phatmojo I read the hype about this film and bought it off ebay along with a bunch of other sweet movies I've been meaning to get. I agree it has that Pulp Fiction/Tarantino feel to it but it drags awkwardly in many places, and I feel some of the extraneous dialogue could have been dropped while still retaining the same quirky feel. Overall, I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars and think its worth watching atleast once, and probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't seen Attack the Gas Station, a Korean film, that has the same attitude of this film but executed it a lot better.

kjs-2 Very Strong acting, directing and script makes for one of my favorite films.An unlikely couple fall in love in this magical, funny, romantic, and sometimes violent film. Its heart is close to "Lola Rennt" or "True Romance" in a slightly funnier wrapping.( 9 out of 10 ) -Karl

frankgaipa The action and the road trip, the hyper-restrained interplay between Toshiko and Samehada, the yakuza boss actor's razor's edge blend of straight man and dire threat, the lethal slapstick of his gang are all riveting, hilarious, okay. The extremely slow burn, leading to deux ex machina betrayal, by the long-faced actor who frequently plays Beat Takeshi's second is just right. But best of all, both funniest and most frightening, is (I'm sorry I can't figure out the actor's or character's name) the buddy/assassin the hotel manager sends after Toshiko. The road-stop men's room sequence is just one of several superb bits written round this character. A very vague touchpoint for him might be the sporadically violent, reluctant loner at the center of Punch Drunk Love. But the Japanese guy's much more impish, more driven yet almost elfin.

Sat-2 I saw S.S. Man & P.H. Girl at the Hawaii International Film Festival in Nov. 98, and it took my breath away. This flick is the funniest, coolest, most invigorating piece of eye candy I've ever seen. Based on a Japanese manga, this debut film from Ishii (previously a director of Japanese commercials) is a road movie about a young woman on the run from her domineering and perverted uncle who meets up with a young man on the run from the stylish gangsters he's ripped off. The gangsters are the funniest, most outrageous, coolest bunch of baddies I've ever seen. Their dialogue is great, their costumes are incredible, and they're all so enjoyable to watch that it's always sad when one gets rubbed out. The uncle also sends someone after the pair on the run, a diminutive little freak who would totally steal the show in any other movie. Here, he just adds to the mix.I can't really describe how much I enjoyed this movie, but I remember that at the end of it, my face hurt from smiling so much. I think I was grinning during the entire film... If you're a fan of the films of Lynch, Tarantino, Jeunet, Boyle, Besson, the Coens, John Woo, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark, then you have GOT to see this movie. The funny thing about S.S. Man and P.H. Girl is that it's so over-the-top that you know it's a parody of the work of some of the above directors, but the damn thing is so much fun that it actually works as a "cool lovers on the run movie," and not just a parody of one. In fact, I thought it worked so well that it is now my favorite film of this genre. Tarantino was in the audience when I saw this movie, and when Ishii answered questions at the end of the film, and someone asked him who influenced him, he grinned at QT, and said (through his translator) something like "I think you know the answer to that." (subsequently QT hired Ishii to direct the animated sequence in Kill Bill, so I guess they hit it off). Perhaps the lesson here is that there's no such thing as too derivative.Some people note that the film has some slow moments. Interestingly, having seen the movie quite a few times by now, what sticks with me now are some of the quieter romantic and/or contemplative moments, especially the penultimate scene in the car where Samehada's former partner talks about seeing God.