The title of this movie in English is about what's written here above. "En helt vanlig dag på jobben" is built upon the book with the same name, by journalist Håvard Melnes, which made quite a stir when published in Norway a couple of yours ago.
Melnes came as a young journalist in the daily newspaper Dagbladet to the "Se & Hør" gutterpress paparazzi magazine, and went from ignorance, to astonishment, via shock to starting loving and at last hating the work, which was getting the worst stories about "ordinary people" out in their magazines, twice a week.
This film is about his ten years (1996-2005) with him becoming the hero in the magazine due to him knowing the Norwegian Crown Princess to be, Mette Marit. He gets to know her father, becoming an exploiting "pal" of this well meaning but sad drunk of a father.
The movie starts off with Melnes himself being at the set of the movie, and this several times is done to make the movie closer to realism. And the film is both comic and tragic, a bit caricatured, but still we understand that much of this is true. In that statement this movie in many was resembles the American "THe men who stare at goats". Journalist actually do this in some parts of the press. They make up stories, and they pay to get the best stories admitted, not caring if it's true or false. To Hell with it! If you get an interview object to say it's true, it is.
This teaching is the strong side of the movie. Some of the humor is another. Still the story starts getting boring in the end. The journalist Melnes has trouble continuing his work, and he resigns after the Royal wedding, as well as after the death of the Crown Princess' father.
I would say the movie is interesting, and well made up to a point, but the story is not enough to bear a complete movie. It ends up in nothing, and I think the tragedy of Sven O. deserved better than the ridicule he gets here. A documentary would have been a stronger way to give the content of the book. It doesn't hold up entirely as a feature movie. But it does for an hour! The first hour is actually quite entertaining, especially the parts with real celebrities playing themselves, ignoring the fresh reporter not knowing what to say to get the stars talking.
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