Sommer nach dem Abi (2019)

The highly organized pharmaceutical sales representative Alexander, the somewhat unsuccessful self-help author Ole, and the slightly criminal free spirit Paul have arranged to take a nostalgia trip. Twenty-five years after graduating from high school, they set off from Berlin in a battered, yellow, first-generation Golf. Paul bought this model especially for their trip and hopes to resell it at a profit afterward. Before their journey to a festival where their favorite band from back in the day, Madness, is supposed to play really gets underway, they stock up on supplies at a supermarket. There they happen to run into another old classmate: Achim. He is now the store manager and envies the three of them a little. More than anything, he would like to come along. But the planned trip doesn’t turn out to be as much fun as they had imagined. Their lives seem to have taken very different paths by now. At a rest stop, things boil over for the first time when Paul and Ole deny owning a silver suitcase that Alexander left in the parking lot. While Alexander is in the restroom, highway police deal with the suspicious object and blow it up using a robot. Alexander is furious because Ole left him behind while they were repacking, and now his things are gone, including his pills. His attempt to buy the medication he prefers at a pharmacy fails because he can’t produce a prescription. When they arrive at the campground where they have reservations, they get into a conflict with a biker gang. This time, Ole is the one who is angry about their behavior. Alexander manages to prevent a fight. But the three aren’t particularly pleased with their new camping neighbors, either. So they spend the rest of the day at a music bar in town, where Stephanie, Paul’s ex-girlfriend, is singing, and her friend Babette works behind the bar. Once again, Alexander proves to be a killjoy when he turns down Babette’s offer to continue the night elsewhere. That also scuppers the hoped-for sexual adventure of the shy Ole, who is very interested in Stephanie. As punishment, Alexander has to spend the night outside the tent. There, he admits that he is addicted to pills because he can’t sleep without sleeping pills. Their loud argument is overheard by their camping neighbor, who invites Alex to smoke a joint with him and philosophizes with him about life and getting older. Visibly relaxed, Alex leaves a message on his wife’s voicemail back home, saying that he has managed to get off the pills. The next morning, he seems a little out of it, but he and Ole make up. During their conversation, he learns that Paul has a son he has never wanted to know anything about. Ole therefore suggests paying the young man a quick visit, since he lives not very far away. The two are somewhat shocked to see that Benjamin has Down syndrome, something Paul knew and which was the reason he rejected the boy. His mother Claudia, who was in the parallel class back then, accepted Paul’s position. On the drive back to the campground, the friends get caught in a storm and veer off the road. When the police investigate the accident, they have the car taken out of service because it has a great many defects. And that’s not all: it turns out that Paul stole Benjamin’s money during the visit and is facing two years in prison for embezzling €100,000 if the case goes to trial. Their trip and their friendships are on the verge of falling apart, but Ole and Alex stand by him and agree to steal the damaged Golf from the police lot. Now, shortly before the concert, they change into suitably themed outfits and head toward the entrance, full of anticipation. It turns out that Paul was sold fake VIP tickets. Ole is so furious that he starts a disturbance, and all three are banned from the venue. They argue so fiercely that each accuses the others of all sorts of things, but they also have to hear some uncomfortable truths, prompting them to reflect on themselves. So they decide on the spot to drive to the bar where Stephanie is performing, and Ole gets a chance after all to get together with her. The three friends spend a carefree evening together—even without seeing Madness perform live.