Dance with Me

Yaguchi's latest is a musical comedy, not exactly a genre mix that's very popular in Japan (or contemporary cinema in general really). Dance with Me's premise is certainly amusing enough, but Yaguchi doesn't really commit enough to the musical bits, which makes it feel a little half-arsed. And musicals really need to be big and extravagant to work.

Suzuki hates musicals, but when she goes to see a magician she gets hypnotized by accident, forcing her to sing and dance every time she hears music. This really messes up her chances to land a job at a prestigious firm, so Suzuki is forced to go back to the magician to undo the hypnosis. Sadly, he's already packed his bags, seeking out his next gig.

The comedy is expected but daft enough and the first couple of musical bits are fine, the latter ones aren't quite as bold and rely on simplistic dance routines (the hip-hop one), sometimes not even that (the street performances). It's a shame, as Yaguchi nails the tone of the film, he just needed some skilled musical choreographers. Still works as a basic comedy though.