Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

Imagine being a desperate house-wife in Japan falling in love with a man who doesn't have a clue that you are in love with him. So how do you transmit your feelings as a women in modern day suppressed Japan? Your solution: writing a radioplay mentioning your feelings and love for him. You are in luck because a radio-station is willing to broadcast your play. Mission accomplished? During the course of the broadcast of your play, one of the radio-actors has the bright idea that he has to improvise on his role. Outcome: the whole story has to be rewritten at will by the actors, director, producers, sponsors of the show...because of the continuity. Are you going to defend your script at all costs? I had a great night at the radiostation. The actors are wonderful and hilarious. The direction is first class. A must see movie for everyone who loves world cinema and is looking for a different kind of movie than normal US fare.

A brilliant comedy from Japan about a radio station going live with an original drama written by Miyako, a housewife, who entered a contest the station gave. She is played superbly by the plainly dressed but pretty Kyoko Suzuki. From the beginning, the madness starts. Her screenplay keeps getting tweaked to the point where it is unrecognizable and the last second script changes keep the tension up. Throughout, the characters are so rich: The temperamental actress Nokko (Keiko Toda), the too appeasing producer, the opinionated engineer, the suffering manager of Nokko, Miyako's husband who thinks the screenplay is about him, and so on. Its screwball comedy at its best, frantic, unrelenting and, at times, hilarious. I would not usually give a 10 to a movie such as this, but this one not only keeps your interest, it gets better and better. Even Ken Wattanabe is here, playing a trucker who, while driving his big rig, tunes into the melodrama and is moved by it all. Writer/Director Koki Mitani does a superb job of keeping the pacing perfect in this film. You have to see it, it is really terrific.

I bought the last available ticket to see Welcome Back, Mr McDonald this evening, having been unsuccessful at obtaining one for Love Letter. Maybe because I chanced upon this film, not having any expectations, I enjoyed it tremendously. Sure the film has some stock comic characters and stock comic situations and the premise (message?) may strike a chord in every struggling artiste's heart, but the grit with which this film is made is heartwarming. A novice playwright's maiden radio play gets torn to shreds by the powers that be as she hangs on, flailingly, to the emotion that she hopes to convey. A film that reminds us that our heart yearns for the underdog while our mind rationalises the behaviour of the seemingly tyrannical, this film reminds us of what movies are meant to be: an adventure where at the end you can't help but exclaim.

If it were possible I'd give this film a higher score.

When I visited Japan in 1997 I saw a TV program that previewed this movie. I had always remembered what the film was about, but I had long forgotten the title of the film and I had never seen it in the United States as the big city I live in isn't big enough for films like this.

Fast forward to late 2009 when my wife and I decided to go to our local library to borrow films to watch. We were looking for Japanese films that we hadn't seen, and this was one of them. I couldn't believe I had finally found the film I was searching for.

This is a great film and is laugh out loud from start to finish. I had to look at some scenes a second and third time to catch the action I had missed from laughing. Of course, for the week I had it I watched it several more times!

The fact that this is a screwball comedy means that action takes place in the background as well as directly in front of the camera. Therefore, it is necessary to look fast and catch all the action, or rewind and watch it again and again and again.

If you like to laugh this film fills the bill very nicely. Not many people can pull off the high quality of this type of film. This film is my new all time favorite movie.

I wish I hadn't had to wait so long to find it. In my opinion, on a scale of 1 to 100 I proudly give this film 1,000,000! (I'm not paid to say this.)

Happy viewing, and don't eat or drink anything while watching this film...you'll choke.

"Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald" is funny, sweet, surprising, and laugh out loud funny. Character development is marvelous. The plot twists and turns in a delightful manner. Fast paced, yet connected. The characters are so well developed, it might well be better the second time around. The strength of the film is related to it's insightful view of how a group of individuals interact when time is precious. The film itself is a precious gem. The presentation is fresh, clear, and funny without attention to the "cute factor". I could certainly be labeled a "screwball comedy", but is much more than that. It is sensitive, it is gentle, it is so real.Grab the popcorn and your favorite squeeze, and have a ball.