Takao NakanoMinoru KawasakiHitomi TakashimaYakan Nabe
The Rug Cop
Also known as: Zura Deka
Medium: film
Year: 2006
Director: Minoru Kawasaki
Writer: Minoru Kawasaki, Takao Nakano
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Actor: Moto Fuyuki, Mai Hashimoto, Rakkyo Ide, Ai Iijima, Ryoji Kano, Yusuke Kirishima, Yakan Nabe, Yoshiro Nakamats, Hideo Nakano, Ijiri Okada, Takumi Saitoh, Tamao Sato, Hitomi Takashima, Tora Uganda, Shuji Yamamoto
Format: 79 minutes
Url: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1085525/
Website category: Japanese
Review date: 9 December 2022
rug cop
I laughed a lot. Minoru Kawasaki takes the piss out of hard-bitten cop dramas and it's definitely one of his better films. As always, the film's deadpan and everyone plays the situation straight, despite lots of Kawasaki absurdity. (Well, except for Big Dick's somewhat silly reactions when he's getting turned on.)
These Amazon DVD reviews speak truth:
"This movie is so crazy. The ending fight with a laser is off the charts funny. They act so serious which makes it even funnier. Watched at least 15 times."
"It is silly and fun and really tacky. I love this movie so much."
Its delights include:
(a) the eponymous Rug Cop, called Genda. His toupee is a deadly weapon. No, I'm not joking. (What's interesting about Genda for a Western viewer is how down-to-earth he is. He's polite and good at his job. He doesn't have an attitude. There's nothing odd or off-centre about him. He's a sensible, straightforward bloke and it wouldn't be surprising to see him in a non-parodic cop show.)
(b) Genda's fellow cops, including Big Dick, Shorty, Fatso, Old Geezer, The Hot Guy and the best office assistant in Japan. When Big Dick is aroused, his penis turns into a lightsabre that can cut through metal chains or knock criminals unconscious. Fatso can capture criminals with his sweat.
Sometimes, the gag is inherently silly. The two housewives fighting over The Hot Guy made me laugh, as did the mobile phone tsukkomi moment with Shorty and Fatso. The tone is set early with an improbable baddie in a hostage situation. Sometimes, though, Kawasaki creates a gag by underlining a genre cliche with the lighting or incidental music.
This isn't a deep film and it doesn't demand a long review. The film wouldn't withstand extensive analysis. Most of its jokes are too silly to work out of the film's deadpan context. It is, though, perfect if you're looking for absurdity and a laugh. I love Minoru Kawasaki.