Adrenaline Drive

You'd never guess it by the first 30-minute segment of the film, but "Adrenaline Drive" is actually a romantic comedy of sorts.

In fact, if you were to judge this Japanese comedy-thriller by the final 30-minute segment, you'd still probably lump it in with all those "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs" wannabes that surfaced after the success of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

But there's something a lot more original than that going on here — something that makes "Adrenaline Drive" a distant cousin to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and the two or three other good movies that followed Tarantino's wake.

Also, the fact that this low-key charmer can so completely change gears about a third of the way in and then do so again and still be so successful should be cause for celebration. That and the fact that it's just off-kilter enough to remain unpredictable.

The film also features two of the wimpiest — yet most endearing — characters in recent cinema. Suzuki (Masanobu Ando) is an indecisive rental-car clerk whose life suddenly seems to take a turn for the worse.

Being hassled mercilessly by his boss while en route to drop off a car, Suzuki accidentally smacks into a car driven by a gangster, Yamada (Maggy), who brings him back to his lair for a little revenge.

That's when fate intervenes in the form of a gas main explosion that injures Suzuki, Yamada and the rest of Yamada's Yakuza thugs. The explosion also brings Suzuki face-to-face with Shizuko (Hikari Ishida), a picked-upon nurse who is the first to arrive on the scene.

Through a series of fortunate circumstances, these two pushovers wind up in possession of the gangster's cash. But when they find that Yamada has survived, they go on the lam, pretending to be newlyweds and living it up in first-class hotels.

However, Yamada's not about to take the loss lying down, and he escapes the hospital seeking vengeance on the two, who are slowly falling in love.

The pacing may seem a bit slow, but that's because writer/director Shinobu Taguchi has wisely opted not to force it. As a result, the film never feels too frantic or hurried, though it does get pretty tense at times.

He's also made some good casting choices. Ando and Ishida are just meek enough to seem human and remain likable, while the popular Japanese comedy troupe Jovi Jova nearly steals the movie, playing Yamada's rather inept hired goons.

"Adrenaline Drive" is not rated but would probably receive an R for occasional use of strong language, violence (gunplay, a beating and some slapstick-style shenanigans) and brief gore. Running time: 110 minutes.

You can reach Jeff Vice by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com