Ingredients: Aya Kiguchi, Hitomi Hasebe, Takumi Saitô, Taro Shigaki, Asami and Cay Izumi. Directed by Noboru Iguchi. Run time: 102 minutes. Rated: Not rated.At First Bite: This movie sounded outrageous from the program summary. I believe it was this paragraph that clinched it (bad punctuation included):
Acid breast milk, fried shrimp used as weapons, butt-swords, a giant castle robot, and geisha that transform into dune buggies are just one part of the wild mix of crazy action, mild splatter, peek-a-boo sexiness, bizarre movie references, and inappropriate comedy ("handicap gun", anyone?)...The plot, as if the film needed one, revolves around two sisters. Kikuke (Hasebe) is a geisha. Yoshie (Kiguchi) is her lowly assistant. One of Kikuke's clients, a strapping young businessman, Hikaru Kageno (Saitô) has eyes for Yoshie. Kikuke tags along on what appears to be a dinner date, but, instead, it's an invitation to be part of a geisha army.
Hikaru and his father head the Kageno Corporation. It's a steel company by day, but harborer of geisha assassins by night. The Kagenos hope to kill all of the nation's important leaders, drop a nuke in Mt. Fuji and take over the country.
Man, don't you just hate recycled storylines?
Tough to Swallow: Since the movie is so self-aware of its ridiculousness, it's hard to complain about the copious amounts of CGI blood or how bad some of the effects look.
Something to Chew On: Theater audience = 12.
ROBO-GEISHA premiered September 25, 2009 at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.
The UK DVD release date is set for June 7, 2010.
The movie's estimated budget was $250,000.
The film currently has a 6.7 user rating on IMDb.com (62 votes).
Aftertaste: I'm not even sure if ridunkulous is the right word. Maybe retariffic.
There were only eleven other people in the theater for this 12:30pm showtime, but I heard more laughter from this group than from the 40+ who attended the midnight showing of TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL the night before (and I thought T&DVE was awesome).
I mean, Iguchi knows his movie is not to be taken seriously. The opening dialogue hammers that point home. As far as the weapons go, and from where they come, it's safe to say Iguchi has a wild imagination (and, perhaps, a butt fetish). Even the costumes are funny, especially those of the Tenguns. I've only read about the absurdities from one of his previous films, THE MACHINE GIRL, but I'm definitely on the lookout for a DVD copy now.
ROBO-GEISHA might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if it even sounds remotely interesting to you, I suggest you check it out when it becomes available. I would recommend finding the trailer online, but it actually takes away from the shock value and hilarity by showing most, if not all, of the weapons.
If you've seen BIG MAN JAPAN, you could multiply it's oddness by 20 and still not know what to expect from ROBO-GEISHA.
Hopefully, the U.S. will see a DVD release shortly after the U.K.
Wig Napalm!!!
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