White On Rice

Hiroshi Watanabe plays Jimmy, a man reaching 40 and bunking with his 10 year old nephew. Jimmy has a job but no career, dreams but no ambition, and his love life, forget about it. His brother-in-law Tak wants him out of the house but his sister Aiko would like to see him settled, find a wife that will take care of him. When all potential prospects have been exhausted and things look bleak Jimmy falls in love with Ramona, Tak’s niece.

White On Rice had me fooled. It began as a funny comedy that starred, well, pretty much a loser (think Better Off Dead) who says all the wrong things and has a hopeless personality that is run on apathy and stupidity. It seemed for a moment that this was going to be an exploration in culture clash and translation misunderstanding as Jimmy is direct from Japan after his failed marriage and there are a few times that the film hits on that but really Jimmy is an unlikable character. Surrounding him you have Bob, his 10 year old nephew who is a genius but a neglected one, left to the supervision of Jimmy who can’t even look after himself. You have Aiko his protective sister who doesn’t seem to have much of a role other then getting Jimmy out of the many jams he finds himself in and Tak who is the punching bag of all Jimmy’s misdeeds. Heroes star James Kyson Lee, he plays Hiro’s pal Ando, is sort of Jimmy’s competition, you’ll just have to see the film, when it comes to Ramona’s affections.

With so many characters and one big plight surrounding Jimmy there just isn’t enough time for all the side stories that lead nowhere, characters that appear out of nowhere for no reason, and the supreme silliness of recycled comedy. Okay, not all of it is, but the conclusion of the film is simply cookie cutter dragging you through a whole lot of, albeit laughable moments, completely forgettable and often frustrating scenes. Would it be worth the price of admission? Some of you might get a laugh or two out of this quirky film but for me it’s a television event worth seeing once.