Väter allein zu Haus: Mark (2019)

Mark Lanius had agreed with his wife, Judith, that he would look after their daughter, Anna, until she started school. Now that Anna has started school, he wants to return to his job as an advertising executive. However, this proves far more difficult than Mark had expected. They had more or less agreed on a part-time position, but since his wife, a doctor at a hospital, cannot freely arrange her working hours either, their schedules keep clashing when it comes to looking after Anna. Mark’s supervisor, Mrs. Winter, has no understanding of the situation. Since Mark cannot say no to his wife, who is currently studying for an additional specialist exam in emergency medicine, he agrees to accompany his daughter’s school outing—something Judith was supposed to do. The children’s theater performance is due to start a little later, so their teacher, Ramona Reiberg, suggests playing some games in the adjacent park first. This throws Mark’s schedule further and further off, as he is supposed to be working and has only managed to free up a short while. While Mark is talking to his supervisor, he is told that little Tom Savona, the son of his friend Timo, has gone missing. Mark had been responsible for looking after him. When Mark calls home, the assistant doctor David Schneider answers. Annoyed, Mark ends the call. Then, when Tom’s jellyfish costume is spotted on the riverbank, people fear the worst. However, two police officers arrive with the boy, who had run after a garbage truck after one of the children had thrown a ball into it. He wanted to get it back. Mark’s supervisor, Mrs. Winter, tells him that she now realizes she cannot hope for him to advance professionally, and that she will have to see whether she has any use for him at all. When he gets back to his apartment and finds Judith and David in a situation that looks compromising at first glance—but they had only been practicing on the body itself for the exam—and Judith tells him that he simply has to say no when things get to be too much and stop being such a pushover, Mark has had enough. He goes to a restaurant, where he runs into Ramona Reiberg. They get talking and have another drink together. To their surprise, they kiss when they say goodbye. Mark, in particular, is deeply shocked. He is determined to confess the kiss to Judith first thing the next morning. He buys flowers, but cannot bring himself to say anything. A little later, he talks it over with his friend Gerd, who strongly advises him not to tell Judith, since that would only make things more complicated. At the agency, Mark gets a surprise when its boss, Jonas Niederkorn, tells him that he likes him and would like to promote him. Since Mrs. Winter is creating a less-than-ideal working atmosphere, Mark is to take over her position. The catch is that he is also supposed to hand her the dismissal notice. Even after practicing, he finds it difficult. By the time Mark finally decides to tell Judith about the kiss, it is too late: Ramona Reiberg has beaten him to it. Judith has temporarily moved in with her brother Andreas, taking Anna with her. This situation gives Mark the strength to hand Mrs. Winter her dismissal notice. She is beside herself, though Mark can understand her reaction to some extent. Head lice that turn up among Anna and other students help the couple start treating each other more calmly again. In a grand gesture, Mark gives up the agency’s top job so he can continue working part-time, allowing Judith to take over as head of the emergency department, because that is what works best for both of them. She simply has to forgive him, he says, because she is the only woman he will ever love. Judith loves her husband—and forgives him.