Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

Just in time for, um, fall (oops) comes this summer tale set in Okinawa, whose title translates something like “Idiot of the Southern Islands.” The debut directorial effort of popular comedian Gori is a tale of a pig farmer who falls in love with a foreign-born pole-dancer. As with many films set in Okinawa (though not all; there have been a few good ones), this is a mixture of comedy, romance, nostalgia and mawkishness. Eisho (Gori) is a single man drifting into his 30s, living with his family and hanging out with friends Hitoshi (Daisuke Moromizato) and the middle-aged Masaru (Masao Teruya). The trio goes to a local club to find a girlfriend for Eisho, and there he sees beautiful dancer Orange (Leila). Unfortunately, a physically imposing American GI (Bobby Ologun) also likes Orange, and the conflict leads to a fight for her affections. Worse than this highly unoriginal plot is the fact that all the (mainly black) GIs are violent, arrogant and abusive. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say the portrayal is outright racist. Further, Ologun, who speaks with heavily African-accented English and is clearly not American, is practically unintelligible. A solid candidate for the title of Worst Japanese Film of 2009. (92 min)