Koki Mitani (writer and director of The Magic Hour) said that his goal was to make the audience laugh “three times a minute”. Honestly? I was laughing more than that!
It might have something to do with the fact that I’m more susceptible to laughing at a lot of things during the early, early hours of the morning, but this movie was just an absolute LOL-fest. And the main reason why this movie is so ridiculously funny because of the excellent cast and the zippy writing.
I have my favorites (Fukatsu Eri) that I know will do well, but then there are the people who blow my expectations out of the water, like Koichi Sato. He was one of the supporting actors in the drama Sapuri, and I thought he was good, but nothing to write home about. After seeing this movie… WOAH
If there’s one reason you should see the movie (besides the fact The Magic Hour isn’t stupid-funny, but legitimately hilarious and slapstick without being ridiculous), it is Koichi Sato’s performance. He is so painfully oblivious, so OTT and so method that I’m smiling the moment he appears on screen. His meeting with the mob boss was absolutely priceless. Tsumabuki Satoshi as Bingo was just the perfect amount of funny, too.
It’s like something out of a movie. This place is always like that. This view… the building, that hotel… doesn’t it remind you of a film set?
Among the many things I liked about this movie (besides the great music and style) was the set. It looks like it was computer generated, but it’s not. The set designers did a beautiful job with it.
This movie never dulled. I’m not quite sure how I can accurately write how I felt about the ending without spoiling it, but like most of the movie, it was very, very funny. It was one of the better written endings I’ve seen all year. And it made sense! (Take hints, Korea.) Definitely a must watch.