Check It Out, Yo! (Chekeracho!!) review

In the current culture of foreign movie coverage, where 1-line blurbs can make or break your international sales appeal, Check It Out, Yo! is a good example of a movie that gets unfairly torpedoed by its own premise (not to mention title) right off the bat. That 1 line goes something like this: Three guys from Okinawa attend a concert of local rap group “Workaholic” and get so excited by the reaction of the crowd that they immediately decide to start a band of their own to impress chicks. While this idea sounds like it could quickly spiral into a stupid Hollywood-style teen sex comedy, it’s actually more of a goofy take on innocent young love and the ridiculous lengths teenagers are willing to go when every unrequited crush seems like the end of the world.

The film begins in the midst of a marriage celebration for Mino (Sayaka Yamaguchi) and her massively rotund Hawaiian husband Andy (Konishiki). Mino’s younger sister, and utter tomboy Yui (Mao Inoue) is coercing her 3 guy pals; Toru (Hayato Ichihara), Akira (Tasuku Emoto), and Tetsuo (Yuta Hiraoka) to dress up in silly outfits for the entertainment of the guests. In a very short time the wedding establishes pretty much everything we need to know for the rest of the movie: Toru is so dense he can be late at rock-paper-scissors and still lose, Yui is a pro wrestling fanatic who practices her merciless moves on Toru, Akira and Tetsuo’s fathers hate each other’s guts, Mino’s dad is depressed that she’s marrying a foreigner only 3 years younger than he is, Mino has the mouth of a pissed-off yakuza, and Andy is a gentle giant who can quell an uprising with the soothing sounds of his sanshin.

One day while working at his part-time job at an aquarium Toru notices a beautiful girl swimming in one of the tanks. When he gets the impression she may be in trouble he dives in to save her, only to drown himself. After a few oxygen-deprived hallucinations, including a visit from his dead grandmother (Kirin Kiki), the ever-hyperactive Toru suddenly wakes with an emphatic headbutt. The victim of his unintentional attack is the girl who was swimming in the tank earlier, a 25-year-old Tokyo native named Nagisa (Ayumi Ito). When she comments on his hard head he replies, “Yes. I’m proud of it.” Yep, he’s this much of a doofus for the duration of the film. Even so, he’s smitten.

The next day Yui offers Toru, Akira, and Tetsuo some extra tickets to see the rap group “Workaholic”. They’re hesitant at first but when she mentions how many female fans will be there they change their minds in a hurry. Seeing how girls react to the group, and that Toru’s aquatic crush Nagisa is also a fan, the three boys immediately decide to form their own band. In their exuberance they end up planning a gig with only 2 weeks to learn their instruments and write songs. As one would expect, it ends up being a thoroughly humiliating experience. Workaholic’s lead singer Ryota even tells Toru that he’s shallow inside, a blunt appraisal that hurts him almost as much as making a fool of himself in front of Nagisa.

Toru is totally dejected, but Yui (who harbors a secret crush that’s painfully obvious to everyone but him, even strangers) takes a break from beating the crap out of him to offer some encouraging words and a hug. Obviously the kids aren’t going to give up on their band (it is a movie, after all), so after they ditch their instruments and borrow a sampler from Andy they start over again. This time, however, their motivations are pure and they stay truer to themselves; which, you know—somehow leads to better music. Thus, following a second formulaic-yet-funny training montage the boys perform at their own outdoor gig and try to capture the hearts and minds of the local population.

Comparisons to other films that invoke the “zeroes to heroes” formula like Water Boys and Swing Girls are obvious, but also overly simplistic and unfair. “Check It Out, Yo!” has its own brand of humor that relies heavily on the strengths of its cast. Hayato Ichihara has the spaz thing down pat and Mao Inoe is the best tomboy in the business, hands-down. The supporting cast, made up mostly of the main characters’ eccentric-but-loving family members, consists of established comedic actors from movies and TV that each bring their own flare to the table whenever they’re onscreen. Sure it’s formulaic and often ventures into teen romance territory that may seem trite to some, but it’s not trying to change the world. It’s a genuinely funny movie with a heart—and ultimately that’s the only formula that really matters.

Availability: Japanese distributor Pony Canyon released "Check It Out, Yo!" on English-subtitled DVD on October 4, 2006. For full specs, see Standard Edition and Premium Edition.

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