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Released by: Impulse Pictures
Released on: July 23, 2013.
Director: Shinichi Shiratori
Cast: Etsuko Hara, Asami Ogawa, Hiroshi Unayama, Megu Kawashima
Year: 1979
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The Movie:
The premise of this completely bizarre sex comedy is simple - a nurse named Ryoko (Etsuko Hara) is fucking her boss, Doctor Edagawa (Hiroshi Unayama). This would be fine, she's a grown up and can do what she wants, except that her boss is married to the daughter of the 'chief of the hospital and is next in line to replace him.' With the nurse's dorm she lives in being a little too crowded (no privacy) for her tastes, she decides to get an apartment of her own - this'll make it easier for she and Edagawa to boff away from prying eyes.
Things are fine at first until she gets a visit from her old roommate, a young and childish nurse named Emi (Megu Kawashima), who leaves with Ryoko's stuff rabbit as a souvenir. Around this time the peeping tom who lives on the other side of Ryoko's window starts stealing glances. One night, when Edagawa is visiting, Emi pops by and insists on talking. Edagawa hides in the closet while Emi tells Ryoko about the lesbian advances being forced on her by her new roommate. When Edagawa is discovered, Emi gets jealous and squeals to his wife. It only gets more complicated from there, as the peeping tom has a romantic encounter with a vacuum cleaner lands that him in the hospital. From there, Edagawa gets so conflicted as to what to do that he goes on a drunken rampage that results not only in his wife meeting Ryoko face to face but in his taking a female patient from behind, whether she likes it or not!
Briskly paced at sixty-six minutes in length, Nurse Diary: Wicked Finger fails to do much in the way of exploiting the nurse fetish you'd think it would cash in on and instead plays out as a hyper-sexualized comedy of errors. It seems that everyone Ryoko comes into contact with wants to get in her pants while all she really seems interested in is a stable relationship with Edagawa. He, on the other hand, has no problem whatsoever fondling foxy ladies who come in for an examination or roughing up his wife sexually in order to convince her to forgive him for screwing around behind her back. While the peeping tom character may be creepy in that, well, he's a peeping tom, the story actually turns him into the only somewhat sympathetic character in the movie and when he and Ryoko inevitably do spend some quality time together alone, the movie delivers a surprisingly tender moment amidst all the other chaos and carnality.
Not all of the jokes work here, but enough of them to. When Edagawa guzzles some sort of medicinal alcohol and goes on his spree, for right or wrong it's funny to see him give his randy regular patient what he thinks she wants. When her husband takes issue and shows up, he proves to be just as nutty (and horny) as everyone else, while Emi's attempts to discover her own sexuality are also amusing despite her completely annoying personality and voice.
Political correctness is not a concern here and some of the odd and seeming obligatory rape humor pops up, which may (understandably) turn some off - but overall this is screwy and strange enough to provide some good laughs. Don't go into this expecting any of the darker content we've seen in a lot of the other Nikkatsu titles released by Impulse so far and the movie is completely devoid of anything even remotely resembling substance, but as far as stupid sex comedies go, this one is fun.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Nurse Diary: Wicked Finger looks good in this 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Colors are handled well and look quite natural as do skin tones, of which there are loads on display. Black levels aren't quite inky deep but they're strong and detail is pretty good across the board. There are no issues with print damage to complain about and overall this is a clean, sharp, good looking picture though it should be noted that a few scenes were shot with some softness in mind and that comes through in the transfer (as it should).
The Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track is crisp and clean though occasionally just a tiny bit shrill. The levels are well balanced and there are no issues with hiss or distortion. The optional English subtitles that are provided are free of any typos and easy to read. This won't floor you but it sounds fine, there are no problems.
Extras on the disc are limited to a menu, chapter selection and a fun trailer for the feature. Inside the case, however, is an insert containing some bizarre original poster art for the feature and liner notes from film scholar/author Jasper Sharp that provide some details on the film and on the cast and crew involved in the production. Sharp also provides a bit of background information on the Nurse series that Nikkatsu was pumping out and how they evolved over the span of the run.
The Final Word:
Much lighter in tone and content than many of the other Nikkatsu titles that have come out through Impulse's line so far, Nurse Diary: Wicked Finger is a completely enjoyable mess of a movie. It doesn't always make a whole lot of sense and it's not particularly erotic but it is occasionally very funny and consistently bizarre in its execution.
