My favorite German Comedy is DIE FEUERZANGENBOWLE (1944): A successful writer, home-schooled in his youth, masquerades as a student at a secondary school to experience all the fun and pranks he missed out on. It's a perfect example for escapism, but the ending reminds you that it's just a fantasy.

These are the different plots I was able to spot. Can you find more? - A king pretends to be a beggar (COMING TO AMERICA) - A beggar pretends to be a king (DAVE) - A criminal pretends to be an honest man, often conning someone (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN) - A law man pretends to be a criminal, often working undercover (RAW DEAL) Very often, roles are switched. Occasionally, it involves a sex change. Sometimes, this story type uses twins (for example BAD COMPANY, LOTTIE AND LISA or THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK).

There's Cyrano de Bergerac and the various films like based on it like Roxanne. (I think the story also influenced Shakespeare in Love.) It's a little different, in that he's hiding behind someone rather than assuming the identity...There, the character assumes his physical appearance will prevent his love from seeing his heart. Cinderella, Ever After and stories of that type like Maid in Manhattan, My Fair Lady, Never Been Kissed, Pretty in Pink... and Roman Holiday (Cinderella in reverse.) The Princess Bride - here he hides his identity as a test She's the Man and Yentl - where they assume the identity of a boy because they are barred from their passion as a girl. The Return of Martin Guerre and Sommersby are great examples of this genre. A History of Violence and The Long Kiss Goodnight are an interesting variation, where the protagonist starts off in the assumed identity, and then reverts to the old one and ultimately reconciles the two. Also Six Degrees of Separation. Many revenge films and nearly all con-artist movies have this as at least a subplot, where they need to be able to insinuate themselves in someone's life without their true intentions becoming known. In TV - Remington Steele, and Orphan Black come to mind.