Mar 12, 2004 10:58 AM
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(Updated Mar 12, 2004 10:58 AM)
Review: I read the reviews of my fellow MS reviewers, and I must say my perspective on this film is somewhat different. I typically do not pay much attention to the Academy Awards, but I am a bit of a Bill Murray fan. He tends to pick scripts that he believes in. I went to see this film with my husband when it first came out.
Cast: Bill Murray plays Bob, who is a 50 something actor getting paid $2 million dollars to appear in whiskey ads in Japan. He has come to Tokyo for the photo shoots and promotions. Scarlett Johannson is Charlotte. She is a recent college grad from Yale who is with her husband (Giovanni Ribisi) who is a photographer doing some work in Tokyo as well.
Plot: Bob arrives in Tokyo to earn his money and escape his life back in the States briefly. His wife sends him carpet samples in the mail to get his opinion for a remodeling project. She also makes a point to let him know the kids are getting used to his not being around. It leads one to believe he makes a lot of trips like these. He seems generally bored with life and feeling as if he is just going through the motions.
Charlotte arrives in Tokyo with her husband and she spends most of her time in the hotel room wearing her underpants. She just graduated from Yale with a degree in Philosophy. She does not have a job and she moved from New York to LA to be with her husband. She seems to lack direction and not know where to start her life now that she is not in school. She came with her husband because she had nothing better to do.
Charlotte and Bob both seem to have trouble falling asleep at night. They meet by chance down at the bar in the hotel. They eventually start talking and spending time together. Charlotte drags him to places with her young friends, and eventually they start talking more to one another. You can sense a chemistry and understanding between them.
Pros: I think the reason I enjoyed this film so much because I have been to Tokyo before in business situation. If I am in a strange place I tend to gravitate to people who speak my language. I am sure a lot of business travelers feel the same way if they are so far from home. The difference is that I was not escaping something. Bob and Charlotte are both there to escape something back home. He is escaping his unhappy marriage and she is escaping the uncertainty of starting life. She asks him if life gets any easier. He tells her that as you get older things stop to bother you. I think this is true in a way just based on how my own parents and older relatives have gotten in their older age. Then she asks him if marriage gets any easier and he admits that is a tough one. These dialogues between the characters are what made me appreciate this film more.
Cons: I think the only thing I did not like was the strip club scene, which I think was completely not necessary. Other than that, I feel the director did an excellent job making this little indie film.
Conclusion: All in all, I liked this film because I can relate to being in a strange place. I also disagree with people who said the romantic angle that was developing towards the end ruined the film. I disagree. I feel the two characters found comfort in each other, and because of that they felt drawn to one another physically and emotionally. I recommend this film, but it is definitely best seen with an open mind. I am glad I saw this film before anyone else I knew so I could see it with a fresh perspective
