Exit to Heaven

Running time: N/A

A German comedy club may seem like an oxymoron, but it's the perfect starting point for this charming and original testimonial to the truest meaning of love and friendship. Our heroes are Paul and Alex, two of the finalists in a comedy competition and life-long best friends. Paul's act is reminiscent of Andy Kaufman and is a womanizer who sleeps with anyone willing (and believes that everyone is willing). Alex, on the other hand, is a promising standup comedian with a prosthetic leg due to cancer--a leg used to comedic perfection when the duo must escape some angry bikers. When Paul is asked for what he would wish if a fairy gave him one wish (and he wants to know why fairies always give only one wish instead of say, 27), he replies that he would want his audience to be sincerely touched by his dead chicken act. Put the same question to Alex and he wishes to be passionately loved. Each friend tries to fulfill the other's dream, but while Alex' gesture is touching, PaulÍs is drowned in self-absorption, and he doesn't realize that his attempt to reciprocate will surely backfire. "Friendship is a voluntary form of love," says Alex. Deftly using humor instead of sentimentality, director Brigitte MÙller takes us on an emotional journey that leads to unconventional and powerful results. Reviewed by Sandy Wolf