From my rating, you'll know which side of the divide I am on. This is a tired, unfunny film that is too predictable to be zany and aims too hard at off-the-wall to make you care about the characters. It seems to reference a lot of films; the dark comedy isn't as effective as Shallow Grave, the horror less visceral than Swallowtail Butterfly, the dance sequences don't get your foot tapping like Zatoichi, and the songs are putrid, clumsily interspersed rather than effortlessly woven in as in Dancer in the Dark.
As for the comedy, from the moment the Dad sits on the swing you know it is going to break and he'll come crashing down. In this vein, all the so-called gags are telegraphed way ahead of time. I smiled twice during the film; when they drop the dead sumo guy out the window, and when the mountain first puffs out smoke to signal it is a volcano. This is lazy, sloppy storytelling - a policeman on a wobbly bicycle?? Are we regurgitating the Keystone Cops now? Downright embarrassing is the casting of and performance by Kiyoshiro Imawano as a conman. That whole pidgin Japanese routine went out with late eighties variety TV here in Japan.
Miike has his fans, but after this stale, unpalatable effort I won't be tempted to re-visit any time soon.
As for the comedy, from the moment the Dad sits on the swing you know it is going to break and he'll come crashing down. In this vein, all the so-called gags are telegraphed way ahead of time. I smiled twice during the film; when they drop the dead sumo guy out the window, and when the mountain first puffs out smoke to signal it is a volcano. This is lazy, sloppy storytelling - a policeman on a wobbly bicycle?? Are we regurgitating the Keystone Cops now? Downright embarrassing is the casting of and performance by Kiyoshiro Imawano as a conman. That whole pidgin Japanese routine went out with late eighties variety TV here in Japan.
Miike has his fans, but after this stale, unpalatable effort I won't be tempted to re-visit any time soon.