Weirdest. Movie. Ever.

Y'all like weird shit?

This is Big Man Japan, or Dai-Nipponjin. I have been unable to think of Iron Man, that other superhero movie, which I saw last Sunday, because of Big Man Japan, which I saw last Friday. I do pause periodically to think about how Terrence Howard (whom I like, despite his thing about baby wipes) didn't have nearly enough to do. But other than that, it's Big Man Japan. And I liked Iron Man! But dude.

Weirdest. Movie. Ever. It was awesome.

(If you know of a movie weirder than this, I'm all ears.)

"[H]ands down, the strangest film at Cannes this year." (Variety)

I've seen some weird shit, and this shit is weird. You might call it a mockumentary, except it's so deadpan and contemplatively filmed that it's almost mind-bending even before you get to the part with the 50-foot monsters, who are weird even for 50-foot monsters.

Dai Soto (Hitoshi Matsumoto, mega-popular as a comedian in Japan) looks like any other downtrodden sleazeball on the bus: smoker cap, middle-parted bob, polyester flares, umbrella when it's not raining. But no! He's actually Big Man Japan, a superhero who defends cities against monster attack--on TV, even. He does this by stepping into a pair of giant purple polyester briefs and then electrocuting himself until he's, like, huge! Too bad his ratings are in the toilet, and he's kind of a joke.

The last fifteen minutes are, in the words of my friend Rachel, "totally baffling." I won't even begin to describe them because I want you to see them for yourself. Magnet Releasing, a new division of the interesting Magnolia Pictures, has it. I'm crossing my fingers for VOD so we all get to play.

Comments

[Mrs. Kennedy]

This appears to be the greatest movie ever made.