Paul Magne Haakonsen
"Lalapipo" (a lot of people) was a rather interesting and unique movie, which is a trademark of the Third Window Films company.The movie is driven by a good story that have many aspects and subplots. We follow the fate of six very different people, but whose destiny is all somehow intertwined in one way or another. And there is a very good red line throughout the movie and all plots come together nicely. "Lalapipo" is a movie full of love, romance, comedy, drama and action. And you'd think all this would make for a weird mix, but no, it actually works out quite well. We see a lot of different sides to humanity and that of being human. These stories are introduced to us one at a time, but the observant viewer will catch on to the connection between the various segments.If you enjoy Asian cinema, then you should really give "Lalapipo" a go, because it is well worth watching, and the story told in the movie is captivating and will stay with you for awhile. I found "Lalapipo" to be a rather refreshing breath of air in Asian cinema, and I enjoyed the movie quite a lot.
DICK STEEL
It sure is a lala pipo (a lot of people) in this film, and it is this kaleidoscope of quirky characters that makes it a winner with its comedy. The opening cheekily deals with those who have, and the have nots, where the ying-yang opposites clash, and in this film presents characters on opposite sides of the spectrum of those who get to exercise their desires, and those who struggle in much desperate, mirth inducing fashion where different points of view get put across.And it is the characters that make this a fun romp. We have Hiroshi (Sarutoki Minagawa) the freelance writer, whose physical size makes him the butt of the jokes in the first act, having no luck and quite down and out in the love department. He pleasures himself so often that he begins to hallucinate that his bro down below morphs into a cynical, sarcastic furry green puppet, who pops up every now and then to pass a remark or two, and complaint about being touched too often. I think this arc got the most laughs, whether politically correct, or not!Then we have the flower of the story, Tomoko (Yuri Nakamura) who goes from office lady to progress into various levels of the adult entertainment industry, starting from the relatively benign karaoke bars, to private bars that require the exercise of hands and mouths, before ultimately making her debut as an adult video star. Perhaps it is this arc that is pretty compelling to watch, as an innocent girl unknowingly becomes smitten with her pimp- boyfriend that she willingly enters the industry, but hey, the money's really obscene to begin with.Tying very closely to her it that of her pimp/scout Kenji (Hiroki Narimiya), who is constantly on the prowl for fresh meat. After all, he gets a first hand cut at all the perks and not to mention the commissions for every assignment that he progresses his recruit into. With his charismatic smile and nonthreatening demeanour, it's really no wonder how many are taken into such modus operandi, through the provision of that emotional attachment, before it becomes all purely business. But of course this is someone with a heart of gold as it turns out, and comedy comes in large doses when he's assigned a matured AV star (Mari Hamada) to manage, who comes with a little twist in the story as well in bringing along her emotional baggage.There are other characters and subplots which pad the film aside from these main characters, such as a k-box employee who's quite the delusional chap and imagines himself to be Captain Bonita (complete with, erm, large phallic protection and a suspiciously familiar looking mothership rivaling that from Austin Powers) whose mission is to save the world from smut that's even infecting him, and a chubby AV actress (Tomoko Murakami) who's actually quite the shrewd lady in know what she wants, and how to get her objectives fulfilled.Ultimately, Lalapipo is just that, about people, whose lives all intertwine in ways you may deem too coincidental and befitting of only a film, but frankly, you'd never know how serendipitous things can actually be. It also provided quite the holistic, though comedic look at the entire adult industry in Japan and its pop and cultural influences on people and their attitudes toward it. It's light-hearted, yet if you sit back and think about it, it's almost a means to an end for most of these characters with a dream to fulfill, and perhaps a reflection of ours as well, be it for love, acceptance, or even a career.
8thSin
"Lalapipo" follows the sex life of a lotta people in Tokyo.Personally, the comedy was a bit too wacky and obscene for my tastes, but for an ero-comedy film, it was surprisingly deep and inspirational. It was easy to connect with all the characters, and it shows that no matter how hard life may be, there are always things to look forward to as long as you're alive.However, I felt that there was a bit too many stories in a single film. I guess they were trying to show that the city is filled with different people, but I thought certain characters had extremely limited interactions with the protagonist. The sub-plots occupied too much of the screen time, and were unrelated to the main story.
