Love*Com The Movie : 3 of 5

The title of this movie has nothing to do with a website, since it's short for Lovely Complex, a hit romance manga series. I haven't read the manga, but I always enjoy the Japanese films that VIZ Video subtitles for US release, and I had a great time watching this one, too! The story is about a short guy and a tall girl who both have romance troubles because of their height. They become friends to support each other, but of course, they are totally destined to be boyfriend and girlfriend! The plot compresses lots of events (which must have happened over several manga volumes) into one movie, so things get crazy pretty fast. The ending is completely weird, when a new handsome teacher shows up as kind of rival, ending in an insane basketball challenge match! The style of the movie is a little surreal - everything is coated in super-bright colors, and everyone's acting is purposely over the top, even speaking directly to the viewers at times. This is especially true of the girl Koizumi (who is meltingly cute!), who screams and pouts with great comedic timing (but certainly not realism!). The guy Otani is played by a popular actor (who was also in one of the Gokusen dramas), and the Jpop artist Nami Tamaki even has a role, which was a surprise! Speaking of Jpop, there are lots of great tunes on the soundtrack (much like an American teen flick), including a great Puffy AmiYumi song I knew, and the centerpiece of the film is a goofy Japanese rap video spoof by the fictitious band Umibozu, which was hilarious! The DVD has some long extras, including an entire subplot that must have been cut out of the film. Although I don't have the urge to buy this DVD or read the manga now, I really enjoyed Love*Com and I'd recommend it for a fun night of Japanese comedy.