Mein Opa ist der Beste (1995)

Franz Sedlak is a retired café owner, a grump, and a hypochondriac in Vienna. To lose weight, he often jogs in the Prater. He is constantly gloomy and disgruntled because his daughter Johanna ran away at 17, and he has not heard from her for a long time. Franz is also at odds with his neighbor and chess companion, Mr. Fürst, because Franz wipes his shoes on his doormat. Franz is not exactly kind to his housekeeper, Gertrud. With Johanna’s 25th birthday coming up, Gertrud gets a birthday card, but Franz firmly refuses to send it. At the café, Franz plays chess with Mr. Fürst, and the two argue there, too. However, Franz is friendly to the other customers. The head waiter, Leo, to whom Franz has leased the café, offers advice as they play chess. After becoming extremely agitated, Franz supposedly suffers a heart attack, is given alcohol to drink, and calls for an ambulance. At the hospital, it turns out that Franz’s condition is only a harmless twinge in his heart. Right afterward, the doctor speaks with the sister of another patient with serious heart disease, for whom it is too late to do anything, and Franz mistakenly assumes the diagnosis is about him. At first, Franz announces the false diagnosis to his friends from the café, who had nearly arranged a funeral. Franz is now very eager to see his daughter Johanna before his supposed death, although he has no idea where she lives because he destroyed all her letters without reading them. Gertrud shows Franz a photograph that he accidentally tore up. It shows Johanna with Wolfgang Ohr—a restaurant owner—and an “ominous” grandchild in front of a villa on Lake Wörthersee. Franz cannot tell whether his grandchild is a boy or a girl because the tear runs across the child’s face, and he suspects it is a boy. Johanna lives in Velden with her dark-skinned daughter Samantha (also known as Sami) and the waitress Gisi Holm, who also works at the casino. Wolfgang Ohr, Johanna’s boss, quarrels with his wife Hanni because he often cheats on her with other women. Hanni then travels to Venice with her best friend Gloria and the dog. Gloria is fascinated by the city, but Hanni is in a bad mood. Franz decides to visit Johanna without warning her. However, Gertrud phones Johanna to tell her about the planned visit, which shocks Johanna but delights Sami. Johanna and Gisi now plan to pretend that they are an intact family. To that end, Gisi sets up the shy Eddi as Johanna’s husband, though Franz never meets him. Gisi’s son Max is supposed to play Franz’s grandson, but he is not particularly pleased about it. Wolfgang invites Franz to his restaurant, where a large wedding is being celebrated. Franz helps with the serving without permission and starts bossing the waiters around. Sami also diligently helps with the service. When Johanna comes to pick Sami up, she sees her father dancing with Sami. The next morning, while jogging, Franz meets his daughter Johanna for the first time in eight years, and they reconcile. Afterward, Franz is supposed to meet his supposedly namesake “grandson” at Johanna and Gisi’s apartment. This leads to Johanna and Gisi swapping children. The boy, Max, is surly and rejects Franz, whereas Sami is friendly. In the beer garden, Sami explains the rules of sailing to “Uncle” Franz, but accidentally spills a glass of beer on the neighboring table. This sparks a debate about Africans with the people at that table. The next day, Franz goes jogging again. He still believes that Johanna is married to Wolfgang. When he happens to spot her with Gisi at the butcher shop, where she is kissing Eddi, and Wolfgang appears moments later, Franz stops Wolfgang from entering the shop. Later, Sami tells Franz that Johanna is unmarried, and Franz suspects that Max is illegitimate. At the Ohr villa, Franz finds Wolfgang’s wife Hanni in the bathroom and mistakes her for a rival (a “hasi”). She is angry because Franz grabs her roughly and tries to throw her out. Franz now urges Wolfgang Ohr to marry Johanna in church, since his supposed grandson Max needs a proper family. Wolfgang misunderstands the situation and suspects that his wife Hanni has had another man’s child, so he decides to divorce her. Hanni firmly denies having a child out of wedlock. When Johanna arrives, the major misunderstanding caused by Franz is cleared up. Johanna also admits that she does not have a son. Franz is deeply shaken and imagines that he is having another heart attack. He insists on being taken to Vienna by ambulance so he can die there. Sami then sets off alone by train to Vienna and takes a taxi to the AKH to visit her grandfather. However, the ward nurse turns her away, saying that Franz supposedly needs complete rest and does not want to see anyone. Sami nevertheless sneaks into her grandfather’s room. At first, Franz is in a bad mood and thinks he is nearing the end. Eventually, the two reconcile, and Sami admits that she is his dark-skinned granddaughter. Johanna eventually joins them and finds Sami in bed with Grandpa. The doctor also clears up the misunderstanding about Franz’s supposedly poor health: Franz has a perfectly healthy heart, and, overjoyed, decides to learn how to sail. In Carinthia, Sami gives Grandpa instructions on how to use the sailboat, and they go sailing on Lake Wörthersee. A song by Louis Armstrong plays over the film’s ending and credits.