Director: Toshirô Enomoto
Year: 2001
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Chikan densha: Sawatte bikkuri!
Genre: Exploitation
Plot:
Following a rough day at work, a businessman decides to engage in a thrill by groping a pretty young woman on a busy Tokyo commuter train. Soon enough, he realizes that his wallet is missing which she soon returns to him noting that they can work together to pick the pockets of similar perverts on the train or other people in the community. Forced to keep it a secret from his fiancée, the two begin to follow through on their plans only to find their feelings towards each other interferes with the scam. When they both decide not to act on their feelings, it draws a far different conclusion than they imagined.
Review:
There are plenty of aspects to like with this entry in the series. Given the series' proclivity towards emphasizing the exploitation elements, it's no surprise this one carries on the same way. The initial groping on the train to open the film is quite impressive, focusing on the cramped nature that brings them together in a near chest-to-chest fashion. As well, the scene also manages to include enough close-up shots of fingers caressing the underside of her panties that the sexual thrill is established. It's almost forgotten that all the wallets being switched goes unnoticed and the comedy starts with how she gets away that comes forth. The later scenes showing the two going through their scams on the trains continue that sense of exploitation showing tons of close-ups with fingers going under her skirt and making contact with her panties, rubbing away with an abandon that carries a sleazy atmosphere overall.
As well, the film also works with more traditional eroticism outside the train sequences. An enthusiastic and steamy sequence between him and his fiancée is quite enticing with the playful foreplay giving way to more traditional screwing between them. With them engaging in several other erotic segments throughout the film showing them to be a couple constantly screwing whatever the situation or his situation with the other girl becomes. It all adds a fine erotic tone over the sleazier aspects established earlier in the film against the groping and panty-rubbing that constitutes the sensuality that enables this to stand as a fine entry in the series, especially due to the rather attractive nature of the actress chosen to engage in the sequences.
That said, this one does have some issues. One of the main problems here is an incredibly rushed story that tends to be quite scattershot in its approach. Tending to ignore common sense for a lot of the film, the story seems to expect us to accept there’s a working agreement between the two without ever seeing it become official or knowing the details. It comes, coming across as if a crucial scene was missing to signal their arrangement. The inclusion of a subplot introducing him to her ailing grandmother didn’t really need to be included, featuring several scenes that either go on way too long or set up an uninteresting sidestory involving them pretending to be a couple. This leads to a rather underwhelming romantic comedy-centered conclusion that just comes out of nowhere and has no setup beforehand, leading to the film’s only issues.
Overview: **/5
Filled with enough of the series’ trademark sleaze and exploitation while adding a romantic/comedy storyline into the proceedings for better or worse, the film is entertaining enough to serve as a better-end entry in the franchise. Those who have an interest in the style or the previous entries in the series will have much to like here while viewers who don’t find themselves interested in the approach should heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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