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am told by someone "in the know" that French
action auteur Luc Besson and his favorite muse, Jean Reno, are celebrated idols
in Japan. They are, to paraphrase, "big stuff" over there. What does
this have to do with the two men's latest effort, "Wasabi"? The
relation is obvious because the movie is about Reno's Frenchman who travels to
Japan, where much of the movie takes place.
"Wasabi" is an action-comedy picture starring
Jean Reno ("Leon") as Hubert, a bellicose Paris cop who is still
pining over his true love, a Japanese woman who left him under mysterious
circumstances 19 years ago. Now, 19 years later, Hubert gets some bad and good
news: his true love has passed away in Japan, but she's left him his 19-year-old
daughter who he didn't know he had! Flying back to Japan, where he last spent
time as a French intelligence officer (re: spy) during the Cold War era, Hubert
re-teams with his ex-partner Momo (Michel Muller), becomes guardian to his
daughter Yumi (who doesn't know he's her father), and finds himself being chased
by dangerous looking Japanese men in black. It seems Miko, Hubert's long-lost
love, didn't die of natural causes, but was in fact murdered, and now the bad
guys are after Yumi!
Written by Besson ("Kiss
of the Dragon") and starring Reno, "Wasabi" is essentially a
comedy with spurts of cartoonish action. For instance, when Hubert punches
someone, they fly across the room like puppets. At just under 90 minutes,
"Wasabi" is quick, fast-paced, and harmless enough to be enjoyable.
You can't fault a movie for having nothing to say and actually saying nothing,
while at the same time providing some light comedy fodder via Reno as the
straight man to Momo's incompetent spy and Yumi's frenetic and carefree wild
child.
Being that "Wasabi" only has Besson's name
attached as writer and not director, there's very little of the hyper action
that his movies are known for. Films like "La
Femme Nikita" and "Leon" have made fans expect superior,
stylized action that leaves one breathless, or at the very least with jaws
slightly open at the audacity of the man. "Wasabi" has none of those,
which might leave a few Besson fans a little disappointed (and I count myself
one).
"Wasabi" can best be described as a
straightforward comedy. Thankfully the film never wears out its welcome, mostly
because it's so fast-paced and the whole thing is over before you realize just
how empty it really is. This ain't brain surgery, folks, and everyone involve
seems to know that, from star Reno to producer Besson to the director.
Of course being that Reno is the straight man to Momo and
Yumi, and this is a comedy, it is imperative that both Ryoko Hirosue (Yumi) and
Michel Muller (Momo) don't irritate the audience with obnoxious behavior. In
this case, they don't. Muller is slightly endearing (if pathetically so) as the
clumsy spy who has lived in Japan for more than 20 years but still can't speak a
lick of Japanese. Hirosue is pleasantly charming as the chatty Yumi, who prances
around in bright outfits and chats on her cellphone at every opportunity. The
young woman never overacts to the point of annoyance, and that's a good thing,
because there are many opportunities for her character to become grating.
Fortunately, she never does.
The plot of "Wasabi" seems like (and probably
because it is) an afterthought. In fact, we don't even see or hear from the
chief villain until an hour of screen time has passed. Why? Most likely because
Besson doesn't care about the movie's irrelevant conflict because it's so
pleasant to watch Reno try to keep up with the hyper Yumi, who skips and bounces
rather than walks.
"Wasabi" consists of one comedy segment after
another. There isn't even as much culture clash as one would expect or like.
Besides a few punches thrown by Hubert at some bothersome Japanese officials at
the airport, the movie seems to go out of its way to avoid any Fist Out of Water
elements or culture clash moments. Too bad, because I believe there was a lot of
comedy to be mined here. The fact that so little exists is probably a deliberate
decision by producer/writer Besson not to insult his prime audience, the
Japanese.
So sit down for some "Wasabi." You certainly
won't leave feeling the worst for having seen it. Or for the better, for that
matter.
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