Adrenaline Drive

Don't let the name fool you: "Adrenaline Drive," which opens Friday at the Cineplex Odeon Foundry, contains no adrenaline and not much driving. In fact, the movie is not the slam-bang cross-country thriller (starring, of course, Burt Reynolds) that the title would lead you to expect at all, but a Japanese romantic comedy with some yakuza tossed in basically for spice. Not that the film is bad at all; it charms and amuses, and will probably make a good date movie for those of you with semi-adventuresome dates. Still, caveat emptor.

Masanobu Ando is Satoru Suzuki, a peon at a car-rental agency who is self-effacing to the point that he seems to crave invisibility. His boss plays a prank on him which results in him hitting a mob boss' Jaguar, after which Ando is brought into the yakuza lair and knocked around a bit. Fortunately, a gas explosion rocks the lair while one of the yakuza is on top of him trying to beat him up, which means that Ando survives unscathed. Hikari Ishida as Shizuko Sato, a nurse who is almost as reticent as Satoru, hears the explosion, comes by and discovers the carnage. They both discover a big suitcase full of money on the floor, and decide that it might as well belong to them since everyone else is dead. Heading off into the country, posing as man and wife while they try to sort out what to do next, they remain unaware that some members of the yakuza survived…

If you really can't figure out what happens next, you should probably watch more movies. Execution, as always, is the key, and here this movie shines. Since this is a romantic comedy, the bulk of it is concerned with the awakening of the respective assertive instincts of Ando and Ishida, and the love that thereby blossoms. Humor opportunities, of course, abound whenever a shy person tries to become aggressive, and the film handles these well. Director Shinobu Yaguchi also has a feel for the kind of comic timing that crosses language barriers, especially when it relates to slapstick, or shocked amazement on the part of Ando or Ishida. The movie's laid-back flow, which takes some of the punch out of the jokes, only makes it more endearing, so it's an even trade.

And since "Adrenaline Drive" is basically inoffensive, the much-feared yakuza bumbles about ineffectually and provides comic relief, instead of acting like the ruthless crime organization it is. No one has a deadly weapon at any point in the film (they just bonk each other on the head a lot), and people are left alive even when it would make a lot more sense, from a purely pragmatic perspective, to kill them. The yakuza basically exist in this film as a vehicle by which Ando and Ishida can discover their spines, which they do successfully.

Still, romantic comedies live and die by the charm of their leads, and these leads do a fine job. Ishida is a cutie (it is obvious even before her obligatory makeover that if she just smiled occasionally she would be attractive), which is a plus. Her transition from meek nurse to big-spending semi-hussy, while completely expected, is nonetheless fun to watch. Ando, though, does the heavy lifting in romantic-comedy terms, showcasing an incredibly hilarious ability to look utterly perplexed at his pretend-wife's newfound gift for backtalk and pursuit of purse-snatchers.

So, sure, "Adrenaline Drive" is fluff, but it's well-done fluff. Even those who detest the normal run of putrescences that get called "romantic comedies" will probably enjoy this one, and connoisseurs of romantic comedies will undoubtedly notice that this is better than most. "Adrenaline Drive" is a lithe, engaging little flick, perfect for springtime dating. Even without Burt Reynolds.

Foreign Films Home

Movie Reviews Home

Spam-O-Matic Home