Ich leih' mir eine Familie (2006)

Benjamin Grönecke, known as Ben, is a workaholic. While he is advancing his career as an advertising executive and has no intention whatsoever of starting a family, his girlfriend Juliane feels differently. She is a successful doctor and wants nothing more than to start a family with Ben. For his 40th birthday, she plans to surprise him with a place of their own and hopes he will propose. At work, Ben is also confronted with the subject of family. To land a major advertising contract for a baby-products campaign, he has to convince his skeptical client, Hans Feldmann, that he is a happy family man. Boastfully, he claims without hesitation that he is, of course, married and has two children. When Feldmann then happens to see him with a woman, he naturally assumes she is Mrs. Grönecke and immediately invites the two of them to his home for the weekend. Ben now has to ask his former childhood sweetheart Hanna for help, since she was the woman Feldmann saw. She is supposed to pretend, along with her two sons, Paul and Jonas, that they are a happy family—for a while. Hanna has no real reason to help Ben, since he deeply hurt her in the past. Her brother Carsten also warns her about the supposedly unscrupulous heartbreaker. But Hanna needs money and enjoys the thought of having the selfish, inconsiderate Ben at her mercy. She plays along, and only a few people doubt that the family is genuine. However, Ben’s girlfriend knows nothing about the arrangement, and he struggles to keep the whole thing from her. When he finally has to tell her the truth, Juliane makes peace with him, but Hanna is angry. She resents that Ben didn’t tell her he was in a committed relationship, and she doesn’t want to be the woman he uses to cheat on his girlfriend. She packs her things and leaves his apartment immediately. The next day, Ben also has to explain the truth to his client. Feldmann doesn’t hold it against him for long; instead, he appreciates Ben’s honesty and does not withdraw the contract. Ben knows he has Hanna to thank for this too, so he sets out to bring her and her children back. With her help, he has realized that he must finally take responsibility for his own life and stand by his old love, with whom he has now fallen in love all over again.