Camping mit Herz (2019)

The schlager singer Karl-Heinz “Kalle” Sollheim has faded into obscurity after his camping hit “Unter der Sonne” (“Under the Sun”), and his fans don’t want to hear his new country music album, Rain. So his manager, Theresa Kostner, arranges a competition with a radio station. Campground owners can enter, with the first prize being a stay at their campground by “Camping Kalle.” The whole thing is then supposed to be broadcast on the radio. The winner of the draw is the Baltic Sea campground “meeresglück,” run by Desiree Kranz and her mother, Martha. The publicity comes at just the right time for them, as they are nearly bankrupt and hope the schlager star’s presence will bring more guests to their property. Kalle, however, is not at all enthusiastic about his manager’s idea that he, an artist “spoiled by civilization,” should spend an entire night at a remote campground. He also thinks it is beneath him, even though his last hit was a paean to the joys of camping. Kalle and Theresa travel by train to their destination. Desiree and her mother meet them there. Apart from the two women, nobody seems particularly interested in the arriving star. Kalle is initially a little frustrated, then grows furious when he finds that there is neither a decent phone signal nor “accommodation befitting his status.” The cheerful campers who greet him with cheers at the site mollify him somewhat, and he gives a spirited performance of “Unter der Sonne” around the campfire. He gets along less well with junior manager Desiree. She thinks there is something wrong with him and provokes him whenever she can. However, the growing number of bookings at their campground shows that the “schlager nobody” really is boosting their business. After Kalle has made it through his night as a camper, breakfast television awaits him the next morning—something Theresa has arranged for him. Desiree seizes her opportunity and declares on live camera that Kalle promised her he would stay at the campground not just for one night, but until the end of the month. He feels ambushed, but since his internet fans are taking an interest in him again thanks to the camping stunt, he lets his manager persuade him to keep his supposed promise. In time, he learns to get used to the simple life, and he and Desiree make up. More than that, they even fall in love. Their happiness comes to an abrupt end when Kalle learns from Desiree’s ex-husband, Werner, that it was not her campground that actually won the prize, but the modern campground “Meeresglück” (with a capital M), run by Werner, her ex-husband. Her mother had tricked Werner behind her back. He now demands his prize, and Kalle immediately moves to Werner’s campground. However, Theresa, his manager, is more impressed by the now status-appropriate accommodation in a luxury camper van than the star himself is. Kalle quickly realizes that Werner only wants to use him as a figurehead and for his own ends. It is not just an acute circulatory problem that makes Kalle realize he needs to change something about his life. He tries to find a solution that might satisfy both Desiree and her ex-husband in their “campground war.” But this fails when Werner once again tries to take advantage of Desiree. Kalle draws his conclusions and returns to Desiree’s rustic campground. Shortly beforehand, he has had to accept the news that his mother Rosa, who meant a great deal to him, has died. Sitting on the beach, he sings a country song dedicated to his mother, Rosa, as Desiree comes to sit with him and show him that she is there for him. Desiree likes Kalle’s proposal that he invest in the campground and run it together with her.