Contains %1 fruit Juices

In Japan it is traditional, as in many civilized countries, to bring beverages with you to a house party. Perhaps house party is too big a term - this would be more of an evening get-together where food and drink is partaken of with friends in a safe, pleasant and non-budget busting manner. Everyone goes home before the last train. In either case, tradition dictates that the unconsumed remains of the evening are left with the host: which explains how I had the opportunity to sample an Asahi beverages brand Cocktail Partner. I later found out that it contains %1 real fruit juices and %4 alcohol - if I had known this, i would not have mixed it half and half with shochu to create what only could be described as a blue citrus-y analogue to Prestone anti freeze.

Which reminded me of the in-flight movie I watched on my way here: Rather than Iron Man 3, I decided that I wanted something Japanese, (it would be subtitled) and cheesy. Air Canada provides free beer and seat back monitor movies to anesthetize its patrons during the 11 hour flight so why not see if i could make out every 20th word of dialogue and see what was popular in live-acion entertainment lately. What i found would later remind me that can of Asahi Cocktail Partner.

You see, this pretty young girl is the heiress to a vast industrial fortune, but she also likes her independence, so she maintains a secret life as a police detective. Taking time off to go on a cruise ship vacation (the liner is owned by her company, crap! it is named after her) she runs into her police boss guarding an ugly mcguffin and has to switch back and forth between evening dresses and office lady (OL) clothes, all while shadowed and assisted by her pretty boy butler/ bodyguard. There are lots of designer accessories, low quality slapstic, two afro-topped buffoon criminals, an unseen international master thief and two murders, as well as token gaijin actors (bulgarian?) who do their english lines with worse accents than the Japanese folks when they speak a few words of english.

The effect was reminsicent of "The Love Boat" meets "McMillan and Wife", only worse. Our heroine makes excited expressions and exclamatory noises a lot. And she gets to wear expensive stuff.

I later found that the movie was the end of a successful TV series "(The) Afterdinner Murder Mysteries", so it had a following. Bad TV and movies can be found worldwide, but I was hit by the naive charm of the whole thing. Sure it was cloying, and agency-deal derived, and full of placed talent, and placed products  but it was on a human scale, it had an endearing simplicity to it. It was like American TV and b movies from the 70's.

So I watched the whole thing.

It was also sexist, patronizing and poorly plotted as a whodunnit - who cares? The lead is no Makoto Kusanagi. Not to plot a line from one point, but live action Jp drama needs more strong female leads. On the other hand, Hollywood doesn't make movies like this any more, and even TV shows are seldom made this relaxed and cheesy.. It's all Sherlock, CSI, new-Dr Who quick-cuts and edgy plots and camera angles. Too many jolts per minute. The mundane, the unoriginal, the contrived, the formulaic all can be soothing and reassuring. All is right in the world, and everything is exactly where it should be.

It went well with 2 cans of free Air Canada Heineken. I swear I will remeber to bring Alka Seltzer tablets next trip, I always end up with heartburn after these flights.

Almost over the jet lag. Bike back in working order. Hooray!

Next time: the importance of OK stores, or something else...