Behr Movie: Guys and Balls

Whenever I watch a DVD of an offbeat or indie flick I always watch the trailers for other movies in hopes to find one of interest. This is how I found "Guys and Balls." Yes, it's an innuendo. If you like GLBT films and soccer, this may be the movie for you.

Made in Germany (with English subtitles), it's the story of Ecki, a local circuit soccer player and the son of a baker. Early on in the film, Ecki is outed as gay and subsequently kicked off his soccer team. He endures a lot of insults from his former teammates and in a fit of anger challenges them to a match. The problem is, Ecki has no team.

Ecki takes off for the big city where he enlists the assistance of his straight sister in finding gay men to form a soccer team to play against the "heteros." The ensuing search is quite funny, especially the scene in which the sister, Susanne, is barred from entering a leather club. The interior scene was one of my favorites, probably because of the leather bears as extras! One of the gay men Ecki enlists on his team is Sven, a handsome young blond man who works with Susanne at the hospital. The remainder of the movie revolves around the newly formed gay team and their practice, personal relationships, Ecki's father's disapproval and subjection to insults from the community, and of course, the big match between the Gay Team and Ecki's former team. Oh and Ecki gets a boyfriend at the end of the movie. (Can you guess who?)

Like most movies of this ilk, you can probably guess the outcome. However, I found this to be an absolutely charming movie. There is a variety of characters, including a straight guy in love with Susanne who "plays gay" just to be on the team, a leather triad, and the usual queen or two. The soccer match action is fairly well shot although some sequences seem to be almost slow-motion to add to the suspense. I don't profess to be an expert on soccer but the scoring of the match didn't seem right to me; but that is a minor flaw and probably just my ignorance.

This isn't a movie you can just have playing in the background, unless you're proficient in German. It takes some concentration and you may find yourself stopping and rewinding a few times if you miss the visual due to reading the subtitles. There is minimal nudity, mostly backsides, and the language is probably PG although in German it sounds much worse! The film is rated R, for nudity, sexual language, and subject matter. On a scale of 1 to 5, I rate "Guys and Balls" a 5. It's a sweet story with some eye candy that addresses discrimination, homophobia in sports, and the acceptance of one's self.

You can get this movie on Netflix; I don't think it is a highly requested film so you should have no problem getting it. If you do rent it, I'd love to hear what you thought.

BEHR HUGS!!