1. People from the US hate sushi (raw fish)
2. "Yes" doesn't mean "yes" in Japanese, but "I understand" and people from the US can't understand this
3. People from the US are unprofessional - they never follow orders from their superiors and are never good team players
4. People from the US are loud, obnoxious, opinionated, and violent
Yes, another film about an Ugly American in Japan. All of the usual suspects of clichés are here. He doesn't like sushi, he doesn't want to take off his shoes, he thinks Japan is full of samurais and geishas, he doesn't follow orders from his superiors.
Are Americans really so different from Japanese people that every American who goes to Japan becomes a bull in a china shop? I DOUBT IT.
In short, the fish-out-of-water plot, which is really the lion's share of this film, is composed of such hackneyed bullet points that it's boring to watch by this time.
Tom Selleck probably wasn't the best choice for this role. Magun PI looks mostly like a formal and respectful sort of guy. He looks, talks, and acts like the type of guy to take off his shoes without being prompted, not complain about it - always has!. The film kind of works with it near the end as he becomes more flexible with regards to Japanese customs. He does choo choo along as best he can, though and the performance isn't exactly bad.
The baseball bit isn't the main focus of the story. He's a professional late in his career who's traded to Japan because no US team wants him. There's some montage of him improving or something. He hits a home run. Whoopie.
The rest of the movie is too busy. The romantic subplot tries to cram too much in. She's a career woman, she doesn't feel appreciated, her parents might not approve... It's really not well-developed either. One moment she's a rando who asks him out, the next they're suddenly in love and serious?
The humour is OK. Some scenes are funny, some are too try-hard and fall flat.
I really enjoy movies about modern realistic Japan, especially Japan in the 1980's, but I must say it's getting tiresome to see the same type of stuff over and over again.
Honourable Mentions: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978). Basically the same premise. It's got a great Japanese version of "Take me Out to the Ball Game." It's also mostly not about baseball.
Yes, another film about an Ugly American in Japan. All of the usual suspects of clichés are here. He doesn't like sushi, he doesn't want to take off his shoes, he thinks Japan is full of samurais and geishas, he doesn't follow orders from his superiors.
Are Americans really so different from Japanese people that every American who goes to Japan becomes a bull in a china shop? I DOUBT IT.
In short, the fish-out-of-water plot, which is really the lion's share of this film, is composed of such hackneyed bullet points that it's boring to watch by this time.
Tom Selleck probably wasn't the best choice for this role. Magun PI looks mostly like a formal and respectful sort of guy. He looks, talks, and acts like the type of guy to take off his shoes without being prompted, not complain about it - always has!. The film kind of works with it near the end as he becomes more flexible with regards to Japanese customs. He does choo choo along as best he can, though and the performance isn't exactly bad.
The baseball bit isn't the main focus of the story. He's a professional late in his career who's traded to Japan because no US team wants him. There's some montage of him improving or something. He hits a home run. Whoopie.
The rest of the movie is too busy. The romantic subplot tries to cram too much in. She's a career woman, she doesn't feel appreciated, her parents might not approve... It's really not well-developed either. One moment she's a rando who asks him out, the next they're suddenly in love and serious?
The humour is OK. Some scenes are funny, some are too try-hard and fall flat.
I really enjoy movies about modern realistic Japan, especially Japan in the 1980's, but I must say it's getting tiresome to see the same type of stuff over and over again.
Honourable Mentions: The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978). Basically the same premise. It's got a great Japanese version of "Take me Out to the Ball Game." It's also mostly not about baseball.