FINE, TOTALLY FINE (2008), dir. Yosuke Fujita

It’s not easy being almost 30, when society expects a person to have their career, be settled down, and to have left behind the immature trappings of youth. Two of the characters in “Fine, Totally Fine” feel the pressure to grow up from family and co-workers, while a third is almost totally adrift, primarily because she has no one who expects anything from her.

The main protagonists of this Japanese-language film include Hisanobu (Okada Yoshinori), a hospital administrator and perpetual nice guy due to his social awkwardness. However, despite looking normal enough on the outside, he leads a double life participating in low-budget horror flicks and elaborate pranks with Teruo (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa), his slacker buddy who enjoys scaring people.

Teruo, who has a round, childlike face, dreams of opening a haunted house someday and ignores accusations he is some kind of degenerate. But whether or not he should be telling little girls how real bears are much scarier than their teddies, he is clearly out of touch with reality; at one point, he expresses surprise when told he only works part-time as a park employee.

With the big “three-oh” on the horizon, Hisanobu begins questioning if they shouldn’t outgrow their anti-social behavior, a thought that offends Teruo. What else do they have to distract themselves with? The answer comes in the form of Akari (Kimura Yoshino), an attractive woman who possesses a clumsiness that makes Inspector Clouseau look like Gene Kelly. Hisanobu, perhaps recognizing a fellow square peg stuck in a round world, hires Akari to work at the hospital, then lands her another job at the bookstore owned by Teruo’s father.

Hilarity doesn’t exactly ensue once all three characters fall into each others’ orbits, but Yosuke, who also wrote the screenplay, peppers “Fine, Totally Fine” with lots of surreal comic moments that pop up when audiences least expect it. One of the best involves Teruo’s repeated attempts to tell a scary story nobody else finds scary. After two lackluster trial runs, the third time Hisanobu explodes from out of nowhere wearing bloody make-up and fangs.

There are also amusing running gags about a film-within-a-film; Akari’s obsession with fish paste sausages, which she carries in her pocket; and her proneness to accidents. Indeed, at one point, a character asks her about an injury she suffered, joking about it in ridiculous fashion, never realizing what he described is exactly what happened to her. (Speaking of Akari, her personal awakening from shy introvert was particularly well-portrayed by Kimura Yoshino, and I can't understand why the press notes singled out her co-star Yoshiyoshi for praise).

Despite the humorous bits, those who walk into “Fine, Totally Fine” expecting an “Amelie”-type film in which oddballs get with their soul mates may leave disappointed. A line of dialogue goes, “Life’s more fun when you’re an idiot,” which references and celebrates Teruo’s goofball antics; however, it also implies existence can be inherently disheartening. This proves true by film’s end, but no matter how bittersweet things get, Yosuke emphasizes the value of good friendships, an upbeat attitude, and delicious fish paste sausages.

Overall rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)