The mad twins: more than best friends – Hanni & Nanni: Mehr als beste Freunde (2017)

Directed by: Isabell Suba | 98 minutes | adventure, family | Actors: Laila Meinecke, Rosa Meinecke, Henry Hübchen, Maria Schrader, Katharina Thalbach, Lynn Dortschack, Lia Huber, Jessica Schwarz, Sascha Vollmer, Ella Lee, Tibor Locher, Maja Meinhardt, Faye Montana, Shenia Pitschmann, Lucas Reiber, Luise Wolfram

Hanni and Nanni can be admired in the cinema for the fourth time. This time with ‘The Mad Twins: More Than Best Friends’, which with a bit of good will you can call the reboot of the franchise, with part 4 being an updated version of the origins story, compared to the first three parts new faces. The twins are now played by real-life twins Laila and Rosa Meinecke, dubbed into Dutch by childhood idols Mylène and Rosanne.

The story begins much like the story in part 1. The parents of the twins are not getting along very well and with a piece of modern parenting they try to solve that by sending Hanni and Nanni to a boarding school. That becomes De Lindenhof and the mad twins initially decide to sabotage things so that they can go home quickly. However, this does not go as expected and that is the start for all kinds of subplots that will eventually come together towards the end.

That is also a minus of ‘The mad twins: More than best friends’, it is hardly surprising. The ending of the film is so predictable that it is too easy for the critical viewer. However, the question is whether there will be many critical viewers among the audience. The majority of the target group of young girls will probably see a film that captivates, is exciting and stays and is about growing up and the accompanying emotions. Some scenes grab on and that is partly due to the acting of the ladies Meinecke. They create believable characters. One is the good one, while the other is much more pushing the boundaries and rebelling against the “system”.

For the adult viewer, there are quite a few strange decisions in the story. For example, the choice to send the twins to a boarding school is strange and it is apparently also okay if an eleven-year-old girl just walks in and out with a strange old man who lives alone in the woods. It is too bland to judge the film on that, but these are things that are presented as normal and that is something that the younger viewers also get.

Bottom line, ‘The Mad Twins: More Than Best Friends’ is an entertaining film that the viewer should not think too deeply about, but simply believe that it is possible that everything will be okay.