adonis98-743-186503 Kim Kold steals the show in this movie as a Bodybuilder that lives with his mother and he's so protective around her that he never found the time to or the need to be with a girl get married and have children and even when he does his mother goes crazy and destroys his stuff and he chooses to leave her. This isn't exactly a spoiler it's something that many viewers would except from a dramatic film of this kind. People always judge Bodybuilders as this kind of freaks that can't act i'm sure this movie will prove them wrong and if not just remember that Arnold Schwarzenegger last year made Maggie and he was wonderful to even look at him.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a respected and famous body building, who lives under the shadow of his judgemental mother. He travels to Thailand on the advice of his uncle, and finds a whole different world outside his home."Teddy Bear" looks cute on the surface, but addresses a lot of underlying psychological and ethical issues in the plot. The mother holds a strong stance against sex tourism, which is understandable, and a viewpoint that has to be portrayed in a film like this. While the bodybuilder goes to Thailand, he still holds respect towards women which is a welcoming subplot. The way he breaks through cultural barriers, and the shackles imposed on him by his family is also well explored and well presented. I enjoyed watching this film.

Steve Pulaski "Some day love will find you; break those chains that bind you" - "Separate Ways," Journey.I hope and wish on the brightest star I see tonight that Mads Matthiesen's Teddy Bear finds an audience not only in its home-country of Denmark, but in America, which is so accustomed to its spontaneous, mostly empty cinema that it's ridiculously easy and sickeningly common for small, human-driven pictures like this to go far below the radar. This is a stunning, poignant, masterful work involving immensely undiscovered talent, sensitive writing, smooth directing, and a storyline that is pure and viably sustainable when taken in the format presented.Dennis is a thirty-eight year old bodybuilder, living with his controlling, domineering mother (Elsebeth Steentoft) who has kept him a shy, secluded introvert his entire life. Despite boasting a strong, incredibly toned exterior, his interior paints a feeble man three times smaller than him. He has never had a true relationship, and slogs through his days depressed and uninspired. His morose feelings only heighten upon visiting his uncle's wedding to a lovely Thai woman, and not long after, seeing his nephew so lonely and melancholy in live, encouraging Dennis to travel to Thailand to try and meet some women.He lies and tells his mother that he will be competing in a bodybuilding competition in Germany, and then quickly boards a plane to Thailand. A close friend of his uncle's attempts to set him up with several different girls, but the fact they're all prostitutes unsettles Dennis and he becomes nervous and hasty around all of them. He finally meets a young, genial soul named Toi (Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard), who owns a gym, and he believes he has found the one he'd love to form a relationship with; now if only his mother will approve of it.Dennis is played by former bodybuilder Kim Kold to a bold, graciously welcoming extent. His character greatly reminds me of myself in some ways; he hungers for the attention of the opposite sex, but is unsure of how to balance it and handle it all once obtaining it. He struggles to maintain a consistent conversation, is notably tense and socially inept during the simplest little get-together, and feels gridlocked to long pauses and dialog that lacks confidence. This is a negative affect of the heavy nurturing of his mother, who seems to keep him well-fed and unambitious in not his dreams but his social life.The way writers Matthiesen and Martin Zandvliet handle this delicate material is astonishingly poetic and nuanced. They stray far, far away from shouting matches between Dennis and his mother about "taking care of me" and other mother-son issues, and fights between Dennis and Toi about "growing up." We see from our scenes with them together that Toi knows exactly what the deal is between Dennis and his mom and prefers not to further belittle him for the minor baggage. She'd much rather go the extra mile to make the relationship as a whole work well.Teddy Bear is also photographed with that beautifully melodic foreign film sensitivity that combines minimalist cinematography and gorgeously showcased settings that add fuel to this as a visually compelling picture much less a narratively compelling one. But it's inexcusable to note the majority of the film's success comes from its leading man, Kold, who completely handles this role with the utmost capability and realism. He provides us with one of the finest performances of the year, and with one of the year's most likable protagonists as well.Starring: Kim Kold, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, and Elsebeth Steentoft. Directed by: Mads Matthiesen.

Catt Jones I can see why this film won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival. This film totally pulled you into the title character fairly quickly. Right from the start you could tell that Dennis (Kim Kold) was very socially inept and was so endearing that you almost felt sorry for him. Director and writer Mads Matthiesen framed this film very well and kept you rooting for Dennis , hoping that he would gain enough courage to stand up to his dependent (and possibly also socially inept) mother. By the way, I was recently educated on the name Mads and it is a very common name in Denmark (in case anyone was wondering). Dennis, who is a championship body-builder is a very dedicated son and has apparently been his mother's sole friend all of his life. Once he sees that his friend has gone overseas to Thailand and return with a wife, Dennis decides to do some wife hunting of his own. The fact that he has to lie to his mother about where he is going is a strong indication of how unhealthy their relationship really is. Once in Thailand, Dennis discovers that there are not a lot of "good" girls around until he stumbles upon a gym and meets the owner Toi (Lamaiporn Hougaard). The fact that Toi takes the time to show him around the city and introduces him to the local culture quickly brings her up to the level of "potential" wife. Once Dennis is back home in Denmark, the lies continue and mom is thrilled to have him back home under her control (or so she thinks). There are really no surprises in this film, but it was very entertaining to see it play out. I guess the film proves that although you may be able to lift small trucks over your head, you can still be very vulnerable and unsure of yourself. In the end, Dennis did turn out to be a big ole teddy bear; however I would have probably considered calling the film Mama's Boy (smile). I am not sure if this film will ever be released to the general public, but it is one of the better foreign films that I have seen. I do have to warn that there are some sub-titles in the film, however they are very few and not at all difficult to keep up with. I liked the film, but did not love it so I am giving it an amber light.