Andrea Cleven in Kubaner küssen besser (2002)
Pics
Review
Although director Thorsten Schmid received a lot of critical acclaim for the 1999 comedy-drama Schnee in der Neujahrsnacht he is still waiting for his big break since it turned out to be less popular among general audiences. The made for German TV comedy Kubaner küssen besser is his latest attempt to score big time and it mainly stars fresh young faces like Andrea Cleven (screen debut), Daniela Preuß (Die Braut meines Freundes) and Julio Quesada (Lejos de África) backed up by 30-year-old Christian Kahrmann who is best known to American movie-goers for having a small part in the Bruce Willis vehicle Hart’s War.
To make a long story short, here is the highly inventive storyline presented in an appropriate way: Doreen (Claven) is about to get married to Henning (Kahrmann) on Cuba. Since Henning has to finish off a business deal first, Doreen and her cousin Peggy (Preuß) travel to Cuba in advance where Doreen falls in love with Ruben (Quesada) the Cuban (no shit dudes). What will she do?
Kubaner küssen besser is mainly worth mentioning for two things. First of all for marking the movie debut of the lovely Samantha Mathis clone Andrea Cleven and secondly for its nudity report (see below). One of its major problems is that, except for Christian Kahrmann who is right on target with his typically self-ironical portrayal of Doreen’s goofy husband-to-be, most of the supporting performances fall flat. Julio Quesada is particularly weak in a role that wouldn’t have called for much else than a little charisma. Another problem is the one many German made for TV comedies suffer from: they lack humour. Add a cheesy screenplay as well as uninspired direction and this is what you get. Thus the only other redeeming quality is the gorgeous Cuban landscape where parts of this movie actually were shot.
Nudity Report: Stunning newcomer Andrea Cleven provides a lengthy shot of her perfectly-shaped pale ass when she goes for a nude skinny-dip in the ocean. A very nice debut that raises skinful hopes for the brunette’s future! Cleven’s female co-star Daniela Preuß is bare naked, as well, while receiving a massage from Julio Qesada but all we get to see are side-shots of her ass as well as glimpses of the tape that covers her nipples. In addition both women show various amounts of cleavage including bikini-clad scenes.
Critics: IMDB: Awaiting 5 votes! Udo: 1/4. Only watchable due to two good performances, beautiful locations and some sweet nudity.
Box Office: Made for German TV it premiered on 21 November 2002.
Ratings: Kubaner küssen besser wouldn’t be rated any higher than “ab 6“ in Germany while it would either be “PG-13” or “R” in the U.S. (for some nudity and sexual content).
Written by: Udo Baumann, Skin Central Germany