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MartinHafer I have previously reviewed a couple films by Minoru Kawasaki and found both of them to be completely bizarre...as well as worthy additions to my "you ain't seen nothing' yet" series of reviews of strange films. Executive Koala is a strange murder mystery starring a guy dressed up in a koala costume and Rug Cop is a hilarious film where a weirdo group of hero cops, and a smart toupee, fight evil! Here in Calamari Wrestler, Kawasaki has crafted yet another ultra-strange film...a film about a professional wrestler somehow reincarnated as a giant squid!!When the film begins, Taguchi has just been crowned the king of Japanese wrestling. However, as he raised his new championship belt to the heavens, it's snatched away....by a six foot tall squid!! And then the squid proceeds to beat the crap out of the champ. No, this is not a cartoon...the filmmaker has a guy in tights wearing a squid costume! Sounds pretty weird...well, it only gets weirder from here!At first, Calamari Wrestler has a hard time getting a re-match with Taguchi. After all, the big shots in charge of wrestling don't want the invertebrate to be a hero and will only arrange a match if Calamari agrees to throw the fight! Undaunted, he goes on a campaign to win the love of the Japanese public and soon the fans are demanding the fight takes place...and Calamari be allowed to try his best to win. However, when the big match is just about to begin, a huge surprise takes place....Taguchi has learned how to transform himself into a giant fighting octopus!!! Who will win this battle of the titans? And, what other incredibly strange surprises are in store for the audience when they see this film? And trust me...it only gets stranger!!This film is very enjoyable because it never takes itself seriously and is great for a laugh. It certainly ain't sophisticated entertainment, but it IS entertaining and fun. Quality-wise, I still prefer Rug Cop, but Calamari Wrestler is still one delightfully strange film and a worthy addition to Kawasaki's list of bizarro films!

William Samuel Ridiculous; that's the only way to describe this movie. The costumes, the fights, the whole premise- utterly ridiculous. And that's exactly what the filmmakers intended. If the name alone didn't tell you that something is up, then you probably don't speak English. Not that any of the people here does either, because The Calamari Wrestler is from, where else, Japan.This is the kind of production that only the Japanese could make. The storyline is actually quite familiar. Mysterious outsider with skills like no-one has seen before enters the ring, set on winning the championship and the girl of his dreams. Pretty standard- except that the wrestler is a giant squid! Yes, in the pre-title scene, following the championship bout of Japan's premier wrestling league, a giant squid appears from nowhere and defeats the new champion.But this isn't just any old piece of Calamari; this is Kan-ichi Iwata, former champion who was forced to retire with a terminal illness. Now he's returned to claim his title. He also hopes to reconnect with his former girlfriend Miako, who's now dating his rival Koji Taguchi. I don't think I need to tell you how this boy-girl-squid love triangle turns out.For the first half of the film, everything builds up towards the big rematch to determine who will hold the title belt. The match, when it comes, features a hilarious twist, and it's not over yet. Iwata's spot at the top is now threatened by an even more formidable opponent; the utterly merciless Squilla Boxer. Can the Calamari wrestler keep his title with the help of a former foe? And what's up with his promoter? These and many other questions which you may not have will be answered in the riotously funny ending, which I admit I had not completely anticipated.Now this may sound like the kind of schlock fest where the writers count on the characters to get laughs because of what they are, rather than what they do. You know, the kind of thing that seems like a high school play, where you'd enjoy it more if you were close friends with the actors. But that's not how this turned out at all. Out of all the approaches the filmmakers could have taken to the humor, they chose to do it completely deadpan. Every scene is played entirely strait, and I can't imagine how the actors kept from cracking up.Another thing that the filmmakers have done an outstanding job of is parodying the 'sport' of pro wrestling. Every aspect is lampooned here, from the outsize egos of the wrestlers, to the execs' obsession with ratings and merchandising revenue, to the wacky, scripted story lines. Considering some of the matches that the WWE has set up in the past few years, maybe guys fighting each other while dressed as marine life is the next big thing.The fans don't escape the treatment either. In numerous interviews they come off as hopelessly devoted to their idols in the ring. Especially hilarious is the newscast from the market Iwata frequents, in which the shop owners do everything they can to cash in on the buzz surrounding him. At the same time, the movie's surprisingly honest about the blood lust that drives many fans. Comparisons with This is Spinal Tap may not be far-fetched. The Calamari Wrestler certainly isn't at the same level as that classic mockumentary, but it's a highly entertaining comedy in its own right.

Simon Booth OK, make a list of all the things you've never seen a movie about.Keep going...Keep going...OK, stop.Now, that's quite an impressive list, but I bet you $5 it doesn't include "A Pro-wrestling Squid"! Right? 'cause if you haven't seen CALAMARI WRESTLER, there's no way you would ever conceive of CALAMARI WRESTLER... unless you're writer/director Kawasaki Minoru, apparently! Taguchi finally achieves his dream when he knocks out his opponent to claim the Japan Pro Wrestling championship... but he barely has time to hold up the belt when it is grasped from his hands by... a giant squid. The squid then knocks him out cold and claims the championship for his own. Who is this wrestling squid? Where did he come from? Should giant squid be allowed to fight in the Japan Pro-Wrestling league? The leaders of the industry think no, but Taguchi feels he must have a real match with the squid or he'll never feel like a true champion, and the squid needs a proper match so that he can truly claim the championship himself. Will the public accept a cephalopod as a wrestler? CALAMARI WRESTLER is basically a "boxing movie", and follows most of the conventions of the genre... with the exception of species. There's also a bit of a love triangle, and some social commentary on the state of Japan in the modern age. It's shot on video and features some of the worst acting ever committed to screen... but it's about a giant wrestling squid! And that's just cool :-) It's very very silly indeed, and really quite amusing - and even quite touching at times. The rubber suits for the squid and some other characters who enter the plot are pretty well done... though they never actually look like anything other than a man in a rubber suit, which is part of their charm.Cheap and cheerful, and something that could only have emerged from Japan... not quite brilliant, but interesting enough to receive a recommendation... especially if you're feeling that your cinematic diet is starting to feel a bit bland :-)

wmjiii728 I never thought that a film set in the professional wrestling arena could be so entertaining on so many comic levels. From slapstick to irony, the artful deadpan acting and the multi-faceted script filled my livingroom with laughter. Every time the reliance on the costumes began to irritate my sensibilities the intentional ambiguities and incongruities of the characterizations fractured my funny-bone.Love is a many-tentacled thing for the lovely girlfriend who can't make up her mind and the comedy comes at the viewer from all directions: Love and loyalty, character and competition,fathers and sons, winners and losers, biology, gastronomy and sport-tainment are all satirized.I think that this film should appeal to fans of wrestling, "The Iron Chef", "Finding Nemo", "Rocky", sci-fi and anyone who appreciates that humor knows no international boundaries. The film is suitable for all audiences. Anyone who gets a fraction of the gags will be entertained. It would be a great Saturday night comedy for the whole family. An English language dub would eliminate the only barrier to the film's mass-appeal.