Rating: ***
Review Date: 4/8/00
Cast: Harumi Kai
Wowzers. What a fascinating film this is, and one that could never be made anywhere other than Japan. The film starts off with our young heroine, Masako (cute Harumi Kai), screwing up enough courage to ask out the boy of her dreams. Unfortunately, she's rejected because the boy hates flat-chested women. This forces her to take drastic action by becoming the costumed vigilante, Big Boobs Buster. First, she sneaks into the nurse's office at school and steals a diskette containing a list of all the girls in school who have big breasts. Then she dons a slinky costume, pads her bra with spicy bean buns, and systematically tracks down all of the big breasted girls on the list. After apprehending and overcoming them, she strips them and takes a mold of their bust, threatening to display the bust in public if they don't stop using their huge tits to seduce the boys in school. She finally meets her match in the captain of the track and field team, who threatens to expose her secret identity unless she agrees to compete in the upcoming track meet. Will her rigorous training be enough to beat her well endowed competition and win the heart of the boy she loves?
Admittedly, I was appalled when I first saw the trailer for this film, but I decided to give it a look after reading a favorable synopsis of it. It's very campy, light-hearted, and is a lot of fun. Granted, it's extremely sexist and there is a fair amount of nudity and perverse voyeurism, but it's all in good harmless fun. The film also works as a vicious cultural satire, using gratuitous female exploitation to tell the tale of a woman who faces her physical shortcomings (as perceived by society) and overcomes them through determination and hard work. Harumi Kai plays her role with deadly seriousness and is a howl to watch. The escapades of Big Boobs Buster are surprisingly entertaining, and had me doubled over in fits of laughter. Unfortunately, most of the action takes place in the first half of the film, and the second half is seriously derailed by Masako's extended training sequences and the confusing, anti-climactic track and field competition. My only other complaint is that the story structure breaks down too quickly, resulting in a short, forty-five minute running time (plus fifteen minutes of overly embarrassing outtakes and such). On the other hand, I'm glad the producers realized the limitations of their material and didn't drag it out any longer than necessary. Overall, it's a surprisingly entertaining, well made, and competent production that's a lot more clever than you might think.
Notes on the DVD release: Oh my god! Asia Pulp Cinema actually quoted this review and stuck it on the front of the package! Wow! Does this mean that I'm actually considered a legitimate authority on Asian cinema, or am I just the only freak who would even bother trying to write a serious review for this film? Hmmm... Now, if only I could get paid for my ridiculous opinions, I'd have it made...