Oh boy, how the hell did I end up in this heap of garbage? Well, I can tell you. Three reasons, even: for one there's a lifelong penchant for trash-movies and cinematic disasters, and the undying hope to either find a hidden gem or at least some form of unwanted humour. Found neither. Then there is Otto Waalkes, which, like many from my generation, I virtually grew up with and whose sheer endless spiral downward is just one of those car-crashes that you cannot pass by without gawking. And then there was an almost anthropological interest in this 21st century phenomenon called YouTube.
Considering that the German film-industry is virtually dead, television following on its heels and heading toward "Unterschichten-TV" (German for "low class"- or "scum"-TV) and most of the mainstream media not even worth switching on anymore, I admit that internet channels and platforms like YouTube are a little spark in the dark. At least one can choose one's own program of interest and where professional journalists and critics fail these days, one is free to look up alternatives. But of course that has it's underbelly as well. I'm talking about self-styled YouTubers like those in the movie, who generate clicks and subscribers (in essence: money and revenue) without producing content that goes beyond pointless rants and cringe-worthy brattling, patreon-begging, aimed entirely at millennial-teens with too much internet at their hands. Those who might download some Justin Bieber videos (because they find him cute), subscribe to channels (because the Vlogger is cute) and watch cartoons with rainbow-colored ponies (for the same reason). All which is all right with me, since nobody is forcing anybody to press and suggested video and it's easy to block content that one deems non-desired. But making a movie (with a budget, no less!) with those kids, that's a whole new spectrum.
At first glance, the premise of the "story" might remind you of "Shawn of the Dead" – had "Shawn of the Dead" been produced by millennials with the IQ of an ounce of salt. A nerdy teen turns his schoolmates into zombies, so he can educate them in various academic skills, which in turn turns them back into humans (upon which the lead character and director) is celebrated as a hero. And that's it! If you now wonder what the translated title of "Potato-salad" has to do with the crapfest, well, the director and script-writer openly admitted that he simply couldn't think of a better title. This might give you an ilk of what level of teen-moronity we're dealing with here.
Are there any redeemable factors here? At least a single joke that is above the level of the shadow of a snake? I tell you honestly: no. And if you're watching this for nostalgic reasons AKA seeing Otto Waalkes in a movie, well, you couldn't feel more depressed if you'd see the former comedy-star sitting on a street-corner, with an empty bottle of plonk wine, even emptier eyes and stretching out his hand to passer-by's. Don't even get me started about "special guests" like Jenny Elvers, who made a name and career out of appearing drunk in talk shows. The rest, as said, are just random kids who talk about fashion, videogames and VIP-news that they've picked up somewhere in the internet, usually from the vicinity of their bedrooms or, if there is some substantial YouTube sponsoring to pay for it, behind a green screen in their parent's basement.
The scariest part: not only did this trash manage to generate a million bucks for production (sponsored mostly by Otto's own production company), but managed to make a profit at the box-office, no doubt generated by the same airheads who frequent those YouTube channels (or rather their parents hard-earned money). And although I don't want to turn this into a rant about incompetent millennials (right, as if I haven't already) and will state that there are exceptions to the rule, the general rule is still damn pathetic, making one wonder if the internet was worth it in retrospect. Those words are often over-used and used far too lightly, but I'll utter them anyway, because I cannot fathom how one can possibly make things worse: this is the absolute bottom of the barrel. I cannot state it enough: 0/10 is my rating – the one star above, that's courtesy of IMDb and I wash my hands with innocence.
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