Those were the days, no smartphones, no phones at all really, lighter and Marlboros on the nightstand instead, in the rain, on the train, latter with doors that could be opened all the time, yet for the most part young people did not end up on the wings of planes back then either. We marvel at the display of youthful defiance about the horror vision that gasoline could cost as much as 3.10 DM one day, envy Schucki because he gets a kiss, though he won't join the road trip, unlike Mick Jagger's photograph, remember fondly how much of a social event any autoscooter once was, acknowledge that there was chemistry between the two leads, get treated to the two most successful, stirring, enduring, dope, German pop songs of 1982, meet that Leuchtturm for what I remember the first time right here, and wonder what Karl Dall is doing in all this. The story line emerges and evolves in a love triangle of unmatched predictability, both lead's performances are above soap opera standards as set in this millennium, and I'm still waiting for that unhealthy, sugar infested ice confectionery getting offered just before the movie starts. In summary, I loved it.

As I said, a great film if you love Nena. A horrible movie if you're in it for thought-provoking artistic film-making...but it doesn't try to do all that. It is basically an excuse for the beautiful Nena Kerner to showcase her smile and sing some songs.

The "plot" is pretty thin, but easy enough to follow. Nena plays "Tina" (THAT's a stretch...) a cute but bored girl in a small Bavarian town. She is constantly looking for the right guy, but all the guys she meets just seem to bore her to death. Her latest attempt at Mr. Right is named Tino, a hulking jock of a dude who views Tina as his property and nothing more. After Tino is fired from his taxing job as a go-cart mechanic, he decides to leave town. He invites Tina to come with him but due to complications she is unable to meet him in time, and he leaves town without her.

Meanwhile a newcomer has shown up in town. Robby, played by Marcus, has fallen in love with Tina and when Tina misses her appointment with Tino, Robby comes to the rescue and offers to take her "anywhere" on his motorcycle. Tina gets on the bike with him and they head off. Robby thinks they are going on a romantic adventure, not knowing that Tina is actually using Robby to chase down Tino.

Robby and Tina go through all sorts of ridiculous situations, such as being chased by bikers, having their motorcycle run over by a bus, running out of gas, etc. Through it all though Tina decides to give Robby a chance and she soon falls in love with him. She then admits to Robby that she had been using him to chase down Tino. Despite Tina's declarations of love, Robby runs off in a huff. He gets on a train to Venice with Tina in hot pursuit.

Needless to say, the film ends on a happy note, with Tina and Robby together, and even the troublesome Tino rides off with a boat full of Italian chicks. This is not a great film, it isn't even a good film by technical standards. But Nena's glowing energy makes it worth watching again and again. It really is a fun time, especially after several beers (preferably German).

Note: avoid the English dub of this film (Hangin' Out) at all costs. Gib Gas Ich Will Spass, the German title is much better as it contains the original dialog from Nena and the other actors. Subtitles will not be needed if you are English as the story is so simplistic that you can understand what is going on without knowing exactly what they are saying.

"Gib Gas - Ich will Spaß!" or "Hangin' Out" is a West German 90-minute movie from 1983 and it is probably the most defining film from the music era of "neue Deutsche Welle" here in Germany. The writer and director is Wolfgang Büld who made several films and documentaries on music and youth culture back then, even if he is almost entirely unknown today. But the stars are of course Nena and Markus, two of the most known musicians from 1980's Germany and Nena is still a big star today, more than three decades later. What can be said about these two. They are both certainly not the greatest actors, but given the fact that Nena oozes charisma and this is not a serious film at all, she makes more than up for it. I actually enjoyed watching her and I feel she was perfect for the part. Unfortunately Markus is the exact opposite. His portrayal is as bland as it gets and it is virtually impossible to care for him as character and to hope that he will get the girl. I would have preferred somebody like Farin Urlaub as the main character for example. We also know now that Markus' music was fake for the most part and when we see him acting, there is nothing memorable at all about it and it is the worst component about the film. Karl Dall is bearable playing pretty much all the supporting characters in this film, but not good either. The script is also not very good, but also not as bad as the rating here on IMDb may let you think it is. I personally enjoyed the free spirit of this road movie, Nena's performance and also some of the music, again only Nena's songs for the most part. But still the bad outweighs the good and this was not a good watch. Thumbs down.