While stationed in Japan with the US Air Force, Brian C Anderson decided to pursue his dream of being a standup comic. But where to begin? An internet search led him to the Tokyo Comedy Store – a forum for standup comedy run by English-speakers who have found their niche in Japan. He starts off shakey, but as he hones his craft, he makes friends with all kinds of interesting and colorful characters – a personal progression that spawned this documentary.
The documentary begins as one might expect – familiar images of Mt Fujiyama, pagodas, and cherry blossoms; all coupled with traditional-sounding music. But it eventually began to intercut other contrasting shots of modern-day Japanese in outrageous costumes. Japan’s traditional image – while still prevalent – has begun to be upstaged by a more unique and modern one, incorporating technology, a radical sense of style, and – the focus of this film – the importation of non-Japanese comedians.
The introduction of the main character, Brian C Anderson, was quite clever. He uses a shot of himself standing in the midst of a crowed Tokyo street; the only Anglo in the midst of a throng of Asians. Once again, the theme of contrast comes out again – and reappears many times throughout the film.
Documentaries can be difficult to structure – without careful planning, one can end up with countless hours of footage without any clear idea of how to arrange them. Though the structure of Tokyo Comedy Store wasn’t completely fluid, it still worked well. Brian Anderson talked briefly about his enlistment in the Air Force, arrival in Japan, and discovery of the Comedy Store. He then shows a home video of his first attempt at standup. Admittedly, it wasn’t that great, but throughout the film he shows his continual progression of talent, and by the end of the film I was cracking up. My husband was too – especially at the military-themed jokes. (My husband’s an international military junkie who I imported from the Canadian military. And, yes, before I get a host of emails, Canada DOES have a military, thank you very much.)
The movie also includes interviews with the various comics at the Store, clips from their sets, and various miscellaneous insert shots. I was very interested to learn a bit about the history of comedy in Japan – obviously it is a different style from that of Western comedy, but the film added a great bit of background for the benefit of the non-Japanese viewer.
The one thing that should have been added, however, was more subtitles. There was one Japanese comic who was very difficult to understand, and his dialogue occasionally had subtitles, but some of us Americans are less able to distinguish foreign accents than others. I don’t doubt that the time spent in Japan gave Brian Anderson a much better comprehension of a Japanese accent, but it would still be beneficial to include subtitles for all of the non-native English speakers’ interviews.
The movie had some really great visuals – especially at the beginning with classic imagery of Japan. The images of Tokyo were also great – there were time-lapse shots, fast-motion, and even handhelds – which were not shaky. Most of the images were properly focused, smooth, and well-lit. But there were a few interviews where the lighting and contrast were a bit too low. Some of the club scenes were a bit shaky – although it usually is very difficult to shoot inside a club and have the resulting footage come out properly.
