Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Brittany Murphy | ... | Abby | |
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Toshiyuki Nishida | ... | Maezumi |
Soji Arai | ... | Toshi Iwamoto (as Sohee Park) | |
Kimiko Yo | ... | Reiko | |
Daniel Evans | ... | Charlie | |
Renji Ishibashi | ... | Udagawa | |
Gabriel Mann | ... | Ethan | |
Tammy Blanchard | ... | Gretchan | |
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Daigo Tanji | ... | Taxi Driver |
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Thane Camus | ... | Wilson |
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Hako Ueno | ... | Hanako |
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Masayuki Maekawa | ... | Vendor |
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Yûya Ogawa | ... | College Student (as Yuya Ogawa) |
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Tomoyuki Kuramoto | ... | College Student |
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Yuta | ... | Young Man at the Shrine |
Abby, four years out of college, an aimless child of privilege, comes to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, who promptly leaves for Osaka. She wants to stay in Tokyo in hopes he'll come back to her, but she's miserable: she speaks little Japanese and has a dull job as a law-firm gopher. She stumbles into the neighborhood ramen shop operated by the aging master chef Maezumi and his wife Reiko. His soup cheers Abby, so she decides to apprentice herself to him. He's uninterested, she's insistent, so he shouts at her and gives her all the cleaning to do. Weeks go by; she's persistent. Will he ever actually teach her to cook? And if he does, will she bring the requisite spirit to the job? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Watching Brittany Murphy's films posthumously makes you realize that although many of her movies weren't that great, SHE was a REAL shining star. She was the Marilyn Monroe of her era - bright-eyed, innocent, full of life and wonder. Her childlike hunger to learn is most evident in The Ramen Girl and this part was made for her. Too bad the supporting actors weren't as good... too bad the script was mediocre. It was a terrific idea and Brittany's acting makes it worth watching. She will charm you and, like other coming of age movies, you'll be inspired to want to change your life somehow or do your best at what you're doing now. Watch Brittany and take in her many-faceted soul in this and her other films and you'll be enchanted.