This one starts as a rather labored re-working of "The Wizard of Oz", gets tired of that and switches to a Japanese WELCOME TO THE STICKS.
It opens with the winning Haru telling us she tells has the perfect life, great home in Tokyo, great boy friend Tomoya Nakamura and a great job in his company - and then she finds herself transferred to their theme park in provincial Kumamoto.
The first thing that happens there is that she and fellow new recruit Amane Okayama get involved in a bomb plot that turns out to be a prank. It ends with her using her martial arts training on the Starman lead of the live stage show to the delight of the audience. This goes with her finding herself assigned to menial work though she's got a degree.
Naturally the fellow workers, who she takes for local buffoons, become winning and her work is actually training in the best Shaolin Temple tradition, as she finds her project she thought supervisor Hidetoshi Nishijima (DRIVE MY CAR) had dismissed, has been commended. Together they master smiling, never running and keeping municipal vehicles off the lot along with collecting lost children and setting up light displays. She even comes through on a night time re-opening of the rides for a delayed bus full of cranky girls. "You made people happy. This is your job."
When she finds Nishijima is about to leave, she comes up with a world record hot air baloon release to send him off. However a suspicious, glasses wearing visitor dumps a pipe bomb in the office, which means Nishijima must take up the balloon to dispose of it - great shot of it passing Haru on the tower.
The bright colors, appealing players and the winningly presented Ozland/Greenland Theme Park background are suitably feel good but the film lacks the convincing connection with reality which would make it involve.
It opens with the winning Haru telling us she tells has the perfect life, great home in Tokyo, great boy friend Tomoya Nakamura and a great job in his company - and then she finds herself transferred to their theme park in provincial Kumamoto.
The first thing that happens there is that she and fellow new recruit Amane Okayama get involved in a bomb plot that turns out to be a prank. It ends with her using her martial arts training on the Starman lead of the live stage show to the delight of the audience. This goes with her finding herself assigned to menial work though she's got a degree.
Naturally the fellow workers, who she takes for local buffoons, become winning and her work is actually training in the best Shaolin Temple tradition, as she finds her project she thought supervisor Hidetoshi Nishijima (DRIVE MY CAR) had dismissed, has been commended. Together they master smiling, never running and keeping municipal vehicles off the lot along with collecting lost children and setting up light displays. She even comes through on a night time re-opening of the rides for a delayed bus full of cranky girls. "You made people happy. This is your job."
When she finds Nishijima is about to leave, she comes up with a world record hot air baloon release to send him off. However a suspicious, glasses wearing visitor dumps a pipe bomb in the office, which means Nishijima must take up the balloon to dispose of it - great shot of it passing Haru on the tower.
The bright colors, appealing players and the winningly presented Ozland/Greenland Theme Park background are suitably feel good but the film lacks the convincing connection with reality which would make it involve.
