Toni Erdmann Movie Review

Toni Erdmann (2016)

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Written by: Maren Ade
Directed by: Maren Ade
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In this German and English language movie, a practical joking father tries to reconnect with his hard working daughter by creating an outrageous alter ego and posing as a life coach.

Verdict
This starts as a drama about a father and daughter with different outlooks on life. She's focused on her job, he just wants to joke around and amuse himself. There has to be more to their relationship, and we're never privy to her childhood. Their relationship now has to be directly related to the past. Where this pivots is a party Ines holds. Is she finally creating a joke like her father or is the movie making a commentary about the corporate world and how people follow the crowd as a means to fit in and progress? If that's so, is this movie a commentary on what people will endure and ignore in the name of chasing the next promotion or contact? Her father never ascribed to society's rules. It's a good movie, but even now I'm trying to determine if I like it.
It depends.

Review
After the first scene I wasn't sure what this movie was. Winfried (Peter Simonischek) pretends to be two different people just to fool a delivery man dropping off a package. In the next scene he's going out with Joker inspired face paint. While we discover the paint is for a middle school event, Winfried is in no hurry to wash it off. He's a strange man at the least.

Winfried and his daughter Ines (Sandra Hüller) have a strained relationship. She's devoted to her job and disinterested in her father's silly jokes. I'm guessing it's two people that just don't connect. While we never see their past, it also could be that he never took anything serious during her childhood which disappointed her. Winfried may just not know how to connect with her, and his jokes are his awkward attempt.

Peter Simonischek plays Winfried

Winfried shows up at her job, and it appears he's been waiting for her to show up just so he can don another persona. Why? His dog just died and he wants a connection, but does he not know how to be serious or to the point? Instead of telling Ines how he feels directly, he continues with jokes. If I was her I'd be tired of it too. I've only known him for a little while and I'm growing tired. These persona's seem to be a way to avoid anything serious. He might be afraid of vulnerability.

Ines, for whatever reason, brings Winfried along to an event where she's trying to get a meeting with an oil company CEO. Her company has a contract with him, and she wants to extend it. The CEO brushes her off, but when Winfried begins spinning a story about hiring a daughter to replace Ines, the CEO wants to get a drink with him. Ines is irritated about it. This has to exemplify what's between the text. Their relationship now is a reflection of their life growing up. He's always been a distraction. Later Winfried approached Ines and her friends as Toni Erdmann. She doesn't acknowledge knowing him, though she had just mentioned to her friends how difficult her weekend was with her father dropping in unexpectedly. He had to hear that. We can see she's concerned about this game he's now playing, but she doesn't give him away.

Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek play Ines, Winfried

This is such a serious movie with such a comedic character. Winfried can't be direct with Ines so he hangs out in her general presence wearing a disguise. It's an odd ruse, and I have to imagine it's a callback to his failings as a father when she was younger as evidenced by their relationship now. Maybe he's never learned how to deal with his emotions or have a serious conversation. She takes him on a business trip, and I couldn't help but wonder why after all that's happened. Hi-jinks of course ensue, and it leads to Winfried taking her to a Romanian family's Easter party where he urges her to sing. It's the first time we've seen her free and unconcerned about work. She quickly rushes off after the song concludes due to the vulnerability.

Peter Simonischek play Winfried aka Toni Erdmann

This takes a turn when Ines is hosting a brunch at her home for coworkers. She opens the door naked, insisting it's a naked party. We see incredulous guests though many comply. This is a parallel to real, fake, and not acknowledging the jokes. Ines ignored Winfried's jokes, and now her guests either reject or accept this party without ever directly addressing the root of what makes it uncomfortable. It's the first time Ines has pulled a stunt like Winfried would. It's this sequence that shifts the movie from a look at a dysfunctional family to an examination of society and the desire to fit in and assimilate like Ines or live life by your own rules like Winfried. From there it's easy to make the leap of everyone mindlessly following along at the party to the business side of this. Ines has this vague job as a consultant that's about telling people what they want to hear or taking the blame for decisions they want to do but don't want the responsibility. The movie jokes that everyone believes a German consultant.

Winfried rejects society's norms, and that's contrasted with Ines. People want normal, and we see how strongly they'll cling to normal and try to fit in when Ines has her party. Society is built on this artifice. Ines ignored Winfried's advances, annoyed by them. When she pulls a similar stunt, I don't think it's an acceptance of Winfried's tactics, but a realization about how when you strive for normal that's all you'll achieve. One can find joy in exploits other than a promotion or the job. Winfried manages to amuse himself every day.

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