Not quite cinematic...

Rating: 4/10 (23 March 2004)

On the positive side, it's not quite cliché. I like that. It does feel very truthful. A scenario that more or less could happen. But, so was my trip to the grocery store, but I didn't chose to make a movie out of that. Actually, maybe there's an Oscar in it if I do.
The main problem I had with it was, it's just not entertaining. Not particularly funny, not deep in terms of character or plot, and just not engaging. A fish out of water movie star from America crosses paths with another fish out water American. They check out Japanese night life, talk about the ups and downs of being married, and check out some more bars. And there's some marginal comic hijinx along the way. It's a romance where the lead characters don't sleep together, and for that it should be applauded. It's an original approach, but the problem is, it's still a dreary, uninspired meandering character piece, WHICH IRONICALLY, only has superficial characterizations. Hell, even some Hollywood action movies layer their characters more deeply. I'm left with a kind of vacuous feeling. So much of the writing felt like filler. And this won best Screenplay?
**1/2 out of ****