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Otenki-Onesan
Weather Woman
Weather Girl / A Weatherwoman
Japan 1995
produced by Tetsu Adachi, Tomoaki Hosoyama (executive) for Office Border Co., Bandai Visual
directed by Tomoaki Hosoyama
starring Kei Mizutani, Takashi Sumida, Yasuyo Shirashima, Saori Taira, Hideyo Amamoto, Satoru Saito, Kinihiro Ida, Ren Osugi, Hiroshi Okochi, Satoru Okubo, Katsue Sato, Yu Tokui, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Fumiko Miura, Ginnosuke Azuma, Daikei Shimizu, Yu Sakiyama, Ryuji Yamamoto, Ziko Uchiyama, Kyoko Hashimoto, Kyoko Nakamura, Yutaka Ikejima, Koji Yazawa, Yoshinobu Ishikura, Takasugi Kodai, Issei Sagawa
screenplay by Tomoaki Hosoyama, based on the manga by Tetsu Adachi
Weather Woman
review by Mike Haberfelner
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When masturbation-obsessed Keiko (Kei Mizutani) gets the chance of
doing JTV's weather report filling in for regular host Michiko (Saori
Taira), she decides to make the best of it - and flashes her panties on
live television. Before she knows it, Keiko has not only become the
regular host of the weather show, but also a phenomenon on Japanese
television, an instant cultural icon, and one of the top stars on JTV,
with the chairman of the channel (Hideyo Amamoto) backing her 100%. Keiko
wants more though and thinks the weather report is her launching pad for
world domination (don't ask!). Keiko's predecessor Michiko meanwhile is
given a show Hello, Mr Pervert, and all her attempts of scheming
against Keiko lead to naught. Enter Kaori (Yasuro Shiyashima), the
Paris-educated daughter of the chairman, who just loves to carry some
French Bread around to signify her French-made superiority, and who wants
the weather report for herself, to turn it into a sophisticated cultural
program. The chairman though is unwilling to hand the weather report over,
so Kaori decides to team up with Michiko, makes her Keiko's slave, and
films her having sex with Keiko, which is shown during the next weather
report - and instantly ends Keiko's career. While Kaori prepares to take
over the weather report and shape it after her own liking, Keiko goes into
hiding with her secret admirer Minoru (Takashi Sumida), whom she forces to
torture her in the most bizarre ways using the Heavenly Whip to prepare
for her showdown with Kaori. During Kaori's debut weather report, Keiko
shows up and challenges her to a duel, a duel that is not only fought with
Heavenly Whip against Kaori's Heavenly Sword and using all sorts of
over-the-top martial arts, but it turns out that both girls actually have
(at least limited) control over the weather - and eventually, Keiko
defeats Kaori and regains her throne as weather queen.
Above everything else, Weather Woman is one thing: mad! It
starts out as a pointless sex comedy, swiftly turns into an over-the-top
media satire, is turned onto its head a few times (also with the help of a
few song-and-dance numbers) and finally culminates in a fantasy martial arts
extravaganza. What's remarkable about all these changes of pace is that
they come across as organic, and while the film intentionally lacks any
and all realism as such, it actually makes sense in its own context. Add
to this a very swift direction, a cast clearly in on the joke yet playing
it straight, and many an intentionally camp element, and you
come up with a mad, over-the-top masterpiece of Japanese comedy. Highly
recommended!
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