EIFF 2013: ‘Oh Boy’ is an intelligent and effortless slacker comedy
Jan Ole Gerster’s debut feature is a smart, breezy comedy that follows 27-year-old slacker, Niko (Tom Schilling), through Berlin over the course of a turbulent day. Despite dropping out of law school two years previously, he still lives off his father’s allowance, resides an empty shell of an apartment and struggles to find the motivation to do anything much at all. After breaking up with his girlfriend, he visits a confrontational psychiatrist, has an excruciating encounter with an emotional neighbour, gets cut off by his father and meets an attractive young woman, Julika (Friederike Kempter), only to find out he used to bully her at school. And, to top it all off, he can’t even seem to find himself a decent cup of coffee.