TL;DR – An amusingly chaotic film of a birthday party that falls apart, one disaster after another.
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.
Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription used to watch this film.
The Birthday Gift Review Introduction
When I sat down to watch a film tonight, I knew it had to be a comedy, because this had been a week, a very, very, very long week. I needed a film to capture some chaotic fun, a series of calamities of humorous effect. For this, I decided to make a trip up to Germany, where a birthday party becomes a disaster.
So, to set the scene, we open on a house in a complete state of disaster. 18 hours earlier, the whole family and assorted children were descending on Marlene’s (Jeanne Goursaud) House to celebrate her son Theo’s (Levin Wopp) 9th birthday. He has been bullied due to some health issues growing up, and Marlene hopes this party will help him find some new friends. Though she probably should not have invited some of the terrors, little serial killers. It is a wave of disasters that descends on an unsuspecting house as personalities, world views, surprises and woefully inappropriate presents arrive. There is a reason I run my presents for my nieces and nephews by my siblings beforehand.
Sibling Energy
One of the things that I did love about this film is how it captured that sibling energy. Marlene and Timo (Edin Hasanović) have that chaotic sibling energy that you can feel. Sure, much like all comedies such as this, they take that energy and dial it up to eleven. But they have the perfect banter, especially given the dispatchment of their father Hans (Heiner Lauterbach). When they go full tilt at each other, it is some of the best parts of the film because Edin Hasanović & Jeanne Goursaud throw all of them into the fight, but with an edge that you know they will make up a moment later. It is the sort of relationship that has been honed by tragedy.
Rolling Disaster
This is a film where the pressure points are everywhere; those clashes of personality and life views become the foundation for a narrative Rube Goldberg machine where decisions and events become an avalanche. Not all of the events are major; as they roll down the hill, they bounce off other events, dislodging calamity. If I were to make a comparison on a vibe level, I would say it is a more contained modern German version of Blake Edwards The Party. Many of the interactions are unintended consequences, and some come from hiring a dodgy snake man for a 9-year-old. Though you will yell about trigger discipline at least once during the film.
Fun Cast
All of this chaotic energy would not work if it were not focused by the right cast. Edin Hasanović plays a walking disaster but keeps things just back from getting to the point that he won’t be romantic. Jeanne Goursaud has to be the one who keeps the narrative on the tracks, when it desperately wants to derail. Heiner Lauterbach is capturing that more-than-midlife-crisis vibe, detached, but differently; his character was detached as a father. The kids are all little brats, but they are meant to be, so that is fine; well, not Karl (), he is more than a brat. Even Simon’s Mum (Berit Künnecke), who I hated, but that is because of how well she plays the role.
Recommendation
In the end, do we recommend The Birthday Gift? Look, I am not sure this will be everyone’s cup of tea, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time. The chaotic energy was just the right amount of silly to make it land. Also, don’t worry, Chekhov’s Dance was not wasted.
Have you watched The Birthday Gift? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked The Birthday Gift, we would recommend Thelma to you because it has that same chaotic energy and calamity while still having something important to say.
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.
Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Birthday Gift
Directed by – Vanessa Jopp
Written by – Ben Brooks
Music by – Loy Wesselburg
Cinematography by – Bernhard Jasper
Edited by – Brigitta Tauchner
Production/Distribution Companies – UFA Fiction & Netflix
Starring – Jeanne Goursaud, Edin Hasanović, Levin Wopp, Heiner Lauterbach, Amal Keller, Enzo Brumm, Sogol Faghani, & Berit Künnecke
With – Paul Henrich, Janusch Baumeister, Fabian Heibült, Thiam Owusu, & Bastian Reiber
Rating – Australia: M;
