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Defending the "Japanese Restaurant Scenes"

posted 2 years ago by ecarle (14979)
10 replies | jump to latest

Someone has to do it.

John Michael Higgins is a pretty funny "comic actor" with (says IMdb) 151 acting credits to his name since 1988. So he's got a track record, and he isn't hurting for work.

But a couple of times in his career, he's BEEN hurt.

Way back in 1996, Higgins played David Letterman in the cable movie "The Late Shift" about the war between Jay Leno and Letterman to get the Tonight Show.

On his OWN show, Letterman rather constantly dissed "The Late Shift" as "wrong" and particuarly didn't like Higgins playing him . Letterman kept going on about the actor being given "orange hair" to play him.

Finally, Letterman invited Higgins on his show so the two could meet in public. But Letterman snubbed Higgins saying "Sorry, we've run out of time. Maybe we can bring this guy out for his next project." Letterman not only dropped Higgins from the show, he mocked his future.

Well, 100 acting jobs later (including a few good parts in the Christopher Guest docu-comedies like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind), John Michael Higgins has done alright.

But in 2021, it kind of happened again, like Letterman. John Michael Higgins was sent to promote Licorice Pizza in a few interviews -- but then he was pulled and disappeared.

It turned out that his two scenes as the American owner of a Japanese food restaurant in the San Fernando Valley were...offensive.

Even the most positive reviews of LP said things like "unfortunately the film has one flaw" and then went on to criticize the Japanese restaurant scenes and to suggest that they should have been cut.

In an interview, PTA defended the scenes , saying that his wife has Japanese blood in her family and that the restauranteur was based on a REAL guy who REALLY did that. Pressed to apologize in the interview, PTA said "For what? For a joke not landing?"

PTA got attacked for that interview -- "He just doesn't get how offensive he is." I don't think PTA much cared.

But it got worse, and it may have mattered. For the duration of its run, Licorice Pizza got separate internet articles attacking two elements of the movie; the age difference of the lovers(which could not be "cut" -- that's the whole movie) and the "racist" Japanese restaurant scenes(those could be cut -- but PTA never did.)

I think all of this really hurt at Oscar time. Licorice Pizza didn't have good chances to win for Best Picture or Best Director...but it DID have a shot at Best Original Screenplay and PTA was the favorite in some polls.

"At the Oscars," firms are hired to attack nominated movies as much as to promote them. Licorice Pizza got a barrage of bad articles about the Japanese restaurant scenes(and some about "grooming") and...no Oscars.

The movie is on streaming now with those scenes intact, so PTA can at least know "he stuck to his guns."

But what of them, really?

As some articles noted, PTA was following in the footsteps of Quentin Tarantino(QT) whose "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" had a scene where Bruce Lee was portrayed as a belligerant egotist who "loses a fall" (but not a fight) to stuntman Brad Pitt.

Bruce Lee's daughter protested that scene, it got the requisite internet attacks and QT as well did not win the Oscars for which he was nominated.

Worse for QT, China said it would not allow the film in country unless he took the Bruce Lee scene out. He refused. This lost both the movie and QT MILLIONS of dollars, but...I guess he was rich enough.

Pressed about the Bruce Lee scene later, QT basically said that veteran stunt men said that Bruce Lee WAS that way on TV soundstages and -- worse -- didn't pull punches with stunt men and hit them using his "star power" to get away with it.

Was that reality or not? QT says "I think so, but so what?" It was his story to tell and he paid a literal price (China distribution) to tell it.

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Licorice Pizza is too small and cheap and low-earning for the Japanese scenes to have caused that kind of trouble. But let's take a look at what's there.

First of all, John Michael Higgins as the restauranteur is playing a very NICE man, who is clearly trying to help out Gary and his mother by giving them PR work and paying them to write copy for him. Moreover, he is not an "easy mark" -- he wants the advertising copy to "read good" and offers criticisms to help improve Gary and his mother's writing.

But its how Higgins offers the criticism that "brings trouble." He has first one Japanese wife, and later another, offer HER opinion in Japanese and then acts like the criticisms were the wife's idea. But Alana later gets him to confess he doesn't know WHAT the wife is saying: "I can't speak Japanese."

What gives? I guess the joke that didn't land is that the restauranteur didn't want it to look like HE is criticizing Gary's work...let the wife say ANYTHING and then offer it as his opinion. (Maybe he and the wife made this deal together, using a translator to tell each other.)

CONT

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

American men have been marrying foreign women who don't speak the language for decades -- war brides (Europe, Japan, Vietnam) are the examples. We can figure that Higgins elected to marry a Japanese woman (TWICE, the next one is a younger "trade in") and NOT CARE about the language difference. Maybe they use an interpreter from time to time, or books with Japanese-English translations. A lot of the time, married couples don't really talk to each other anyway.

More difficult to defend perhaps is Higgins HIMSELF speaking either real Japanese(maybe he learned a LITTLE) or fake Japanese to talk to his wives in front of Gary and Alana. A weak joke but it carries forward the theme that this man just sort of uses Japanese language (his wives' real language, his FAKE language) to fake other people out. And hey...maybe the wives know English and can follow the husband.

And this: Higgins -- as usual being friendly but also being a tough business man -- says that Gary cannot put his waterbed ads on the restaurant's tables: "We're Japanese," he says (uh oh) and the ads just don't fit. (He WILL allow them in his restroom stalls, however -- a nice compromise.)

There's a nice moment when Gary first brings Alana to meet Higgins. She graciously bows and we see the extent to which Alana is a "presentable businesswoman" who respects the Japanese restauranteur and his wife She also introduces herself as Gary's "business partner."

Its all very professional and nice, and Higgins joins such people as the Tail of the Cock manager, the waterbed salesman, and a tailor in taking Gary entirelly seriously. And he's NICE , and supportive, and helpful. A character you can and SHOULD like.

But he got caught in the machinery of a critical community that is now hired to run every single movie through a filter and determine "these scenes are offensive." The internet -- craving controversy -- takes it from there.

CONT

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

I'm guessing that PTA KNEW he'd get some static from the age-difference angle of LP, but was SURPRISED that his little Japanese restaurant running gag met with such vehement opposition(but only in some quarters.) It might have cost him an Oscar. Oh, well.

The real problem here is that, in the wake of both the QT Bruce Lee scene and the attack on the restaurant scenes here -- we can figure that future movies WON'T be daring enough to even "be daring." Ethnic humor in particular, is "out." And real life may be that much more removed from movies "santitized not to give offense."

Side-bar:

I like how when Gary first gets Alana to have dinner with him at the Tail of the Cock, we get this dialogue:

Gary: Do you like Japanese food?
Alana: (Tentative) I don't think I know what that is.
Gary: The (restaurant.) That's where I'm going to take you next time.
Alana: (Amused, a little flattered by Gary's chutzpah, and his care for her) NEXT time.
Gary: The food there is magnificent.

I like that little moment -- it shows how Gary is NOT giving up his pursuit of Alana ("Next time") and how she IS receptive to him(she doesn't say "no"), and how he is supportive of this restaurant that pays him good money for advertising, because the owner is nice and helpful to the Valentine family. Its just a nice little detail in the movie.

And there are those out there who would like it gone.

Why do we allow that?

[–] Harlyville (24) 2 years ago

At no point is Jerry (Higgins) speaking actual Japanese to either wife. He only uses the exaggerated pidgin-English, mimicking the stereotype of how a Japanese might struggle with English. That is what upsets the critics with PTA and this movie.

On Reddit, someone posted a translation of what the wives say. Jerry seems to understand them as his subsequent statements address his wives comments. He is also very good about listening to his wives and supporting their positions, and the wives seem satisfied with his actions in their meetings.

If PTA had just had one Japanese restaurant scene with just one wife and did not talk in that mocking voice, it probably would have been fine. I think PTA wanted to show that Gary really did run the PR company he talked about to Alana, and his mom really did work for him.

[–] SteveG (1370) 2 years ago

I adore those scenes and they are even more understandable for that time period. Good for PTA, he is smart. I am sure he expected something and he did it anyways.

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

I am sure he expected something and he did it anyways.

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I like that idea.

[–] SteveG (1370) 2 years ago

I bet if you went and talked to him he would testify that this was a real dude that he encountered. Its not random, its not meant to be offensive. I am sure this comes directly from his memory.

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

At no point is Jerry (Higgins) speaking actual Japanese to either wife. He only uses the exaggerated pidgin-English, mimicking the stereotype of how a Japanese might struggle with English. That is what upsets the critics with PTA and this movie.

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Aha. I was wondering to what extent these two scenes would be "broken down and analyzed" as to EXACTLY what was offensive. Here is the start of that analysis.

In the first of the two scenes, it seems that Jerry CAN understand his wife and he IS talking back to her in correct Japanese. That he "kinda talks funny" is, I suppose , a bit offense.

In the second of the two scenes, the payoff: "I can't understand Japanese." It becomes a joke -- good bad, I dunno -- AND (for me) it begs further analysis: why does this man DO that? I kept thinking the wives were in on it...allowing him to use THEM to be more critical than he is.

PTA in his defense went out of the way to say that he was portraying Jerry as "an idiot." In other words, PTA is mocking the character. . Didn't wash. The mere EXISTENCE of the character is the insult.

And somebody somewhere did the research and found: BOTH wives divorced Jerry. And he didn't trade in the first one for the (younger, prettier) second one.

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On Reddit, someone posted a translation of what the wives say.

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I'm glad that was done. Note that no subtitles are offered in the film.

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CONT

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

Jerry seems to understand them as his subsequent statements address his wives comments. He is also very good about listening to his wives and supporting their positions, and the wives seem satisfied with his actions in their meetings.

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Well...there you go. The wives seem satisfied. Moreover, Jerry INCLUDES the wives in both meetings, just as Gary brings Alana along to the second one.

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If PTA had just had one Japanese restaurant scene with just one wife and did not talk in that mocking voice, it probably would have been fine.

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I suppose, but then it would have not been a "comedy" scene(or scenes -- the payoff is in the SECOND scene.) I suppose PTA can accept simply that "the joke didn't land." Alas, it may have cost him one Oscar(writing.)

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I think PTA wanted to show that Gary really did run the PR company he talked about to Alana, and his mom really did work for him.

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That's true. The movie is pretty scrupulous about showing us that Gary IS a good guy(especially to his brother), DOES love Alana ("I"ve met the girl I'm going to marry.") and DOES run that PR company.

Its funny: a few critics felt that Gary was a dreamer and ultimately a loser whose schemes would run aground.
But in real life -- and Gary is based on a real person -- he became quite rich and successful as a Hollywood producer often working with Tom Hanks.

[–] Thaisticks (2728) 2 years ago

tl,dr but let me just say this--those scenes were hilarious and the laughs were all on the restaurateur and in no way aimed at Japan or its language. Good on the director for not giving in to the tsk-tskers.

[–] liscarkat (17106) 2 years ago

The Japanese restaurant scenes were hilarious. Higgins doing the stupid fake Japanese accent, and the expressions on his Japanese wives' faces, were funny as hell. Anybody who can't handle it needs to pull the woke stick out of their ass.