The Ramen Girl (2008)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Robert Allan Ackerman

Writer:

Becca Topol (written by)

Release Date:

23 October 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

In food as in life, sometimes the missing ingredient is love.

Plot:

An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a râmen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.

Plot Keywords:

Master | Japanese | Ramen | Race Relations | Tokyo Japan

Cast

Brittany Murphy	...	Abby
Toshiyuki Nishida	...	Maezumi
Gabriel Mann	...	Ethan
Akiko Monou	...	Mio
Sohee Park	...	Toshi Iwamoto
Kimiko Yo	...	Reiko
Maria Abe	...	Asami
Renji Ishibashi	...	Udagawa
Daisuke Takahashi	...	Tom
Daniel Evans	...	Charlie
Tammy Blanchard	...	Gretchan
Thane Camus	...	Wilson
Hako Ueno	...	Hanako
Masayuki Maekawa	...	Vendor
Yuya Ogawa	...	College Student (as Yuya Ogawa)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

102 min | Germany:122 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company:

Media 8 Entertainment

Quotes:

Abby: Somewhere along the way I just forgot what I wanted to do with my life...

Pleasant comedy about girl finding her spirit...

I think a large part of the negative reaction comes from expectations about what the film is or should be.

First of all, this is not a remake of Tampopo, nor is it about food. It actually borrows more from "Like Water for Chocolate" than Tampopo, but the food subplot is an afterthought and a bit of a distraction.

It isn't really a rom-com though there is a romantic interest in there. Nor is it really a East meets West type of thing either though that certainly is an element.

It is a story about a young girl, who like many young people have wandered aimlessly expecting that life will just happen for them. The Japanese expectation that a big company will take care of them for life is not that much different from the American expectations. Our ramen girl discovers that such a lack of passion and spirit, even when the ingredients are there and all the right steps are followed will lead to a bland soup. A simple metaphor but done fairly well.

Brittany Murphy is surprisingly good as the ramen girl and her interactions with the gruff ramen-nazi (wonderfully played by Toshiyuki Nishida) are hilarious. The development of the relationship between the two of them was very well done.

I quite enjoyed this film and recommend it as a light pleasant diversion that brings a smile to your face - like a good bowl of ramen should...