I don't usually review two episodes of the same series, but I'm trying to figure something out. Bumper in Berlin has no gay male characters, limited beefcake, and frequent discussions of the hotness of ladies. Those should be red flags. So why is this series my favorite Adam Devine vehicle (including that darn Gemstone thing)? This is a review of Episode 1.3, "Verschlimmbessern": to make things worse while trying to make them better.
Scene 1: An ornate concert hall. Bumper (Adam Devine), the American a capella singer who has come to Germany to become a star, and Heidi, his Love Interest, begin singing the Shaggy song "It Wasn't Me," Suddenly the stage goes dark; Heidi collapses, stabbed in the back She's dying. Bumper has betrayed her by claiming that the song she wrote was his, and thus stealing her future. And his hands are feet? He awakens -- just a nightmare!
Scene 2: Bumper meets Heidi at the coffee cart and tries to make it up to her by -- buying her coffee? He explains that he needed an impressive song to be selected to perform at Unity Day and become a star. Heidi isn't angry, just very disappointed.
Manager Pieter (Flula Borg) has bad news: his ex-girlfriend Gisela, who is competing with Bumper for the Unity Day spot, is doing a big show in Friederickstadt. In order to stay competitive, he got Bumper a gig performing "his" song on Sour Pickles: a talk show where the guests eat sour pickles.
Bumper tries to make things right with Heidi by refusing to sing the song: it "sucks." Wait -- Heidi wrote it. She glares at him. "Oh, the song is great, but it sucks." Digging yourself deeper, Buddy. You got some Verschlimmbessern going on.
Scene 3: On the way to the Sour Pickles studio -- the sign is in English -- Bumper complains to his ally, DJ Das Boot: "I did a bad thing, but I apologized. Why is Heidi still mad? It's not fair." And by the way "Boot" means "boat" in German, not the English "boot."
DJ Das Boot: "You're only interested in making yourself feel better. Try thinking of someone else's feelings."
Scene 4: Bumper and DJ Das Boot perform the song, while Heidi looks on forlornly. The hosts, played by famous German actors Til Schweiger and Moritz Bleibtrue, cheer.
Next, it's time to eat increasingly sour pickles while answering questions. Uh-oh, the hosts twist his words around while he's distracted by the pickles. First: Bumper admits that he didn't write the song, Heidi did. Then, that his manager Pieter lied to get him to come to Germany. Back story: Pieter used a sound machine during an a capella performance, destroying his career and branding him the second-greatest shame in German history.
Bumper changes the subject to how much he likes Germany, especially the hottie Angela Merkle, whom he would love to twerk-le. The hosts pretend to be scandalized at the disrespect to the former Chancellor, but actually they love seeing their guests get "into a pickle."
Scene 5: Back at the office, everyone discusses what a mess Bumper made of his interview. Shouldn't they have known that the show was about getting people to say the wrong thing? Pieter's scandal will be revived, DJ Das Boot will be the laughing stock of the DJ community, and Heidi will never be able to sell a song again: "I'm going to have to go on German unemployment. How am I supposed to survive on just 90,000 euros a year?"
Scene 6: A "scary adult preschool" abandoned factory-art gallery. Heidi arrives for a date with DJ Das Boot, who criticizes her obsession with planning out every detail in her life: "I don't even know how I'm going to end this sentence."
To cure Heidi of her fear of the unexpected, DJ Das Boot says "Give me a tattoo. Anything you want." Heidi protests that she doesn't know how, but who cares? This is really wacky date. You ladies ever hear of dinner and a movie?
She draws a smiley face on DJ Das Boot's shoulder. "See -- you weren't prepared. You can't fix it. But you survived!"
Scene 7: Bumper and Manager Pieter want to talk the Sour Pickle hosts into not airing the episode, but the security guard won't let them in. So Heidi and DJ Das Boot try: the security guard lets them in with no challenge.
Meanwhile, the guys sit in a bar, being gloomy. Pieter asks Bumper to save himself, pretend that lying was all Pieter's idea, but Bumper won't betray his friend. Awww....
The girls arrive: yep, the Sout Pickle guys agreed to pull the episode. All Pieter has to do is give an interview about his ex-girlfriend Gisela's involvement in his a capella scandal. Pieter admits that, in fact, it was Gisela's idea, but they were dating, so he took the fall. She dumped him soon afterwards.
So -- tell the truth, repair your reputation, get over your ex, and damage the career of their main competitor for the Unity Day gig. Plus she deserves it -- she's evil. Sounds great! Problem: Pieter still loves her, and doesn't like the idea of hurting her.
More Bumper and a lot of Til Schweiger after the break
Scene 8: Night. The guys walking home, still talking about whether Pieter should reveal that his a capella scandal was his ex-girlfriend's idea.. Bumper declares that he got them into this mess, so it's up to him to fix it.
Later, he confides in his Scary Landlady: "I told them I'd fix it, but I have no idea how." She suggests playing to his strengths. "But the only thing I'm good at is ruining things." Well, then do that! He'll fix things by deliberately ruining something.
Scene 9: Gisela's concert on the steps of the Bode Museum. Notice the LGBT Pride Flag fkying everywhere. Is this a gay concert? Bumper and Pieter challenge her to an a capella riff-off -- singing snippets of songs. They have to be German for Bumper/Pieter and American for Gisela. If he wins, he gets to speak to her followers on Livestream.
She loses by singing a Justin Bieber song -- he's Canadian! So Bumper saves the day without damaging her reputation. Gisela is so grateful that she offers to have sex with Manager Pieter, but he refuses: he's over her. His heart now belongs to the Team. Aww....
Beefcake: Just Gisela's Lady Gaga-like backup dancers.
Other Sights: Lots of amazing exteriors.
Songs: Bumper gets two per episode, usually with expert choreography.
Heterosexism: Some references to women's hotness. The romance between Bumper and Heidi is so subtle that it seems more like a platonic friendshp.
Gay Characters: Heidi and DJ Das Boot are bisexual.
My Grade: A: This show is amazingly upbeat. The conflicts are trivial, there are no real enemies, and in the end all that matters is friendship. You end the episode happy. What more could you want in an evening's entertainment? Well, maybe for Adam to take his clothes off, but that's why we have the internet.
Bonus Til Schweiger frontal and rear shots on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends
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