PARTY 7 (2000)
Directed by Katsuhito Ishii
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase, Yoshio Harada
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 104mins

Rating:

In a secret room of the Hotel New Mexico (in Japan!) Captain Banana a man dressed in a yellow and black rubber superhero outfit welcomes the son of his former partner, a convicted peeping Tom into his den of voyeurism, a direct view into one of the hotel rooms. As they watch the rooms occupant enters : a greased back, pink suited Elvis wannabe carrying a suitcase filled with money - money that belongs to his Yakuza syndicate. Enter his ex-girlfriend who wants the money, her kung-fu bespectacled camera nerd boyfriend out to protect his prize, and an understandably pissed off Yakuza sent to collect what was stolen. And so the drama unfolds...

Katsuhito Ishii's follow-up to the wildly entertaining Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl is a mixed success. With the return of Tadanobu Asano and Tatsuya Gasyuin (arguably the best thing about SMPHG) Ishii is joined by Masatoshi Nagase (Asano's sparring partner in Electric Dragon 80,000v). With such a talented cast, playing such wild characters (caricatures), in such an intriguing premise combined with Ishii's visual flair, Party 7 has all the elements required for a super-charged slice of kinetic cinema. However, Ishii's film avoids this and every other precept by making what is essentially a two-room hotel farce with dialogue taking precedence over action.

Now, whether or not you enjoy Party 7 comes down to the level of disappointment you feel during the sudden shift in tone and pace once the credits come to a close. This, in my opinion, is one of Ishii's failures. The credit sequence.

That's not to say its poorly constructed however, far from it in fact. Ishii, an experienced manga artist has created an animated montage that is exhilarating, breathtaking, and oozing with style. The comic book origins of the characters are given life in a host of inspired animation taking such influences as Lupin III and 70's funk disco creating what can only be described as pure entertainment.

So what would could be the problem?

The problem is that while it is exciting, fun packed stuff, it also misleads, completely setting the wrong pace for the rest of the film. As such the most exciting sequence in the entire film ends up being - yes you guessed it - that opening credit sequence. And so, with hindsight, it inevitably appears to look out of place.

If however, you can see past the initial disappointment there is much to value in Ishii's film. Most of which come in the form of some split-second comic timing both in performance and in the expert editing of Yumiko Doi, all of which take place within the dialogue, which at times is hilarious. Rhythmic and more inspired by traditional Manzai (a popular comedic style - which essentially is a double act) than Tarantino, as some reviewers would have you believe, it fizzes along at a great pace. These manzai sequences provide the most humour, whether it be the scenes of Okita and Captain Banana, or Miki and the bellhop - the dialogue is specifically written and perfectly performed by all concerned.

But while most of the humour is dialogue driven (the suitcase and wig argument is a stand out) there is also a considerable amount of physical humour with Asano (playing completely against expectation as a Peeping Tom pervert - oh to have seen the faces of his teen fans) sliding across floors for a flash under a skirt, kitted out in electric blue jeans, a bowl cut hairdo and a tank top with Mr. Dog written either side of a Miyazaki inspired puppy dog face - the emphasis is not so much as over the top as more complete and utter exaggeration beyond everything else. Added to this the "Ring" Sadako spoof in the form of Gasyuin's entrance - contorting, cracking bones, while the others simply wait aghast - and you have a fairly vibrant, fresh, entertaining farce.

There are flaws however, the character of Kana is a little under-developed; acting more as eye candy than as a pivotal role, and at times the film grinds to a halt with the plot struggling to maintain interest as the running time goes on. But the biggest problem again refers to the credit sequence, with such wild characters at hand, we want to see them do wild, crazy things - but all we ever really get to see is each of them in a room talking. And as such it feels a waste.

However, despite failing to live up to its expectations, Party 7 is still a perfectly enjoyable film, and while he may not make full use of characters and location, Ishii does display some fine imagery with the cinematography switching in rapid fire succession from POV shots to inanimate objects, conscious to sub-conscious, every conceivable angle is used to retain the comic book style of what is essentially not your average comic book plot.

Okay, so the films pace suffers from the initial spectacle of the credit sequence, but that does not make for a poor film. Katsuhito Ishii is a filmmaker who continues to impress me with his handling of dialogue driven entertainment, comparisons with Tarantino are undoubtedly going to arise, but there's much more to Ishii than his influences, he has created his own style filling the screen with imagery so vibrant that the colours scream off the screen. Sure there are flaws, but the sheer energy of the performances and the immensely enjoyable humour more than make up for the short-comings of its narrative and plot.

Recommended.