The Most Beautiful Day (2016)

I never get homesick. If anything, I miss the place I've been to when I go back home. Which is exactly what happened when I came home from an only four-day vacation in Germany. I missed Germany so much that I decided to watch a German film and picked The Most Beautiful Day (In German: Der Geilste Tag) as it has Matthias Schweighöfer (I love this guy). 

The film follows two young terminally-ill guys, Andi (Matthias Schweighöffer), a quirky and ambitious pianist, and Benno (Florian David Fitz), a laid-back loafer. Since they are both dying, Benno proposes to pull off a scam and get the money they need to do the stuff regular non-dying people never get to do, and they take off to Africa where they plan to kill themselves after experiencing the greatest day. 

It isn't a very original story --it's pretty much the German version of The Bucket List--, it's quite silly and it's written in a way to make sure that the audience will eventually weep, but there are a few surprises along the way and following the journey of these two guys is engaging and entertaining. 

The characters could have used more depth. We do get some characterization for both leading characters --Andi is a shy hypochondriac who is afraid of every single little thing, Benno is adventurous and carefree-- and we even get a little backstory for Benno, but it's not enough. However, Matthias Schweighöffer and Florian David Fitz, who also directed and wrote the film, bring so much energy and charm into the film that you will forget about the writing. And their chemistry is so on point which makes the friendship between Andi and Benno very believable. 

Warner Bros.

As for the comedy, believe it or not, it does work. Making a buddy road-movie with two terminally-ill guys it's hard, let alone if made by Germans (if you're German, don't get offended, but your sense of humour is truly awful), but Fitz handled the dark tones of the matter pretty well and was able to deliver a good deal of humour and balanced it with some drama. 

Ultimately, The Most Beautiful Day is pretty much just a feel-good movie that explores friendship and the true meaning of life without being too heavy. It's not perfect but it makes to a fun watch.