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Released by: Synapse Films
Released on: 11/18/2008
Director: Minoru Kawasaki
Cast: Fuyuki Moto, Mai Hashimoto, Ai Iijima, Yakan Nabe
Year: 2006
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The Movie:
Minoru Kawasaki's films are not for everyone. From the 'kaiju gone wild' soap opera of The Calamari Wrestler to the disaster movie riffing in The World Sinks Except Japan to the biting satire of the Japanese business class seen in Executive Koala, none of his films tread the same ground twice yet we can always count on his movies for absurdist humor and clever parody. His screwball take on Japanese cop movies and television shows, The Rug Cop, delivers more of what you love about the director's films - ridiculous situations played completely straight by a talented cast of actors resulting in some seriously funny (and sometimes rather puzzling) moments.
The film follows a middle aged police officer named Genda (Fuyuki Moto) who is upset over the fact that he's losing his hair. Rather than go bald gracefully he opts to wear a series of ridiculous wigs and toupees to cover up his aging. This doesn't help him much when he's transferred to a new precinct just in time to help stop a group of militant terrorists from doing unspeakable things with a batch of uranium that they've recently high jacked. Holding the nation hostage for the tidy sum of five billion yen, it looks like they've got the upper hand but Genda's assembled a team of super cops to help him out - Detective Fatty can eat his way out of any situation; Detective Big Dick has a giant cock.. .ummm… say what now?; Detective Shorty is a champion weightlifter; Mr. Handsome can woo any woman he comes into contact with. And then there's Genda himself, whose toupee is a lethal weapon in its own right.
The Rug Cop is awesome. It's so completely retarded and unbelievably stupid that you can't help but fall for it. It's humor is absurdist but infectious and the cast all do such a good job playing this insane material completely straight that after a while, the plot actually starts to get pretty exciting, at times even tense.
The film starts off with a bang in which Genda takes down a belligerent ventriloquist's dummy that is in the middle of robbing a bank by whipping his hair piece at him and it just goes from there. Highlights? Detective Big Dick's big dick turns into a lightsaber when he sees a nice rack, Genda sports an afro, and a deranged schoolgirl mans a giant weapon to adverse effect. The movie is nuts - it's completely insane - but the movie is way too much fun to spoil by thinking too hard about it. Enjoy this one on the surface level and for the various clichés that it rips on. Taken seriously, it just won't work, but you probably gathered that already. It can't quite hold the momentum for the duration of the film and there are a couple of spots where the pacing is less rhythmic and more plodding, but thankfully this only applies to a small portion of the film and the bulk of it is great, the ending in particular.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Synapse presents The Rug Cop in a nice 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that's in very nice shape. Color reproduction is rock solid while black levels remain strong and consistent. There aren't any issues with print damage nor are there any problems with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement to note. All in all, this is a clean, colorful transfer that generally looks very good indeed.
The Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track comes with optional English subtitles that are clean, clear and easy to read and free of any obvious typographical errors. The audio quality itself is quite good. There aren't any problems with hiss or distortion nor are there any issues with the levels, they're all properly balanced. Dialogue is always easy to understand and the score sounds quite good.
The main extra feature is a Making Of Featurette (30:41) that allows Kawasaki and his cast to talk about making the picture. There's a bunch of rough take and behind the scenes footage in here as well as some interview bits and some fly on the wall on set clips. It doesn't go too in-depth, but it doesn't really need to either. A collection of Introductions From The Cast And Director (14:35) contain some of the same stories but do a nice job of setting up the picture while the Japanese Press Conference Footage (8:31) allows Kawasaki and company to discuss the picture with members of the press.
Aside from that, look for the film's original theatrical trailer, animated menus and chapter selection for the feature.
The Final Word:
A rapid fire spoof on action and cop films, The Rug Cop is absolutely just as ridiculous as it sounds - thankfully! The movie takes itself just seriously enough to work and it turns out to be a really fun film. Synapse has done their typically solid job on the DVD and Kawasaki fans should definitely be quite pleased with this release.