“Fish out of water” is a classic movie plot. It’s also a “when in doubt” movie plot. The premise is simple: you take a known entity within a defined milieu and put it where it doesn’t belong. It’s like a science experiment in fictional form. “Fish out of water” here isn’t quite as appropriate as “sushi out of water” for our subject here is both Japanese and DOA. There’s a zero percent chance his plan will fly. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Hideki (Arata Iura) is your standard stereotypical Japanese middle manager. He’s hard-working, deferential, consistently polite, and eager to please. This one has even married the boss. Uh oh. This is bad news because a critical period in his career has arrived and if he fails -which he will- there’s every likelihood he will be fired by his own wife. Live than down, cowboy.
Hideki’s company just made a huge acquisition. So huge, in fact, they didn’t quite know all the pieces they acquired. One piece happens to be a cattle ranch in Montana and the question is: work it or sell it? We’re not sure if this is Hideki talking or the boy inside Hideki grasping for one last stab at control, but Hideki insists upon making a go of this profit-challenged ranch. And it starts with a trip to Montana.
Even if you’re American, a trip to Montana is an adventure. Heck, even if you are Montanan, a trip to somewhere else in Montana -a state bigger than Germany- can be an adventure. For a Japanese businessman, this is not only going out of your comfort zone; it’s a completely different way of life, as Hideki soon learns when he shows up at the ranch wearing a business suit, driving a foreign compact, and suggesting the new slogan “Let’s eat everyone!”
One innovation Hideki wants is the introduction of Wagyu cows to the ranch. Wagyu cows only eat corn. This particular ranch is ill-suited for corn. It’s also ill-suited for city slickers of which Hideki
qualifies and then some. As part of a hazing ritual and -quite frankly- just to occupy the new boss so the team can continue its work unimpeded, Hideki is assigned low-man-on-the-totem-pole Javier (Goya Robles) to explore the newly acquired asset.
We can see Hideki is hideously out of his element very early on. It takes Hideki a little longer. But if he wants to make a go here, this Tokyo city slicker is gonna have to learn cowboy and learn it fast.
Tokyo Cowboy is delightful if simple. I think the story is too clean and stand-pat for my tastes. And I would be willing to bet there are at least two dozen little things about cowboyin’ that Hideki can never know, not having grown up on a cattle or horse ranch. But the fantasy is nice, as is the complete lack of xenophobia in the film. Oh, I’m quite sure Montana has puh-lenty, but it doesn’t show up here, which is refreshing albeit fantastical. If given a chance, in fact, the movie could well be a hit in red America being that it promotes the nobility of cattle folk without asking them to change anything. It’s the Japanese guy that has to learn their ways, not vice-versa, despite the fact that (checks card) he’s their boss Yeah, that goes really well the other way around. Still, Tokyo Cowboy is charming and, hence, it’s a shame that red America will largely ignore likely because of a general distaste for foreign products of the cinematic variety. Irony that. Pure irony.
There once was a tool from Japan
Who decided to become a cattle man
He went to the States
Prepared for debates
And had to learn everything by hand
Not Rated, 118 Minutes
Director: Marc Marriott
Writer: Dave Boyle, Ayako Fujitani
Genre: Fish out of water
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Cowboy wannabes
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: CEOs
