Swing Girls (2004)

The first time I watched Swing Girls was on a JAL flight across the Pacific not long after it came out in 2004. I have to admit the only reason I watched it was out of boredom. I never thought I would be laughing with this movie at 10,000m over the Pacific.I must have really enjoyed it as I remembered the movie and when I saw a copy of the DVD the other day, I went and got it. Watching it moments ago, I remembered why this movie stayed with me.This is a really enjoyable movie, the main characters are very likable. It is funny, the encounter with the wild boar was hilarious. I laughed 6years ago and I laughed again today. The music is good and is actually played by the actors. The music concert at the end was very good.The story is formulaic of course - In a nutshell; Girls start a band and meet adversity along the way only to triumph at the end. But its the story telling thats good.6 years later, Im glad I finally got a copy.

This is my first IMDb review but i had to do it this time for this film! this film is great packed with loads of comedy humour its suited for any audience! The actors seem to gel well and the story lines actually seem lifelike rather than fake and rubbish. I loved this movie the first time i watched it and since i lived in the UK i had to look very hard to find it!! I'm still searching for a DVD copy as they have released three copies packed with extras! a good investment trust me! if you want to know more email me or if you want to simply chat about it email me as well. id love to chat to anyone about this film!cheers

The characters of Swing Girls are low motivated female high school students taking summer classes. They decide to start playing musical instruments and aim at taking part in a high school band competition. Their performance at the end of the movie is cheered wildly by the audience of actors and by us, the film viewers.The director of this film is Fumihareu Yaguchi, known most widely for his work on Water Boys, a film about a male high school synchronized swimming team. There are some points in common between these films: the characters are under-motivated teenagers; friendship plays an important role; and the characters learn to achieve a difficult goal.There are two good points and one weak point to Swing Girls. Overall the casting was excellent. The actresses succeed in portraying youth, seriousness, and pleasure and you can feel the strong tie of friendship between them. The music played in this film is traditional and familiar to many, such as Sing Sing Sing, which we often hear on TV in Japan. But one thing that seems to have been omitted are the scenes of the hard practice to the road to progress. The girls improve too suddenly.

Swing Girls is the story of high school students who find something precious. Actress Jyuri Ueno gives a great performance as Tomoko Suzuki, a girl who never succeeds at anything she does because she cannot stick to it. Because of poor grades, she and some friends have to spend summer vacation taking special make-up lessons. One day they are responsible for delivering boxed lunches to the brass band, which is performing at a nearby baseball stadium. But because they are not paying attention and miss their train stop, they have to walk back to the stadium.The boxed lunches are exposed to the summer heat and go bad and all the members of the Brass Band get food poisoning. To make up for their mistake, Tomoko and her classmates begin practicing music. At first the play half-heartedly, but gradually, they gave themselves over to playing jazz, buying their own instruments and forming their own jazz band. Finally, they take part in the regional Brass Band Contest and are given a standing ovation. The film tells us that working hard at something can give us one of the great experiences in our lives.This comedy was written and directed by Shinobu Noguchi, who made his debut twelve years ago with Clinic And Bare Feet. Since 2001 he has been one of Japanese most talked-about directors, the result of his film Water Boys, a film that garnered two Japanese Academy Awards for best leading actor and best music. Swing Girls features a collection of fresh actresses, including Jyuri Ueno and Yuika Motokariya, both of whom began their acting careers in daily television dramas. Ueno reprises the humorous character she played in Teruteru Family, while Yuika Motokariya gives up the outgoing character seen in Fight to portray Swing Girls shy and retiring role.Note that Swing Girls is in many ways similar to Water Boys. Both movies are about high school students finding something at which they can succeed and feature actor Naoto Takenaka in great performances as a bumbling coach who leads his students to learn jazz (Swing Girls) and synchronized swimming (Water Boys). But while these movies are very similar, the recognition awarded them has been quite different. Swing Girls won seven Japanese Academy Awards, including best screenplay, while Water Boys won only two. In terms of originality, Water Boys is preferable to Swing Girls if for no other reason than for being first.If director Noguchi wants to make another comedy movie, he needs to make something more original next time.