Kurupt FM have finally made it to the big time, or so they think. In their first big-screen outing, the People Just Do Nothing crew have made a giant leap for pirate radio kind. With enough heart and hilarity, albeit perhaps a little obvious in approach, ‘Big in Japan’ pits itself as one of the upper echelon British television-to-film adaptations.
★★★★✰
After news reaches them that one of their songs has become successful in Japan, Kurupt FM reform after a three-year hiatus and fly out to Tokyo in pursuit of a record deal. MC Grindah (Allan Mustafa) and Co take their charmingly dumbfounded optimism out of Brentford and all the way to Japan, where the same ilk of comedy found in the show follows onto the cinema screen.
I have to admit, I had my reservations going into this. As a fan of the show, plus someone who has seen many comedy show adaptations go awry in the past, I wasn’t overly confident that this would translate onto the big screen. However, I should have had more faith in the immensely talented crew. Not only is their knack for comedy writing stellar, but the embodiment of their characters is staggering. The Kurupt FM crew have performed live shows, as well as conducted interviews and live sets in the past, and their seamless ability to stay in character has always shone through. This certainly is the case here, also. Each character feels as hilariously archetypal as they do in the show, with each one complementing and bouncing off the other.
From Chabuddy G’s (Asim Chaudhry) constant failings and delusions at being a big shot manager, all the way to the loveable fool DJ Steves (Steve Stamp) and his tireless quest to find any form of high he can in a city void of what he needs, there’s hardly a single member of this crew that doesn’t come away with a crowning moment. However, it is certainly these two that walk away as the stars of the show. Chabuddy’s managerial removal at the hands of the Japanese studio heads leads to several drunken outings of his which end in hilarious results. Elsewhere, Steves’ blissful ignorance to a blossoming romance in front of him causes an outpouring of delightfully awkward charm. Their performances radiate the most heart and charisma, with Mustafa and Hugo Chegwin also giving more than entertaining performances as Grindah and Beats too. The fifth member of Kurupt FM, Decoy (Daniel Sylvester Woolford), is, however, constantly left on the sidelines throughout. Although, this is also a deliberate element of the show, so it can be forgiven here. Even so, I can imagine that those unfamiliar with the original show will be left scratching their heads as to what exactly he offers the group.
What elevates these performances and characters is the sheer authenticity of the mockumentary presentation. The original show has a faux element of truth to its grasp on documentary presentation. It honestly rivals that of The Office (UK), which extends to the film also. There’s an honest quality to much of this, heightening and strengthening the character relationships, as well as elevating the already hysterical comedy set-pieces. There’s an endless amount of quotable lines found within both the situational elements and talking heads pieces, and the fish-out-of-water story lends itself to a plethora of funny moments also. It’s all in all incredibly funny, and there isn’t much more that you’d need a comedy show film adaptation to be. So, in that sense at least, Big in Japan hits the nail on the head.
However, I would be lying if I were to say that this was some sort of groundbreaking comedy masterpiece. As I’ve said before, it is very, very funny. Yet, it’s hard to attribute more of a description than just that. Most of the jokes land, but there’s nothing particularly revealing, innovative or challenging about them or this story. But, realistically, this doesn’t need to be any of those things. The narrative does retread a lot of old ground, boasting a remarkably similar plot to Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)— probably not the best film to be compared to. In that regard, the film can become stale at points, but these moments are ultimately overshadowed by the strength of the cast. Some of the depictions of Japanese culture also feel disappointedly half-baked. This isn’t to paint the film in a negative light by any means, but to give off the impression that Big in Japan is without fault would be false; as TV sitcom film adaptations go, People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan is thankfully much closer quality-wise to that of The Inbetweeners Movie than Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie.
The Verdict
The Kurupt FM boys have hilariously brought their underground sitcom to the cinema screen with successful results. While it may not be anything groundbreaking, and while some elements may feel a tad hackneyed, this group has such a wealth of talent that this couldn’t have ever failed. Fans of the show will walk away loving this and, even better, those who have never seen it can quite easily take quite a lot away from it too. Kurupt FM have finally made it, and deservedly so.
Words by Eddie Nourse
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