I hardly ever watch movies, but when I do, I read up on them a lot beforehand. This one seemed promising in many ways. Oguri Shun as the director (*fangirl*), good cast and interesting plot. Many reviewers seemed to think this was a good movie too, so I figured 'why the hell not'.
I don't regret it.
The movie is funny, well written and brilliantly acted out. It tells the story of 5 friends in high school who separate and re-unite 3 years later, each fulfilling their own role: The shut-in, the yakuza, the unresistable musician, the pervert and the 'normal' guy who is longing for his prostitute 'fiancé' that he got 'engaged' to at age 10.
The actors are amazing. I can't really underline that any more than I already have.
The music is great. Most songs have english lyrics as well, so they are easier to sing along to if you were to download buy the OST one day. :P
Being a complete shut-in who doesn't share the world of dramas with anyone but myself, I watched this by myself, but the atmosphere of the movie gives off a vibe that it would be great entertainment to watch together with friends or family. (Well, maybe not your dad because of the not-so-subtle sexual references in it. :P)
ALL IN ALL
I fell for this movie.
I love it.
And I'm sure you will too.
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The comedy is minimal but the story was fun. It is more dramatic since the yakuza boss is no joke. But I feel like the actors had a lot of fun filming this movie, they have a lot of chemistry, and I love their friendship. The only one that overacted a little bit was the one playing Kyohei. The other 3 guys are my favorite actors anyway, they are always good. I mean, even I who knows that Ayano Go is NO IKEMEN thought he was pretty awesome here. His "killer glance" was believable, haha. It could be his hair? He looked good here. Suzuki Ryohei looked lovely silly and Koide looked cuter than ever. And Muro playing a student **giggles** All of them, actually. It was hilarious.
The role of the main girl was meaningful, thank God. Usually, in shounen movies, like "CROWS ZERO", seems like they add a female role just to have some pretty girl among so much testosterone. Thankfully, Misa-chan was important to the story. Without her, there wouldn't be any story, more or less.
Mini-reunions: Stresseman, as the father of Masami-chan XD, and Makino with 2 of the F4 (I bet MatsuJun would have loved to be in this movie, if there were any chance), Kai and Maho (from "Orange Days").
I am looking for a copy with better quality. The one I watched was lowsy, I barely could recognize Oguri Shun. The sound was a bit off as well, so I don't remember much of the music, except the one they perform in the last minutes, which was good (Koide can sing, dear boy!)
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A Funny, Charming, and Altogether Delightful Little Movie
The MDL synopsis does not in the least reflect what this movie is. It gives a detailed description of what happens in the first 15 minutes of the movie, and then omits the next hour and a half.The actual movie is about 5 men who'd been friends since they were little kids, and parted ways for 3 years after high school, only to reunite after one friend -- who'd joined the yakuza -- went on the run from his boss and needs help. The yakazu boss is played by Yoshida Kotaro (many will recognize him as the older man from Ossan's Love), who puts in a comically flamboyant performance while sporting a floral patterned suite, fedora hat, and cane.
Since none of the childhood friends, now in their early 20's, has any gainful employment or direction they all readily agree when one says, "Let's go back to being the idiots we were during the best times of our lives!" This effectively translates to: "Let's help our pal who's on the run because the yakuza thinks he stole 300 million yen by finding the thief who truly stole it." There are multiple plot points intertwined with this as it comes to light who truly did steal the money, as well as how and why they did it.
None of this, however, really matters. Because the actual point of this movie is to watch the gang of pals displaying their hilarious comradery as they try to outrun the bad guys. In other words, it's a bromance. Only instead of a bromance between 2 men, it's between a group of men. We see them backslapping as they trade the same jokes and insults they'd been trading since they were little kids.
For instance, one of them fell in love with a prostitute when he was 10 and asked her to marry him, causing his buddies to tease him for still wanting to honor his promise to her as an adult. Another has dreams which dictate the future so accurately that the other guys ask, "Wait, did you see such-and-such happen in your dream last night? No? Ok, then we'll be fine." Then, son of a bitch, they truly will be fine. It's a bit of silly, supernatural fun, among the movie's many such sparks of originality. There are also some tender scenes of them uplifting one another when feeling down, as well as some amusing scenes of them as children.
The cast was clearly having loads of fun playing their parts in such an agreeable, charming little romp. I could tell that their laughing in many scenes was not acting, but them genuinely cracking up at what they were doing in that particular scene. The feeling was infectious, meaning the viewer ends up smiling or laughing as well.
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