Hotaru the Movie

Japanese title: 映画 ホタルノヒカリ
Other title: It's only a little light in my life

Release date: June 2012
A movie (after 2 TV seasons)

Main cast:

• Ayase Haruka: Takano Hotaru
• Fujiki Naohito: Takano Seiichi
• Matsuyuki Yasuko: Saeki Rio
• Tegoshi Yuya: Saeki Yu
• Itaya Yuka: Futatsugi Sachiko
• Yasuda Ken: Futatsugi Shoji

Notes:
- Information was taken from Asianwiki.
- The movie was shot on location in Italy and now... I want to go to Rome ASAP.
- I watched it some hours ago so I still have feelings.
- I Fav the first TV season.

 

Review: - (but WTH is closer to my feelings right now.)

Girl: I don't know what to do with Hotaru. She's a very excessive, quirky character. It worked in the first season but it just felt too much in the second season and in the movie. I actually disliked her in the movie. Girl doesn't want to do anything except lazing around, not even going to Rome with her husband. And it isn't counterbalanced by her efficient self at work. Secondly, and it's a huge problem for me, it also plagued the second season of the drama, well... I'll talk about it in the "Relationship" part of the review. In fairness, Girl also does her dumb but earnest actions, only it's too late.

Boy: He's perfect. So perfect that I want to scream: "Leave her. At least, tell her off. She's so annoying."

Relationship: Boy and Girl are together, they are married in the movie, and supposedly so have been for two years. Yet, (spoiler for the great 1st season -underline to see:) she still calls him "Boss" (Buchou). I can deal with that, that's like "Darling" for them.

But Girl freaks out when she finds out that they're going to sleep in the same bed in the same hotel room. And this is their honeymoon. And she's 29. For anyone who has seen season one, it's even more stupid (spoiler for 1st season: (since she lived for some time in a tiny apartment with her then-boyfriend and there was only one bed).

Moreover, their relationship looks unbalanced: Girl hasn't changed at all in all these years and doesn't seem to bring anything to the relation whereas Boy has adopted some of her quirks and always puts up with her. She loves him because he's perfect (how could you not?) and he loves her... I'm not sure why... because she's nice to him after she thought he was dead?

Plot: It's a mess. Like in drama specials, the movie introduces new characters whose stories echoes the main characters'. It usually isn't subtle. But the movie goes further trying to discuss the meaning of life. It's clumsily hammered and I'm not convinced. This happens after shenanigans involving mysterious suitcases, suspicious white powder, Mafia kidnappings, dancing to 'I will survive", a roundabout of hell, ruining a dress, hijacking someone's party... You get the picture.

Funny factor: Hits and misses. Some scènes are genuinely funny: in the airplane, each one involving the other Girl and Girl... Others are totally ridiculous. I can find dumb jokes funny (Exhibit A: I Fav Brown Sugar Macchiato. Exhibit B: I watched all episodes of Anna-san no Omame and Mendol Ikemen Idol) but these ones feel out of place. Over-the-top dancing scene which almost ruined the actor in my mind, I'm talking to you. To end on a good note, I loved the credits' banter-over.

Music: Continuity with the drama.

Bottom line: I'm so disappointed. You know how they say it's a good thing we don't know what happens after they get married in a fairytale. I kind of wish I hadn't seen what happens after the first season. It almost makes me question the coupling of these two characters. I still feel they could be great together... but not like that. I didn't talk much about the plot of the movie because it's thin and just a pretext. Minus.