DVD Review: Groper Train: Wedding Capriccio

Groper Train: Wedding Capriccio

Japan 1984
Dir: Yojiro Takita
Starring: Yukijiro Hotaru, Yuka Takemura, Yutaka Ikejima, Yoshimi Kai, Rei Matsubara, Tatsuya Nagatomo, Yonosuke Tatekawa, Shuji Kataoka, Shinji Kubo, Katsuo Sakai.
DVD Released: 23rd Nov 2009
Cert: NR
Running Time: 67 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Non-Anamorphic NTSC
Audio: Japanese DD2.0
Subtitles: English
Distributor: Pink Eiga
Region: 0 NTSC

The Film

There's discord at the Kuroda Private Eye office as Ippei Kuroda's (Yukijiro Hotaru) assistant Hamako (Yuka Takemura) is about to get a visit from her fiance. An arranged marriage, Hamako's having none of it so she heads out and grabs herself the first guy that touches her up on the express train. Despite appearing to be mentally retarded, her new man Gin, sporting a Napoleon hat and conducting imaginary symphonies wherever he goes, appears to be rich so Hamako's happy to be his sextoy for a couple of days until her arranged fiance gets the idea and leaves her alone.

Meanwhile Kuroda's got himself a case; a dying billionaire wants his missing daughter, Hiromi, found before he shuffles off. Distinguishing features of said missing girl; diamond filling in a back tooth. Of course Kuroda's going to head back to the express train (well this is Groper Train) dressed as a dentist he makes the women say aaahhhh via some panties-based action in the hopes of finding Hiromi, but to no avail.

Things get more complicated as people start getting bumped off; beginning with Hiromi, then her billionaire father, then her brother (who it turns out is aforementioned nutbag Gin) plus the arrival of Hamako's fiance, Kuma, a gaptoothed Japanese redneck riding a tractor and carrying a shotgun. Once again it's a race against time as Kuroda and Hamako try to find the killer and get in as much kinky sex as they can before they too fall victim to the mystery assassin.

Another schizophrenic Pink Eiga production then. Again directed by Oscar winner Yojiro Takita. A pedestrian murder/mystery plotline spiced up with some very dodgy sex scenes and topped off by a delightfully absurd homage to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind via a musical Casio calculator and a light-saber penis that has to be seen to be believed.

The Disc

Better looking presentation than Groper Train: Black Pearl, but still a soft 1.85:1 non-anamorphic transfer with hard-matted English subtitles.

Standard 2.0 Japanese language audio mix.

Extras include a 5 minute featurette entitled Riding the Groper Train: Part 2 The Rise and Fall of Groper Train, in which actor/director Yutaka Ikejima (about to start production on his 109th! pink film) explains how the Groper Train series came to an end and the possible beginning of a new series Groper Hot Spring!
There are also a few text based bios about the actors and director.

Review by Giuseppe Rijitano