Interesting but way overrated

Rating: Null/10 (3 March 2004)

Perhaps I should mention that I am Japanese living in the U.S. and therefore the way I perceived this movie is probably somewhat different from average American viewers. I will comment on what I thought about the way Japan was portrayed in this movie later.
But the focus of the movie is on the relationship that is formed between the two American characters. I thought that it was a brilliant idea that they form a unique bond because they feel isolated in a foreign land and see something common between them. The problem is that I didn't feel so much sympathy for them. They are spoiled. They spend too much time in the safety of the luxurious hotel. They seemed to feel entitled. When the lounge singer sings "Scarborough Fair" or when Kelly does some karaoke, they look each other as though they know better than that. Later, they start to venture out more and enjoy their time in Japan, but I thought they could have done better. They have little meaningful interactions with the local Japanese people.
I thought that the movie could have been so much better, if the plot allowed them to grow up. Their shortcomings are not their insecurities they are feeling, but their unconscious pretentiousness. The scene in the Sushi restaurant in which Bob talks to the chef in English, fully knowing that the chef won't understand, showed Bob's arrogance. I didn't find it funny that the chef didn't understand a word of what Bob said. In contrast, I felt something admirable about Kelly, even though she was portrayed badly. She could look annoying or stupid, because she doesn't care what other people think. But she lacks the pretentiousness of Bob and Charlotte and was having a much better time in Japan than Bob and Charlotte. She looked more open-minded.
Here is what I thought about the way Japan was depicted in the movie. Some people seem to think that this movie is disrespectful to Japanese. I think they did a good job overall, especially considering the way Japan is often depicted elsewhere. I don't think they in anyway consciously looked down Japanese. However, they did use some stereotypes and cliches. It doesn't mean that they were all inaccurate, but there was exaggeration. One scene that I didn't like in particular (and don't know if anything like that actually happens) is the one involving the call girl. But that was simply a bad scene regardless of whether she was Japanese or Chinese or French or Russian or whatever. They balanced those by providing beautiful shots of modern buildings and old temples, but one can say they are also cliches.

I think they used the exotic image of Japan effectively as a setting for the relationship between the two American travelers. But I also think they could make a better use of Japan by showing different faces of Japan in later part of the movie. In that respect, I liked the approach of the Icelandic film "Cold Fever", which is about a Japanese man in Iceland, better. Of course the director of that film had the advantage of knowing Iceland, being an Icelander himself.
With all the flaws of the movie, I must say I enjoyed it. But that's because I'd been away from home for such a long time and the shots of Japan made me nostalgic. It is ironic that the same sceneries had an opposite effect on the main characters of the movie.