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| Nuhr in Berlin |
Starring: Dieter Nuhr
Rated: TV-MA/R
Plot
This subtitled German language comedy special features cabaret artist and comedian Dieter Nuhr as he humorously explains the ever complicated world of Germany.
Verdict
Comedy is as much about delivery and timing as it is the joke. Reading subtitles just doesn't translate well.
While Nuhr provides thoughtful commentary on German culture and refugees, nothing I read was crazy funny. His dead pan humor was amusing, but I wanted more.
Skip it.
Review
The title is a play on words. In German Nuhr means "just" or "only", so the title reads as "Only in Berlin", and Nuhr has won numerous awards in Germany for his comedy and cabaret.
Subtitles are tough, especially with comedy, but even the crowd was noticeably silent for the opening of Nuhr's set. I wondered how many times he was going to say, "That's not a joke." Based on the opening alone, I was afraid I'd be in for a boring ride. While it gets better, that's not a ringing endorsement.
Nuhr states this will be a Netflix special and segues into how Americans talk and how his jokes will be translated. That will include lots of "f bombs." Nuhr has seen rappers, he knows how Americans talk.
I don't know if this is his first time on video, but he hardly ever looks away from the camera. It makes for a strange experience because I feel like he's staring right at me. The camera rarely breaks from Nuhr, there is the occasional wide shot, and a surprisingly low number of crowd reactions. Is that due to the crowd just not reacting?
The trailer made this seem like it would be an insight into German culture and humor. I began doubting that with his continued views on America, but this does come around as he discusses refugees, culture, and religion. There are a few German specific jokes that went right over my head. Unless you know German geography, you might be lost.
What he's doing is stand up satire, rather than comedy. It's not laugh out loud funny, but it's amusing.
It's observation comedy, but instead of stepping back and asking, "Isn't that absurd and hilarious?" He asks, "Isn't that interesting? Nod if you agree."
I live in German and totally like Nuhr's was of performing. There are a lot worse people who are allowed to perform in public if you know what I mean. I have watched his shows for years so it what by für not his first time on camera :). It was a solid show but not his best one if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight. If I could understand German I probably would have liked this more.
DeleteTranslations can miss nuance, and it definitely hampers timing.
I wouldn't have gotten the wordplay of the title if I hadn't looked it up.
Oh my good, I just now saw all the autocorrect typos in my comment:).
DeleteYeah, I think Nuhr is his real name, but he often uses it in the titles of his shows. Yeah,
translation can cause a sentence to have a totally diffrent feeling to it. I also noticed this in other cases to, that's why I don't like watching films or series in the German version.
He's not the kind of hilariously funny, his humour is much darker and sometimes breathtaking evil. You think: did he really just say that?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I think a lot of it is lost in translation (and maybe cultural differences)
I am German and can say, Nuhr's status as comedian is like Jerry Seinfeld in US.
ReplyDeleteHis comedy style you described by "this is interesting" satire rather than "isn't that hilarious" comedy is typial for a huge range of german comedy (not all, off cause).
Directly lookimg in camera isn't a no do in his profession, to. In fact, the impression to directly talking to YOU is his intension.
Apart from that, about 2/3 of the show are old stuff. Some parts of the programm are up to 15 years old or older.
Good point. The intended audience definitely isn't people watching this and reading subtitles.
DeleteThis comedy special explains why Germany is a nation of cucks bending over to the Muslim invasion.
ReplyDeleteI watched his show with my wife yesterday night. Me, having seen a few of his performances over the years, her not being aware of his standup career. Germans and comedy,
ReplyDeletequite so often standup in Germany is about portraiting a group of people and their associated stereotypes, with very little original thought. A turk selling sandwiches, a Polak being shifty, a nazi lacking intelligence. It gets tiresome. TV shows are no better. An uneducated groundskeeper, having more love for his wiener dog than his wife, his teenage daughter being promiscuous and younger son being a pervert. A blatent clone of married with children. Other formats cloned the office - Stromberg, late night shows like 'TV Total' copied Conan O'Brians' puns off his last week performance. Comedians like Dieter Nuhr, with an unique style are very rare, and refreshing in a bland landscape of mimicking clowns. Naturally, my wife took time to adapt, while he was not fulfilling her poor expectations, but completely cracked up towards the end. I agree with what many of you said before, he does not translate well. German is a tough language. Also in contrast, political satire has a long tradition in Germany and is very intellectual. They perform like he does, focusing on an imaginary peer and speaking at you directly. He keeps it light in comparison. Connecting the intellectual with the average Joe. And his crowd not being overly excited... they are Germans!