Teddy Bear

4.5 stars... excellent family drama
I am a long-time fan of the Film Movement DVD library of foreign and indie movies, and earlier this year I finally entered a subscription to the monthly releases. This is the most recent (August, 2012) release.

"Teddy Bear" (2011 release from Denmark; 96 min.) brings the story of Dennis, a 38 yr. professional body-builder looking for the right girl. Any girl for that matter who will just take a liking to him. The movie opens with Dennis on a date with a girl, and it's just a terrible date. Soon after we learn that Dennis still lives with his mom, who disapproves of any forays by Dennis in the dating scene (Dennis had to lie about even being that bad date). Mom and Dennis attend a wedding ceremony of Mom's brother with a girl from Thailand whom he met there and then moved her to Denmark. Dennis, desparate at this point, agrees to take a vacation to Thailand (without Mom knowing, of course). All of this develops in the first 30 min. of the movie. To give more away from the...

Incredibly Boring Movie
Dennis is not the most interesting character ever to lead a movie. He may be the worst. He has no personality, rarely smiles, is horrible at human interaction, and is under the thumb of his nasty mum.. So what does he do? He goes to Pattaya, Thailand, where he proves to be horrible at picking up girls. The only really interesting interaction he has is with a hunky Thai bodybuilder. But, after a false start, he finds the woman he wants and brings her home. What the attraction is is never shown. Predictable, mummy is unhappy, and, as a viewer, I was too. We never find out what makes Dennis tick. Or why someone wanted to make such a boring film.

Great acting, touching film ... slow ...
Dennis (Kim Kold) is a bodybuilder in his late thirties who still lives at home with his domineering mother, Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft). Despite his size, Dennis is meek and shy, and desperately lonely. So when a relative brings home a "mail-order bride" from Thailand, Dennis is motivated to make his own pilgrimage. And Dennis does find love, even if not quite where he expected.

Until "Teddy Bear", I don't think I'd ever seen a serious, respectful portrayal of a bodybuilder in a non-documentary film. Dennis is an extremely sympathetic character, and Kold, the real-life 2006 Danish National Bodybuilding Champion, is wonderful: amazingly stoic yet capable of conveying joy or heartbreak with just subtle shifts in his facial expression. Dennis' happiness is infectious in the few scenes that take place in the gym, the only place he's truly comfortable. And you root for Dennis to find the same fulfillment in the rest of his life.

But I still found "Teddy Bear"...

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