Stellungswechsel (2007)

After a string of internships, 32-year-old philologist Frank has finally found a job as a freelance editor at the women’s magazine Mira. Although editor-in-chief Birte is impressed with his work, she is forced to cut the men’s column Frank is responsible for and dismiss him for cost reasons. Shortly afterward, he goes to the Federal Employment Agency to seek help finding work. In the entrance area, a passerby mistakes him for another man and asks whether he is available for sex in exchange for money. When Frank clears up the misunderstanding, she moves on to the next person, embarrassed, leaving him bewildered. During a later visit to his friends Olli and Gy, he tells them about the curious encounter. In the meantime, they have been dealing with financial troubles of their own: Olli, a single owner of a delicatessen, is on the verge of bankruptcy and has received an ultimatum from the bank, while Gy, a committed bachelor and police officer, has to pay €3,000 in follow-up costs after a rear-end collision he caused on duty with his new colleague Daphne. Inspired by Frank’s story, the two decide to set up an escort agency for women, hoping to pay off their debts with the proceeds. Together with Frank, who has been in a relationship for ten years but wants to support them, they find more people struggling with money at the employment agency: Giselher, a former executive, and young Lasse. When Frank’s girlfriend Sabine tells him she is cheating on him, they break up, and Frank joins the group as an escort too. They hand out flyers and set up a website, but business is slow to take off. Only after a newspaper reports on the unusual service, prompted by a colleague who is at odds with Gy, do they have a night full of bookings.