Die Abstauber (2011)

Investment adviser and fund manager Chris Melzer is in serious trouble. His boss holds him responsible for a loss of 158 million euros, and the public prosecutor’s office has already taken the first legal steps. His accounts have been frozen, his boss has suspended him, and his friends are suddenly distancing themselves from him. Only Carmen, the cleaning lady, feels sorry for him. Until now, the two had hardly spoken, but when Carmen comes to clean Melzer’s office that evening as usual, she just manages to stop him from hanging himself. Out of necessity, he starts philosophizing with the cleaning lady about life. Since he faces pretrial detention over the alleged embezzlement, kindhearted Carmen promptly takes him home with her. Carmen’s unorthodox family life causes the fussy man problems, and he struggles to cope with it. While Carmen goes to work, he continues hiding in her apartment, takes over the housework, and looks after Carmen’s children. In the process, the manager, accustomed to success, learns that Carmen has a major problem of her own: she “owes” the bankruptcy proceedings brought against her to the father of her children. Since Chris is a financial expert, he can help her with this, and Carmen in turn helps him do something about his employer, who is clearly behind the financial fraud himself. She persuades Chris to go on the offensive, disguise himself in a Santa Claus costume, sneak into the company Christmas party, and confront his boss, Wachter. But Chris is recognized before he can carry out his plan and is taken away by the police. The feisty Carmen now takes matters into her own hands. She keeps Wachter and his assistant under surveillance. This way, she witnesses the two of them trying to dispose of the documents belonging to the shell company through which they transferred the money abroad. Without being noticed, she puts all the files back, and when the police are informed the next morning of the supposed break-in, they find the documents proving Chris Melzer’s innocence back where they belong. After Chris is exonerated, the first thing he does is enjoy his regained freedom. But he misses Carmen and the children. He travels to find her and wants to thank her. But the gifts he has brought along have exactly the opposite effect on proud Carmen. Only when he publicly declares his commitment to her does it end happily.