Quick Review #107: Ore Monogatari!! (movie)

Title: Ore Monogatari!! / 俺物語！！

Rating: 7 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are in the mood for a simple and cute first love story involving unbelievably innocent and cute characters and/or are fans of Suzuki Ryohei, Nagano Mei and Sakaguchi Kentaro

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original manga.

Liked:

- While I haven't read the original manga and cannot comment on how well/close the movie mirrored the plot, the story was straightforward so it was definitely stress-free watching and suitable for those who are in the mood for light entertainment. Considering that this was something from 10 years ago, it was also interesting to see the key actors/actresses in their younger days.

- Suzuki Ryohei actually beefing up for real and displaying fully immersive acting as Takeo, the cuteness overload from Nagano Mei (definitely irresistible for the guys) plus a cool-looking Sakaguchi Kentaro (eye candy for the girls) really helped to elevate this movie. Frankly speaking, given the simplicity and predictability of the story, it would have been difficult to sit through this if not for the great performances from the three of them. Although I had been concerned over the huge age gap between Suzuki and Nagano, they actually did look convincing enough as a high school couple.

Disliked: 

- The downside to the straightforward plot was definitely its predictability so it wasn't difficult to see where the story was heading. I thought that the film could be more concise in the last 30 minutes or so and leave some time for the happily-ever-after scenes instead of dropping these breadcrumbs of cuteness only in the ending credits. And the part about misunderstanding each other's feelings right from the start - that could have been averted if some of the characters did not engage in misleading moves but I guess that had to happen so as to propel the plot forward. While the criss-cross feelings situation might seem cute initially and provided much comedic relief, I was getting annoyed by this went on and on until someone finally gave a much-needed nudge to the leads.

Suzuki Ryohei to star in the movie adaptation of "Ore Monogatari!!"

Suzuki Ryohei will be playing the lead character in the movie adaptation of the popular manga "Ore Monogatari" by Kawahara Kazune and Aruko which has sold more than 3.5 million copies to date. The love comedy features a high school student named Goda Takeo who hardly looks his age due to him being 2m tall, weighing 120kg and his fierce face but he is in actual fact a gentle and innocent guy. One day, he happens to meet Yamato Rinko, a female student from another school and falls for her at first sight thus beginning his journey to win her heart. The manga won the "Kono manga ga sugoi!" award in the 2013 female category and won the shoujo manga award from Kodansha and is currently being shown as an anime since April this year.

In order to look like Goda in the movie, Suzuki started to engage in physical training and controlling his diet which led to him increasing his weight by 30kg. Despite having played a variety of roles in the past, Suzuki revealed that he had always wanted to act in a love comedy so as to challenge himself and is looking forward to do well in the movie so as not to disappoint the manga fans. However, for a 32-year-old man like him to play a 15-year-old, Suzuki admitted that there was a huge age gap between him and his co-stars i.e. 17 years older than Nagano Mei who plays the role of Rinko and 8 years older than Sakaguchi Kentaro who plays Goda's best friend Sunakawa Makoto but the trio got along very well since the filming began on 20 May so he thinks that the age gap wouldn't be an issue after all.

Filming is expected to be completed by the end of June and the movie is due to be shown nationwide from 31 October.

Source: Eiga.com