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Supermarket Woman
The most unexpected supermarket consultant 
Studio: Itami Productions/Toho Company Ltd. Format: Movie Released: 1996 Written by: Face 
In 1985, Juzo Itami struck international gold, helming his second smash film, Tampopo. It recounted a remarkably satirical spaghetti-western tale of a man and woman on a quest to make the perfect bowl of noodles. While Supermarket Woman is no Tampopo, it still remains an utterly creative testament to the wittiest filmmaker ever to come from Japan. Similar to its predeccesors, this second to last Itami film chronicles a fable of price-slashing and ruthless merchandising, in which fresh produce and 100% Japanese beef could even be more important than corporate profits.
As it opens, Itami veteran Goro (Masahiko Tsugawa), owner of Honest Goro's, embarks on an undercover mission into a newly opened supermarket, advertising unbelievable discounts on nearly every item in stock. While roaming around, he bumps into an old classmate, Hanako (Nobuko Miyamoto, Itami's wife at the time), a supermarket dilettante who gives unexpected insight into the tricks of the trade. She explains how dishonest grocery proprietors use misleading prices and dishonest labelling in order to trick consumers into thinking repackaged goods are fresh. After she examines his own store, he boldly recruits her to his management team, and together they strive to make the most consumer-friendly supermarket in all of Japan! The movie then turns into the unexpectedly interesting realm of behind-the-scenes management, and the efforts of Goro's "pro's" to maintain a balance between profits and professionalism. Like Itami's A Taxing Woman, these single-minded endeavors quickly become compelling; we learn how everything from meat to lettuce is processed, packaged, and put on sale. While the average person may not be even remotely interested in the inner-workings of a supermarket, Itami creates a movie within a world of its own, where the only thing that matters is maintaining ethical standards in an industry dreadfully in need of them. The movie takes on its own kind of ideology, if you will. However, Supermarket Woman is not really about the supermarket. Instead, it is about the modern transitions in an ever-evolving working environment, where stubborn old-timers (referred to as pros) struggle to let go of their traditional pride while corporate profits dominate mom-and-pop honesty. Goro and Hanako battle against these changes and a rival supermarket, Bargains Galore, that will do whatever it takes to keep their prices low, profits high, and competition in the dust. The owners of Bargains Galore make no attempt to mask their underhanded intentions, and even capitalize on the corruption of Goro's pros who are angry with Hanako's attempts to modernize the store. While all of this is going on, Goro is completely enamored with Hanako (both of which are fairly recent widows) even when she dismisses his advances as if he was just her silly classmate.  Juzo Itami is an expert with character interaction, which is more than evident with the relationship that develops between Goro and Hanako. Miyamoto magnificently plays her oddball role as a childishly appealing woman infused with authority. Tsugawa also compellingly carries himself as an insecure business-man afraid to break away from the traditional mold. Itami plays with his characters' susceptibilities for the perfect result, most notably in a charming Love Hotel room scene.
All of this should work quite well, and it does, for the most part, but I found parts of Supermarket Woman to be disjointed and fairly ineffective. For whatever reason, towards the end of the film, Itami takes a swing at physical comedy, choreographing an overlong and exaggerated chase scene through the supermarket. Additionally, there is a ridiculous car chase during the film's climax that is so nonsensical I sat there wondering if this was intended to be a social satire or a cheesy 70's action film. Yet, this movie is entirely worth viewing. It is the late and great Juzo Itami's last true success at filmmaking, having been released just a year prior to his mysterious suicide. While his incoherent attempts at physical comedy are distracting, his satirical commentary is both riveting and wholly entertaining. This is a very intelligent movie. * * * 1/2 (Above Average) Posted: Wednesday, November 1, 2006
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