You cannot underestimate the lengths to which someone will go to satisfy their cravings, regardless of the specific desire and how they tend to be acquired. In the case of Getting Any? (Japanese: みんな～やってるか!), Takeshi Kitano asks similar questions and sets out to provide some answers in the process, which he does in the form of the story of Asao, who is well into adulthood, but yet remains quite infantile and naive, particularly in terms of experience with women, having failed to have even a brief romantic encounter so far. However, he does have the usual urges, which he intends to satiate by any means necessary. He attempts everything he can to seduce any woman who crosses his path – purchasing a flashy sports car, undergoing scientific experiments, becoming a samurai and even robbing a bank, anything he thinks will appeal to the fairer sex – and as we’d expect, none of it actually proves to be worth the effort. Kitano is a cultural icon in Japan and has amassed enough acclaim to be recognised by those across the world, but he wasn’t always seen as their elder statesman of the industry, with Getting Any? being a slightly more polarising work at the time of its release, for reasons that become abundantly clear as we watch the film. The ribald tone, the offbeat humour and the absurd narrative are all elements that lead to the film becoming quite an odd experience, and one that certainly is difficult to forget, for better or worse. One of his personal favourite films, and one that has gradually amassed a cult following in the years that have followed, Getting Any? is a very fun film, albeit one that does take some time to fully realize its potential, which we find emerges more consistently in the latter portions once everything has started to fall into place and Kitano can simply navigate the surrounding ideas without much need to justify his decisions.

Getting Any? is the kind of film that tells us exactly what to expect from the very start – in both its native language and the translations, it makes use of some form of innuendo to convey precisely what it intends to be, and we find that Kitano is not simply using this as a cheap tactic to pique the curiosity of viewers, but rather follows through on its ambitious ideas. The narrative thrust (no pun intended) is quite simple: a middle-aged man grows tired of living an involuntarily celibate life and chooses to seek out a partner by any means necessary. Logically, we’d assume the story would then depict his more conventional efforts to start a relationship – but logic is not something that seems to be a priority for Kitano, who instead chooses to take quite a few bold swings and in the process crafts an unexpectedly brilliant satire. There isn’t too much thought needed for the film, since the themes are quite self-explanatory, and revolve around Asao’s efforts to seduce women, but where he is woefully deluded into believing that this is achieved through some very bizarre methods, which are not only ineffectual, but lead him to experience several misadventures, none of which have the desired outcome. Seemingly fashioned after works like the films of Jerry Lewis and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, it introduces us to the central character and then makes use of a vignette structure, showing his exploits as a series of episodic moments that gradually become more absurd, mirroring his own fervent desperation to get laid. A more conventional filmmaker taking this approach may have resorted to slightly simpler tactics, but Kitano has always had a penchant for the offbeat, and the surreal touches that define this film and make it such an unexpected delight are the primary reason that the film works so incredibly well and becomes truly unpredictable in the best way possible, the precise quality that we would hope to encounter with such a premise.

However, there is slightly more to Getting Any? than just a risqué sex comedy (although this is the vast majority of what constitutes the film, so it’s difficult to avoid it overall), and we find that Kitano is once again demonstrating his incredible intelligence and remarkable aptitude in both the story and its execution. This is not a film initially designed for outsiders, but rather tailored to a particular section of the Japanese population, namely those born in the years following the Second World War (as well as those who were present before), focusing on the absurdity of their generation, specifically their stark hedonism and lack of awareness of their history, or at least their blissful ignorance that has been the source of a lot of tension between the generations. Naturally, it helps to have some knowledge of the culture, particularly in terms of the social conventions that have always defined the country and its people. I’d say its not imperative, since there are enough aspects of Getting Any? to keep anyone entertained, but either being a native or at least having done some research – particularly in terms of the era being portrayed throughout the film – does massively assist in making the film far more entertaining, since we can notice references and cues that we would otherwise have missed had we only focused on the more bawdy, offbeat subject matter. However, this does present a slight shortcoming, with the film sometimes struggling to define itself beyond the more obvious elements that we would normally expect to find in such a story.  Not all of the efforts to be more smart and satirical land quite as well as we’d hope, proving that sometimes the stupidest and most inane approaches to storytelling can actually yield good results. However, these moments are mercifully quite insignificant and will usually quickly retreat before being replaced by yet another outrageously absurd scenario.

In terms of the precise execution, Kitano proves that he is a master. This starts with the performances – he takes on a relatively small supporting part as a scientist towards the end of the film, with the protagonist instead being portrayed by Minoru Iizuka, otherwise known as Dankan, whose commitment to this film is absolutely outrageous and worth every moment we spend watching his misguided attempts at seduction. This is a character that benefits from being played by an actor who is capable of removing every discernible trait and presenting himself as some blank-faced, foolish commoner whose efforts to find a partner fail solely because of his stupidity. Iizuka is such a wonderfully deadpan actor, and he brings such a unique energy to the film, which is entirely built on his splendid performance. The film itself does contain many very interesting qualities of its own – the tone is truly bizarre, and while it isn’t entirely different from the vast majority of offbeat Japanese comedies (which tend to lean quite heavily into the more surreal aspects), it is nonetheless quite a peculiar work that is formally and conceptually quite deranged. Despite running at just under two hours, the film moves at a rapid pace, never dwelling on one idea for too long, and refusing to make its next moves known to us at all. At no point in Getting Any? are we able to predict what will occur in the next scene, with Kitano seemingly being driven by the belief in the element of surprise, which he uses as the core foundation for this film, making for quite an engaging, off-the-wall comedy that is outrageously funny and deeply sincere in equal measure.

Without any doubt, Getting Any? is the very definition of an acquired taste, and it’s certainly not going to be a film that appeals to every viewer, especially those of us who exist outside the culture and therefore don’t have the deep knowledge from which the director draws most of the references. Yet, it is still a wickedly entertaining film, even if we only view it as an off-the-wall slapstick comedy in which the increasing absurdity of the story is part of its charm. It is very well-made, being extremely simple but having a lot of charm and candour in the areas that matter the most, which is where we find ourselves most captivated. It should be noted that the film is every bit as scandalous as it seems based on a cursory glance, and Kitano seems to relish skirting around the edges of decency, not being afraid to court controversy for the sake of extracting a laugh. It can often be quite shocking, but there’s a joy in seeing the oscillation between absurdity and nihilism, the two core components that make this film such a wholeheartedly delightful, offbeat affair. It is not his masterpiece in the traditional sense, and he has certainly made better and more important films, but as far as a well-crafted, outrageously funny comedy goes, the film is absolutely stellar, and proves to be a major achievement in terms of showing just how far a director can push a single idea, proving that sometimes provocation can be a powerful and effective artistic tool, granted it is used correctly and with enough attention to detail to make a difference.