Review of The Happiness of the Katakuris (2002) by Bryan C — 13 Mar 2008

First things first. Takashi Miike has got a h*** of an imagination. If there is somebody that can create a G-rated porno, Miike is your guy. Well, this isn't a G-rated porno. It is more of an R-rated musical.

That sounds interesting enough right?Like other movies from Takashi Miike, this one is no different in the weird and abstract department. The difference between this and a movie like Izo is that this one is easy to follow.

The pace of this film isn't fast, but it isn't all that slow either. I guess that makes it an average paced movie. The pace of this film should be one of the last things on your mind though. As I mentioned earlier, this film is weird, but quite entertaining.

You can't help but chuckle when the characters break into a song and dance when you least expect it. For example, there is a dead body on the floor and when members of the Katakuris family open the door and discover it, they start singing about it.

There is even a karaoke segment where the characters tell you to sing along and the words appear on the screen. So you have an out of this world, but entertaining story with lots of singing and dancing.

What else could you ask for? How about clay animation? There are multiple segments in this film that are shot in that fashion. Remember the "Three Little Pigs" video by Green Jelly? That is what it is like.

The acting in this film is not bad. I guess what I mean to say is that it matches this style. The singing isn't all that great either, but like the acting, it matches.If you are looking for a little violence, a little sexual content, some romance, comedy, clay animation, singing, and dancing then this film is exactly what you are looking for.