Search - Osaka Tough Guys on DVD

Quite possibly one of the funniest Miike movies

A. Perry | 10/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Eiji and Makoto are two juvenile delinquents, after "voluntarily" leaving school they find themselves strapped for cash in need of jobs. They believe they find what they're looking for in an ad that pays great with little experience necessary, and most of their exploits therein deals with trying to adjust to this new world with some very strong (and peculiar) personalities.



Miike is known for his yakuza films, and Osaka Tough Guys is no exception, though they are represented in a deprecating, mocking, at times ridiculous manner. This gang is down on their luck, they've been hit hard by the anti-boryokudan laws and have not quite adapted to making money in this new world. They have a lot of great ideas (selling panties, blackmailing old ladies, extortion), with very little pay off. They are living in a world that no longer finds them threatening, where the katagi aren't afraid of standing up for themselves. This contrast has a powerful message, it speaks to the changing attitude toward yakuza members and within the gang itself, as it has to stoop to increasingly degrading and nefarious activities just to make ends meet.



But really, the movie gives off the impression as complete ham. Many of the scenes are random and never explained, the opening scene being one of them, but if you resist the urge to require that everything make sense in a movie, you can sit back and laugh. I was laughing out loud pretty much from the time the movie opened to the time credits rolled. If you enjoyed Miike's Happiness of the Katakuris, you'll probably enjoy this movie as well.



It's crude, but there is none of the cringe-worthy violence and torture scenes that make Audition difficult to watch. Don't watch if you can't tolerate vomit, molestation and manties, otherwise I recommend this movie to any Miike fan."