Sportabzeichen für Anfänger (2021)

Stefanie Eckhoff and Bertram Dinkler know each other from the parents’ council at their children’s school. In some ways, they are very different. Stefanie owns a small plant nursery with one employee, while Bertram owns a cookie factory with just under fifty employees, though he doesn’t like cookies. In other ways, they have a lot in common. They are both single parents: she is divorced, and he has been widowed for three years. They both have problems with their children, who are going through puberty and have their own particular worries. Stefanie’s daughter Lena doesn’t want to take part in the Federal Youth Games, while Bertram’s children don’t want to take over the cookie factory when they grow up and do everything they can to make themselves look unsuitable in their father’s eyes. At a parents’ council meeting, Stefanie and Bertram get into a dispute about the point of the Federal Youth Games and the competitions that go with them. The other parents then suggest that, to set a good example, they should earn their own sports badges. Neither of them is particularly keen, but no one wants to lose face, so they agree. They mean to back out of it afterward, but suddenly find themselves in an impossible situation. The other parents are already forming a fan club, and Bertram’s head of marketing, Franziska, wants to use the campaign to give the cookie factory special publicity for its centenary. The two now prepare intensively for the upcoming competitions, buy new sportswear, and start specialized training with help from their friends. They keep trading jibes. Bertram is also somewhat conflicted about the standards expected of men, and Stefanie is not especially enthusiastic about some of the events either. Her ex-husband, Thomas, moves back in with her at short notice because of problems in his relationship, much to Lena’s delight, since she currently finds her mother embarrassing. Bertram’s children tell him they don’t like the cookies as they are now. They aren’t suitable for athletes, who need low-carb, high-protein food, and the factory doesn’t offer gluten-free products. One day, when both families are at a restaurant, the children leave their parents out of frustration or to go to the movies, giving Stefanie and Bertram a chance to talk in peace. Afterward, Bertram shows her the cookie factory, where they bake cookies together. They decide to take a week off from training. Because of a misunderstanding, Stefanie thinks Bertram is going to keep training, so she starts training again too. Franziska lets Bertram know, leaving them both annoyed and rekindling their competitive drive. On the day of the competition, they try to gain an advantage by unfair means. Stefanie mixes a laxative into Bertram’s drink and puts gel chips in her mouth to distract him. He cuts one of her shoelaces and puts itching powder in her clothes. Despite all this, they both manage to earn their sports badges. Bertram sells the company, makes amends with his children, and pursues the passion he never got to explore: sculpting. Thomas moves out again, and Stefanie makes more time for herself and tries her hand at baking. Bertram visits her and gives her his first work of art; she surprises him in turn with athletes’ cookies, which he even enjoys. Stefanie suggests showing him around the house, and he gladly accepts.