This bitter sweet dramedy sits alongside films such as The Full Monty as it follows a group of coalminers' daughters turning into hula girls.
Comment
04/11/08
Rate this Movie 
Hula Girls (2007)
50
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:8
Rotten:8
Average Rating:5.4/10
Theatrical Release:Jul 13, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: It is 1965 and in Japan, the country has started to shift from coal to oil. One by one the old mining towns begin their long slow decline. But for one small town way up north, its leaders and... [More]
Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yuu Aoi, Ittoku Kishibe
Director: Sang-il Lee
Get This Movie
Reviews for Hula Girls
1 - 16 (sorted by date)
There's nothing new in this very formulaic let's-put-on-a-show drama.
11/18/07
An irresistible Japanese import, Hula Girls is a crowd-pleaser so comfortable with its own clichés that it goes down smoother than a mai tai on Maui.
09/21/07
An eminently likeable, well-made film.
09/08/07
While he's coasting through on his story, [Lee] concentrates on giving his movie a great big heart. Either that, or this tired old tale simply sounds better in Japanese.
08/30/07
The girls face prejudice from their families, while their amateur moves frustrate the dance instructor. Will they ever triumph? Just guess.
08/16/07
While the outline of the film's plot is fairly standard and predictable, director Lee Sang-il and his co-screenwriter Daisuke Habara have concocted enough obstacles ... to keep the audience's interest. When the film reaches its climax ... it arrives there
07/14/07
U.S. audiences may find themselves impatient with the leisurely way Lee -- a Japanese director of Korean descent -- lets the tale unfold.
07/13/07
Director Lee Sang-il employs every possible cliché as he shamelessly tries to manipulate viewers' emotions.
07/13/07
Top CriticThe dance floor is soon covered with syrupy melodrama.
07/13/07
Top CriticSlick cinematography makes this bland social comedy always watchable, but the movie has its insipid moments.
07/13/07
Top CriticHula Girls is the latest entry in a durable subgenre about marginalized eccentrics who learn a new skill and become better, stronger people.
07/13/07
Top CriticWhere the filmmakers fall flat, aside from undistinguished direction and truly poor lighting and cinematography, is in making the characters such cardboard ciphers.
07/13/07
It's all warm, well-shot, instantly forgettable, and familiar to a fault.
07/10/07
Top CriticSteadfast tradition and encroaching progress lock horns in the surprisingly cheerful Hula Girls.
06/27/07
Loaded with underdog heroics and bursting with youthful enthusiasm, Hula Girls may be utterly predictable but it sure is a lot of fun.
10/17/06
Top Critic1 - 16 (sorted by date)
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox 
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
The New Cult Canon
AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Unsexiest Men Alive
Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds