Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Food Movie
Review: Tampopo is, on the surface, the story of a young widow running a noodle shop and the truck driver who decides to help her improve her beusiness. But it's also a gentle satire of Japanese culture and customs, with a few pokes at some American movie genres along the way. I try to watch it about once a year, usually with a friend who's never seen. It's alwasy fresh, always delightful, and always makes me hungry for a bowl of ramen!
Rating:
Summary: Great Cult Classic
Review: On the surface this is a story about a truck driver who teaches a woman how to run a noodle shop. However the film is basically a series of comedy sketches about food linked together into the plot. One of the funnier scenes involves a number of Japanese executives who are unable to order from a menu as they do not understand the dishes and who thus all choose fish. A junior executive understans the menu and lowers the status of the more senior executives. This is set against a group of Japanese women learning to eat in "the western style". The women are being taught to eat with decorum however they imitate some westerners who have no manners at all. Interspliced with these satarical scenes about Japanese manners are the lessons given to the heroine "Tampopo" about how to run a noodle shop. The lessons are portrayed in the manner of learning some of the deeper lessons of life rather than a few takeaway food recipes. The truck driver has been inspired by Western Characters such as Shane. The film explodes with constant energy. Its humour although aimed at Japanese audiences is easily understood by Western Audiences and it has become a deserved cult classic.
Rating:
Summary: Hysterical, witty, and well done!
Review: Watch this movie to achieve a smile on your face. :) Well written storyline, with unusual twists to the plot, an array of crazy and well meaning characters, and best of all, it was well acted. It wasn't melodramatic, nor boring. Everything was entirely lifelike. The entire movie was an uplifting event, as characters are resuccitated from death, saved from bankruptcy, mend their differences, and make new friends and loves. Very sensual, unoffensive, and overall, a feel - good movie event. A film you must watch :)
Rating:
Summary: possibly the funniest food movie ever
Review: Very intelligent and well crafted movie about noodle bar widow who is rescued by gourmet truckers and taught the way of the prefect noodle. Sounds strange? It gets stranger! Interspersed are some comic vignettes making fun of Japanese customs, directors and movie genres. I must have seen this half a dozen times and still relish every viewing. Rates right up there with other food classics such as 'Babette's Feast,' 'Eat, Drink, Man Woman' and 'Like Water for Chocolate.' If you like noodles, you'll love this!
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie!
Review: first i would like to say im sorry if i spell bad. I rented this movie hoping it would be good and so it was it was funny it was witty it and it has alot of the American culture inside it to. If you like the Japanese culture you will like this movie! get it!
Rating:
Summary: LOVEABLE AND CRAZY
Review: Crazy and unexpected, unconnected events converge to make a delightfully overdramatic comedy of epic proportions. It will also make you hungry. You will have to watch the film to catch all the interesting side action, but the main story is about a woman who owns a ramen noodle shop but her noodles are just not very good. When a truck driver and his apprentice come through and stop at her shop (and get into a fight), she nurses them back to health and begs the truck driver to stay with her and train her to be a good noodle cook and to help her in her quest to make the perfect noodles. A very warm and very witty film. You will love its utter craziness. Directed by the late Juzo Itami (he committed suicide in 1999, I believe). Another interesting part is the gangster character and his girlfriend who do not want to hear noise in the theater. They appear randomly throughout the film and lend more interesting turns.
Rating:
Summary: Go to a noodle shop first!
Review: This movie is a fascinating series of vignettes, connected by the story of Tampopo herself. Find the best Japanese cooking you can and have a big plate of it in front of you before you start watching. This movie will make you hungry!
Rating:
Summary: The importance of food
Review: A widow struggles to change her late husband's ramen shop from a dingy hangout for local lowlifes to a top-flight eatery that will have the customers lined up around the corner. A truck driver takes a break from his travels and assembles a posse of experts to help her. Along the way, we are treated to a number of entertaining and enlightening vignettes about the various roles that food plays in all our lives. The satire in this film is far more gentle than it is in some of director Juzo Itami's other films, but it hits its mark unerringly. Those who have not spent time in Japan may be puzzled by a few scenes.
Rating:
Summary: The Japanese culture through humorous eyes
Review: I've owned the VHS version of this movie for several years and recently purchased the DVD (October 2000). I immediately noticed the improved clarity of the picture and heard sounds that I hadn't heard before on the VHS video. I enjoyed it even more - the picture was crisp and the soundtrack clear. This letterbox edition allows the subtitles to be turned off and contains a list of all the productions that Itami, Yamazaki, and Miyamoto were involved. I held off buying it due to the bad ratings some gave the quality of this DVD, but the version I got was great! If you've spent time in Japan, the zany humor really comes through, such as the group of businessmen in the New Otani Hotel French restaurant all ordering the same thing until the least senior of the group is reached. Even if you haven't lived there, it's an original film with an original approach to cinematography. As one of my favorite films from Japan, I give it 5 stars both on the movie and the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Smile...when you eat
Review: A charming tale, populated with characters to care about, makes the fascination with food universal. Wine lovers have their own scene. So do those who love spaghetti. So do we all. If you want to be pleasantly satiated,this is the movie for you.
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