Verdict
Summary
I’m so glad TOKYO POP has been reissued from Kino Lorber because the film really resonated with me in ways I found surprising. It’s a simple little tale, but it’s directed with some style, and filmmaker Fran Rubel Kuzui did a really great job in establishing the punk / pop world the film is set in.
Plot:
A struggling musician goes to Tokyo to try to make it as a rock star, and she finds love and success … but it isn’t enough.
Review:
Floundering as a low rent rocker, Wendy (Carrie Hamilton in a performance that should’ve made her a big star) gets word that Tokyo is the place to go if you want to make it big. On a whim, she leaves her life in New York behind and books it to Tokyo, and once she gets there, she’s just another “gaijin” (foreigner) outsider without a single contact or friend. She floats around trying to get her bearings, and she happens to meet an aspiring rocker named Hiro (Diamond Yukai) who has a band but what they really need is something different than all the rest of the undiscovered bands in Tokyo … like a gaijin lead singer. She and Hiro don’t hit it off right away, but after a second date they sort of fall for each other, and while he asks her to join his band, she rejects him and tries joining another band, which doesn’t go well at all, and so she finally agrees to join Hiro’s band and do cover songs. A miracle happens: A big shot producer takes them on a probationary basis, and their first gig is a complete disaster. They’re supposed to sing a set at a wrestling match on TV, but Hiro has a fit and refuses to go on, but a photographer takes a picture of Wendy basically giving the finger to the producer, and the photo goes viral all over Tokyo, making her a celebrity overnight. Suddenly, the band starts getting noticed and they’re asked to go on talk shows and radio stations, and they’re successful in ways they never could’ve dreamed. But the fact remains: Wendy is a novelty in Tokyo, and novelties wear off quick, and so she has a crisis of conscience – should she stay in Tokyo with Hiro, or should she go back home and try to make it on her own?
I vividly remember the Warner VHS tape for Tokyo Pop all throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s, but for whatever reason I never took the time to watch it. I’m so glad it’s been reissued from Kino Lorber because the film really resonated with me in ways I found surprising. It’s a simple little tale, but it’s directed with some style, and filmmaker Fran Rubel Kuzui did a really great job in establishing the punk / pop world the film is set in. The movie works because it’s got ideal casting, and both Hamilton and Yukai are incredibly appealing in this, and there seems to have been some chemistry there. Hamilton, an actress I wasn’t familiar with at all (she was Carol Burnett’s daughter), really stole my heart with her performance, and I loved seeing her in the end credits singing a song she apparently wrote and performed herself. I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy / rocker chick underdog story, and Tokyo Pop hit all the right notes for me. It also made me really sad knowing that Hamilton passed away at 38 of cancer.
Kino Lorber’s brand new Blu-ray edition of Tokyo Pop has been restored in high definition for the first time, and while there are no bonus features (which feels like a shame), I still feel like this release is a great discovery for people like me who always knew about the film, but never took the time to invest in it.
