Rated: 3.5/5

When it comes right down to it, this film is more relevant than ever. How the main protagonist Aoyama wants to remarry, and find the ideal woman to be his wife. And he has the luxury of being able to have an audition for a film role cast primarily so he can find the ideal woman among several who are applying for a role that relates to what he’s looking for. He feels dirty doing this, but it gets him what he wants to combat his loneliness.

He ignores any warning signs and friendly advice as to the dangers of this woman Yamazaki. That there’s something off about her. That she’s too good to be true. That there is something malicious about her. That she is a psycho who tortures men who have wronged her, or who she believes have wronged her.

But therein lies the catch, the theme of this film (one of them anyway). In searching for the optimal desired companion, you either overlook flaws at your own peril, or are too blinded by what you seek to truly see (and appreciate) what is actually there. Because Yamazaki is also searching for someone who will be her knight in shining armor. Someone who can comfort her and bring her happiness, to ease the pain from the scars of her abusive past. But on the opposite spectrum compared to Aoyama, she cannot and will not overlook any perceived flaws, even to the point of imagined ones. And she will respond with a fury that has been set within her since childhood.

Both Yamazaki and Aoyama have their flaws that came about from one or more incidents from the past. While Yamazaki has a rage and maliciousness from being sexually and physically abused in her youth to the point where she harms those who do and don’t deserve it, Aoyama has had at least one fling with one woman in an attempt to fill the void left behind when his wife passed away (and emotionally discarded her after). These flaws are revealed later on after we are given an innocent portrayal of these characters, only to learn neither isn’t as innocent, let alone perfect, as we would perceive from initial impressions.

The relevancy comes from the audition itself. Having the luxury of choosing the ideal partner among several candidates. Like a modern dating service/app. Those who are lonely, and incapable of finding ideal partners on their own in the real world, without the use of some technology, will use a dating service to choose among those auditioning to be the personification of the ideal partner, at least when it comes to first impressions. Not all use dating apps for that reason, some are just like how Yamazaki (wrongly) perceived Aoyama to be: taking advantage of auditions to take advantage of the ideal partners for a brief fling before discarding them at the first sign of imperfections (or just not holding up to their high standards) before moving on to the next audition to do the same thing all over again. Either way, these services/apps/auditions are used by a respectable amount of individuals who lack confidence.

Of course, reality can be a bit more complicated. A film can never hope to effectively tackle all the intricacies involved regarding the male-loneliness epidemic, or the other side of the coin I like to call the female-empowerment epidemic. Many men are lonely because they are ignored by women because they lack the physical traits Chad and Tyrone tend to have (beach bodies, perfect muscular proportions, a strong chin, wealth and sustainability). Women have the luxury of choosing among the best of the best when it comes to men, leaving all the 8s (on a 1-10 scale) and below to their loneliness. And they’ll continue going through them, being treated as a princess, riding them like stallions, living their life on the party-side… until they hit the wall at some point in their 30s, at which point Chad and Tyrone have other babes to treat and bang who are now more attractive than Ms. Has-Been who never bothered to get and keep a husband or stick with a family (likely because Chad/Tyrone are no more prime candidates for being fathers than Ms. Has-Been would be a prime candidate for being a mother), leaving her with all those who score below a 9 on the good-looks (with wealth to spare) scale. But the problem is at that point she is damaged goods, and is losing her good looks with each passing year (if not month, depending on how hard she partied). Or she may be unwilling to change her standards. Or maybe she did decide to be a mother, and is now realizing that a family involves requiring a father as well. And all those <= 8 options out there aren’t getting any younger, not gaining anymore confidence, not seeing the benefit to taking the chance of opening themselves up to a woman who may just end up stabbing them in the back (and hitting the heart). Or they just gave up altogether and have resigned themselves to being lonely for the rest of their lives as the rest of their family withers away.

Because the audition is dehumanizing. The audition is a part of the problem. But the audition is here to stay, because there are a few people who it will work for. Besides, what are you going to do, approach a woman (who might be younger than she looks to the point of being underage, ala jail-bait) who may end up just calling you a creep and a pervert and sue you just for trying? Because you dare to try and do things the old fashioned way before auditions were so common to the point of being the norm. Because the non-cohesive, non-ethnocentric, non-ethno-hetero-monogamous society is the one we now live in. Because laws and enforcers are in-place to ensure there’s a substantial risk towards doing that now. Sometimes it’s less an issue regarding lack of confidence, and more being aware of the hostile environment. All factors for making America, and even Japan (among others), a country where loneliness is an epidemic.

However, this does not mean I believe giving up and resigning oneself to loneliness is the answer. Fuck no. Aside from those who have had their heart ripped open one too many times to every try again, taking a chance is better than dying alone. Taking a chance is better than wondering what could’ve been if you had only tried. Taking a chance and winding up with a foot sawed off and getting needles stuck in your eyes is better than… ah who am I kidding, it probably isn’t. My point is, if opportunity presents itself, you had better try. You may wind up on the floor in pain, or you may wind up in the bed content with your significant other (for the long-haul), either way in the horizontal position. If you’re not in a place where opportunity will present itself, find a new place. If you can’t find a new place because you don’t have the resources or means to do so… well life’s a bitch and then you die. What do you want me to say? I’m not a motivational speaker. This film didn’t have an optimistic ending, and it’s Halloween season; you’re supposed to be paranoid and scared! You usually wind up dead when you get laid in horror films anyway. Chad and Tyrone have that to look forward to.

PS: If a woman asks you if you will love only her and no one else, the answer is always no. Because you have to bring up that you’re also going to love the children she will bear you, and expect her to do the same. Because having children is how you fight against the loneliness epidemic. Raising them well increases the odds of obliterating loneliness.