Japanese Salaryman Attempts to Sell Wagyu Beef to Montanans

“Tokyo Cowboy’s” realistic, comedy-lite approach to the lead character’s culture shock makes for a mildy cringeworthy cinematic experience.

Javier (Goya Robles, R) offers Hideki (Arata Iura) his old rodeo-riding threads, and takes him on a tour of the ranch, in "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

PG | 1h 58m | Drama, Comedy | August 30, 2024

“Tokyo Cowboy” is a fish-out-of-water tale wherein one Hideki (Arata Iura), a Japanese food conglomerate employee, is dropped into Big Sky Country. There, the not-terribly-charismatic salaryman tries to sell craggy Montana ranch hands on the virtues of Wagyu beef—which he knows next to nothing about.

Hideki (Arata Iura) is a Japanese salaryman presenting the reasons a Montana ranch should switch up their cow population for big profits, in "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

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Hideki’s boss Keiko (Ayako Fujitani), who’s also secretly his fiancé, had acquired a large American corporation but decided to sell the company’s unprofitable elements to developers. The Lazy River Ranch is one such segment slated to be sold.

Husband-to-be Hideki, however, sees great profit potential. No more Black Angus, Herefords, or Santa Gertrudis cows! Special Japanese Wagyu instead! What could possibly go wrong?

Off They Go

Highly skeptical, Keiko sends awkward Hideki-San to Montana, accompanied by the USA-experienced and people-savvy Wada (Jun Kunimura) to help him schmooze with the Montana ranchers.

Hideki (Arata Iura, L) and Wada (Jun Kunimura) head to Montana, in "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

Unfortunately, instead of beating jet lag with a good night’s sleep, they’re invited out drinking, where the 70-something Wada falls off a mechanical bull and ends up in the hospital. Now, Hideki, the fish, is seriously out of water.

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The next day, Hideki’s totally cringe PowerPoint presentation, presented in a barn, elicits eye-rolling and a list of objections from the ranch hands.

Peg, the ranch’s former owner (Robin Weigert, who played Calamity Jane in the TV series “Deadwood”) attempts to rid herself of the obstinate and English-challenged Hideki. She sends him with Lazy River’s go-fer, Javier (Goya Robles) for a horseback tour of the ranch. The horse of course bolts, resulting in an immediate and spectacular bellyflop into a moist manure-mud mixture, by the suit-wearing Hideki.

Peg (Robin Weigert) explains to Hideki (Arata Iura) how things actually work on an American ranch, in "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

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With only a few days left, can the hapless Hideki convince the hidebound staff to change, or risk the ranch being sold?

The Hollywood Treatment

Some of my critic colleagues like that “Tokyo Cowboy” falls in the understated indie-drama spectrum, rather than being presented as a typical Hollywood screwball, slapstick comedy.

They appreciate the authenticity and the need to ditch the business suit for ranch gear and the rental car for horseback. Also, the excruciating, challenging task of navigating cultural and language barriers with the ranch staff in order to seal the deal. They like the simplicity that makes this a touching and thoughtful film. Which it is.

Javier (Goya Robles, R) offers Hideki (Arata Iura) his old rodeo-riding threads, and takes him on a tour of the ranch, in "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

I like all that too, but in concept only. Realistically speaking, I find the drama-first, comedy-last approach to this kind of material fraught with uneasy, cringey moments, and nervous laughter. And European-type cinematic moments of long, lingering, landscape shots with zero tension that shout “cinematography for cinematography’s sake!”

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The you-are-there, you-are-in-his-shoes experience of a character who’s feeling extreme discomfort due to culture shock, an inability to express himself (especially while public speaking), and Japanese reticence and shyness in the face of hearty American backslapping—doesn’t really offer a lot in the way of an enjoyable cinematic payoff.

Javier, a ranch hand (Goya Robles, L), introduces himself to Hideki (Arata Iura), in "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

I would have actually preferred a Hollywood-style, fish-out-of-water comedy, such as the Jamaican bobsledding hilarity of “Cool Runnings.”

The only problem with that approach is that comedy is hard. Much more difficult to get right than drama. In that sense, my colleagues are right—the Hollywood funny version would likely be embarrassingly exploitative, possibly (if unintentionally) a little bit racist, and so on. But it’s got all the comedic building blocks. Comedy is often the combination of opposites, i.e., shiny black shoes and socks on the beach, or a bikini at a wedding. Just look at the movie poster. Done well, the film would have been an absolute hoot. Somebody should do a remake.

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Promotional poster for "Tokyo Cowboy." Salaryman Films LLC

‘Tokyo Cowboy’ Director: Marc Marriott Starring: Arata Iura, Robin Weigert, Ayako Fujitani, Jun Kunimura, Goya Robles MPAA Rating: PG Running Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes Release Date: August 30, 2024 Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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