The wild new film Mad Heidi is a parody of Heidi by Johanna Spyria, which has been adapted numerous times. In this story, Heidi (Alice Lucy) lives in the Alps with her grandfather Alpöhi (David Schofield). Elsewhere in the country, Switzerland is being ruled over by an evil cheese dictator named President Meili (the very busy Casper Van Dien), who has a monopoly on dairy products and has outlawed lactose intolerance.
One day, Meili’s forces, led by Kommandant Knorr (Max Rüdlinger), discover that the man Heidi loves, Goat Peter (Kel Matsena), is selling illegal dairy products. They have him executed, and Heidi imprisoned. In captivity, Heidi is abused by the guards, who are led by Fräulein Rottweiler (Katja Kolm), and her fellow inmates, though she befriends one of them, Klara Sesemann (Almar G. Sato).
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Being Good and Being Not Good
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Eventually, Heidi is locked up in solitary for not participating in the prison’s cheese diet. Rottweiler comes and tries to get her to eat as a sign of submission, saying, “Such a good girl.” Instead, Heidi kills her, saying, “I’m not a good girl anymore.” Except, was she ever a good girl? Let us look at two of the 12 different meanings of the word good.
When Rottweiler uses the term “good girl,” she means someone who does what they are told, and Heidi was never like that. At the beginning of the movie, before she starts going through the wringer and where Heidi’s innocence is intact, she happily ignores Alpöhi, who makes it clear that he disapproves of Heidi’s relationship with Goat Peter.
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Heidi, however, does remain a “good girl” in the sense of being a fundamentally decent person. That’s even after she begins her bloody revenge quest. Toward the end of the film, Heidi is made to fight the cellmate that used to bully her. Despite having every reason to hate this person, Heidi doesn’t kill her and instead reasons with her, pointing out that Meili is the true enemy.
The Baddies
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This is one of those movies like Star Wars or Commando where the conflict between the hero and the main henchman is more personal than with the main villain. Knorr’s the one who kills Goat Peter right in front of Heidi and killed her parents years before when they took part in a failed rebellion. Knorr, in turn, also has a beef against Heidi for killing Rottweiler, his lover. Knorr is also much more dangerous than his boss.
As such, the film’s climax plays out similarly to RoboCop, where Heidi’s final fight with Meili is over in five seconds while her fight with Knorr is longer and more cathartic. It’s also unlike Commando, or Tomorrow Never Lies, where the mastermind is killed first before the big fight with the henchman. That might have been better, since taking care of Meili feels less personal and more like checking something off a to-do list.
The Highlights of Mad Heidi
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Lucy’s performance as the main character is of particular note. The way she’s able to show all the different sides to Heidi, whether it’s in love with Goat Peter or accordion-ing a guy to death. I also love how Heidi has layers beyond “tough woman.” Van Dien’s over-the-top performance as Meili was also enjoyable. That said, everyone’s performance in the movie is solid. They also all look like they’re having a lot of fun with their roles.
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Besides the cast performances, the best part of Mad Heidi is its cinematography. It’s well-shot, plus the sets and costumes look gorgeous. Some of the movie’s special effects look less than real, but that sort of cheesiness (pun intended) adds to the movie’s charm; it may sound like a backhanded compliment, but really, it works for this kind of movie.
The Takeaway
Mad Heidi is an enjoyable movie, but you must have a certain sense of humor. Some of the jokes are risqué, like when Knorr pulls out a description of Goat Peter, and it’s an offensive Jim Crow-esque caricature, complete with red clown lips. It’s also a very violent movie, but in a manner that’s deliberately absurd and over the top.
If you’re unsure whether you should see this movie, then a good test would be to watch 2011’s Hobo with a Shotgun first. It’s a throwback to exploitation movies, like Mad Heidi, starring the always awesome Rutger Hauer. If you make it past the scene where a guy gets decapitated and a scantily clad woman starts dancing in the resulting geysers of blood, then you should be all set to go on to Mad Heidi.
Mad Heidi is available to rent on Prime Video.
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