When I got to the Egyptian, I noticed a long line extending halfway out of the block surrounding the theater. (Only Ichi the Killer and Battle Royale had lines this long.) I was kind of surprised when I saw parents bring junior high school kids there, considering the notoriety of Miike's previous work. But in this case, Happiness of the Katakuris wasn't offensive or repulsive. After talking about Gundam with Nick, the film started, and people applauded when Miike's name appeared on the screen! (They also did so at the end. In fact, many of them (including myself)sat through the end credits to hear the music.) From my experiences, most Japanese directors of anime films shown in U.S. theaters rarely get the ovations Miike got!(Excluding Miyazaki, and that was just for the AFI Laputa.) And as far as I'm concerned, it was well-deserved for this movie.

Normally, if this was a Takashi Miike film, I'd be warning people about how filthy and shocking the content is, but in this case, the Katakuris is more (*gasp*) family-friendly! No, you can't show this film to your little brother or sister who saw Pokemon or Totoro, but at least you'd be able to watch this film with your parents. (It would probably be PG-13 if it had a rating.)

I never saw the Korean film the Katakuris is based on, but judging by the summary at http://us.imdb.com/Title?0188503 ,it seems Miike faithfully adapted it. Basically, the Katakuris revolves around an extended family which is down on their luck. The teenage daughter ended up being a single mother, the teenage son has had run-ins with the law, and the father was fired after giving his best years to a shoe company. So the father(named Masao)decides to buy a plot of land and a run-down house for the family to live in, while simultaneously running it as a country inn.

The problem is that the guests they get keep dying on them, and the family has to bury the bodies. And the guests are an absurd bunch. Without giving away who lives and dies, the family meets eclectic individuals such as a sumo wrestler with a teenage girl, and an impersonator pretending to be a part of the British navy and Royal Family.

In general, the plot either progresses through dance numbers or special claymation scenes. The dance numbers are hilarious, because the cast members tend to overact, and sometimes fly through the air for no reason! There's even one karaoke sequence where the husband and wife encourage the audience to sing along! It almost seems like a parody of j-pop advertisements. (Speaking of which, an incentive for anime fans to see the movie is an stylistic in-joke more common in anime than live-action that's used in one scene.)

As for the claymation scenes, they were obviously used to compensate for the low budget of the film, because they're used during every major moment of suspense or disaster. Nonetheless, they add to the charm of the movie, with their Pythonesque style.

So if you're looking for a classic dramatic Broadway musical in the vein of West Side Story, this isn't it. If you're hoping it'll be as filthy as the South Park movie, you'll be severely disappointed. However, if you just want an entertaining musical which will perk you up, then the Katakuris is for you. Unfortunately, no one as of yet seems to have acquired the movie, but for those interested, the trailer is available on the dvd of Audition.

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