Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2013

This funny ditty was first screened as the opening film for the Old Town Taito International Comedy Film Festival last year and is based on the successful stage play Kanashimi ni Teyandei by Toshiroichiza Uwanosora. Pikachi (Seiji Nozoe) is an assistant at a famous rakugo (a kind of Japanese comedic storytelling) theater in Tokyo and has toiled away in obscurity at menial tasks for over nine years. When a reporter from a famous newspaper arrives in the dressing room and questions him if he has the desire to actually appear on stage, Pikachi’s life, and the theater, is turned upside down. Heavy on the slapstick but cleverly written and incorporating both elements of the traditional comedic art as well as some contemporary popular culture, the film is entertaining and at times laugh-out-loud funny. If you’ve wanted to catch a Japanese comedy to see if the humor reaches you, this may be your work. (102 min)