Das Hochzeitsvideo (2012)

The film begins shortly before the wedding of Pia and Sebastian, who come from very different backgrounds. Pia’s parents are left-wing veterans of the ’68 generation, while Sebastian comes from a conservative family with a noble title. They have known each other for only a few months. Although everything initially seems perfect, the days leading up to the wedding turn into a nightmare: Daniel, the groom’s friend, and Despair, Pia’s sister, film all the festivities. At their joint bachelor and bachelorette party, Pia and her friends end up at the police station after one of Pia’s friends is caught relieving herself outdoors. Meanwhile, Pia’s ex-boyfriend, a porn actor, visits Sebastian. The next morning, when Pia is greeted at Sebastian’s apartment by a naked stripper, Sebastian can only smooth things over by swearing that nothing happened the night before. During the oral sex that follows, Pia and Sebastian are interrupted by Pia’s brother, and Sebastian ends up shoving Pia so hard that she injures her cervical spine. Because of the accident, they both arrive late at the registry office, which the responsible official closes punctually before the couple gets there. At the pre-wedding party, Pia is understandably irritable because of her injury and neck brace. The fact that Sebastian’s parents cannot come to terms with Pia, her background, or her intention to keep her maiden name only makes matters worse. When Sebastian finally learns of Pia’s previously secret relationship with Carlos, it causes a rift between them. The wedding is on the verge of being called off. Meanwhile, Daniel and Pia’s sister Despair try to persuade the registrar to sign the marriage certificate after all. They film him masturbating to a video of frolicking dogs and, in exchange for the footage, manage to get a blank certificate from him. At the church wedding, Sebastian initially stands alone at the altar, until Pia appears in her street clothes and still wants to marry him. Since Sebastian’s family’s traditional wedding rings had already been lost, the two marry using the pull tabs from cola cans. To finally push Sebastian’s parents over the edge, he promises Pia that he will give up his name and take hers, Schulz.