Hula Girls

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83%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,479

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Hula Girls Photos

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Movie Info

Desperate to reverse their economic fortunes, the elders of a small Japanese coal-mining town decide to create a Hawaiian center tourist attraction. They hire Madoka (Yasuko Matsuyuki), a professional dancer from Tokyo, to recruit and train hula dancers. The group includes hulking Sayuri (Shizuyo Yamasaki) and the hesitant Kimiko (Yû Aoi). Things seem hopeless at first, but with encouragement from Kimiko's brother, Yojiro (Etsushi Toyokawa), Madoka redoubles her efforts to make things work.

Genre:

comedy
Original Language:

Japanese
Director:

Lee Sang-il
Producer:

Hitomi Ishihara
Writer:

Lee Sang-il, Daisuke Habara
Release Date (Streaming):

Nov 6, 2007
Runtime:

1h 50m
Production Co:

Cinequanon Co., Ltd.
Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Cast & Crew

Yasuko Matsuyuki
Madoka Hirayama

Etsushi Toyokawa
Yojiro Tanikawa

Yû Aoi
Kimiko Tanikawa

Shizuyo Yamasaki
Sayuri Kumano

Eri Tokunaga
Sanae Kimura

Ittoku Kishibe
Norio Yoshimoto

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Critic Reviews for Hula Girls

All Critics (18) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (8)

Quote not available.

November 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Cliff Doerksen
Time Out
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November 17, 2011 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Stephen Garrett
Time Out
An irresistible Japanese import, Hula Girls is a crowd-pleaser so comfortable with its own clich (C)s that it goes down smoother than a mai tai on Maui.

September 21, 2007 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
Director Lee Sang-il employs every possible clich as he shamelessly tries to manipulate viewers' emotions.

July 13, 2007 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

V.A. Musetto
New York Post
The dance floor is soon covered with syrupy melodrama.

July 13, 2007 | Full Review…

J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Slick cinematography makes this bland social comedy always watchable, but the movie has its insipid moments.

July 13, 2007 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Lee has created a film that is endearing, heartfelt and at times very funny.

April 4, 2011 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Francesca Rudkin
New Zealand Herald
This bitter sweet dramedy sits alongside films such as The Full Monty as it follows a group of coalminers' daughters turning into hula girls.

April 11, 2008 | Full Review…

Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
There's nothing new in this very formulaic let's-put-on-a-show drama.

November 18, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com
An eminently likeable, well-made film.

September 8, 2007 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Janos Gereben
Entertainment Insiders
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.

August 30, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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

July 14, 2007 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

View All Critic Reviews (18)

Audience Reviews for Hula Girls

Oct 29, 2007

I'm amazed that this film is already in the database. While I was watching it, I thought: "Gotta tell flixster to include this one." And here it is. Even if this weren't based on actual events, this movie would be worth watching if you enjoy dance, and especially if you like hula. <p> The hula revolution is in full swing these days. The last time I checked, there were more than 8,000 hula halau (dance troupes) located throughout Japan. That Japan loves Hawai`i and vice versa is abundantly apparent these days, but this movie is set in 1965-66, when launching your own halau was a bit of a mysterious and perhaps perilous adventure. Surely this group was a pioneering one, and that is a story worth telling. <p> An added bonus is that the film is scored by Hawai`i ukulele legend Jake Shimabukuro <a href="http://jakeshimabukuro.com/"> http://jakeshimabukuro.com/ </a>. His soundtrack won the 2007 Japanese Academy Award for Best Sound Recording.

Lanning : Super Reviewer