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

7 October 2004 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Guys and Balls

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,425 (USA) (28 April 2006)

Gross:

$28,194 (USA) (2 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hager Moss Film, Medienfonds GFP, RTL

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 102 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Karl places the ball on the spot at the end and then walks off the ground, the playing surface is completely fresh and unmarked as it would be before a game, not after a game.

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Quotes

Sven: That's not edible. It's decoration.

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Crazy Credits

In the ending credits, each actor's name is placed on the soccer grid where his position was played in the movie.

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Soundtracks

"Morning Calls"
Written by Christopher Carrabba
Performed by Dashboard Confessional

User Reviews

Good looking guys, leather and chains, love, revenge, and... soccer!

Ecki is goalkeeper for the soccer-team in his small hometown in Germany (near Dortmund). After losing an important game, his mates accidentally find out that he is gay. They throw him out of the team. Out of anger and hurt he dares them to play against a gay team. Ecki has only four weeks to build this team and train them.

The movie plays with clichés in a hilarious and yet pleasant way. Good looking guys, leather and chains, love, revenge, and soccer. Witty dialogues and good action. Highly recommended.