Toni Erdmann (2016)

Older man who enjoys pranking people in ways that are tolerated rather than enjoyed (e.g. fake teeth), takes an impromptu vacation to visit his daughter in Bucharest, where she’s working as a consultant. Though she asks him to leave, he sticks around -- basically stalking her in his gag teeth and ridiculous wig. He shows up at her office, a girls' night dinner, a work reception, and her private birthday party. At one point, he lets himself into her flat, hides in her closet, and handcuffs himself to her. In these situations, he becomes “Toni," who is sometimes the German ambassador, sometimes a life coach, and sometimes an efficiency expert, but who's always on the receiving end of behind-the-back raised eyebrows and derision.

The lesson here was basically that if you decide that someone's working too hard, you’re allowed to wreck their life in order to "save" them. But come on. No one gets to decide that for another adult -- even when that adult is your offspring. In the daughter's shoes, I might have filed a restraining order.

D