Search - Girl Boss Revenge on DVD

Miki Sugimoto runs like a girl.

ickystay | OR | 04/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd probably give this one 3 1/2 stars if I could, but I rounded up to four because I get a big kick out of this type of movie. This is the fourth entry in Toei's "Sukeban" series and the last directed by Norifumi Suzuki. If you dig Suzuki's "Pinky Violence" formula, you'll dig this one.

Amazon's little blurb pretty much give you the basics. Four escaped delinquent girls, led by Kanto Komasa (Miki Sugimoto) try to make their way in Osaka. Quickly getting into the bad graces of the local yakuza, Komasa and her "Gypsies" then butt heads with a school girl gang led by Maya (Reiko Ike) and a yakuza backed girl gang led by Ryoko (Ryoko Ema). Yup, lots of fighting. Various forms of torture (poor Emi Jo- having her blood drained and being thrown off the roof in "Lynch Law Classroom" was cake compared to this. God knows what she endures in "Shoguns Sadism"!?!). Vehicle chase. Stabbing and shooting. Explosions. Gambling. Cussing (kunero, keeksheeo, hey I speak Japanese!). Kidnapping. Rape. Blood is shed. People die. Revenge and more revenge. Tears. And, comedy!

Okay, this is an exploitation film. Lots of stuff happens because the director thinks we will enjoy it. There are plot "skips" (as opposed to holes). It's up to us to fill the gaps with our love of the genre. If you want to see Miki topless and beaten with a stick, you'll just have to believe that the bad guys knew exactly where to find her and that she doesn't lock her doors. No problem. And as for why they are beating her, well, it could happen, in a movie. So what if Billy Wilder is turning in his grave. Hell, maybe he'd enjoy seeing Reiko Ike kicking butt in a mini skirt and blue panties as much as we do? Anyway, this is not real life and you wont learn anything from it.

Thankfully, Norifumi Suzuki's spot of comedy in this film is less shrill than usual and even humorously self-depreciating. Could we live without it? Sure, but like uncle Hank's "pull my thumb" joke every year at Thanksgiving, we put up with it because we love turkey.

Oh yea, it's a nice print. Maybe B+, pretty decent for such an old film. The extras are O.K. There is a 14 minute interview with Norifumi Suzuki that is pretty cool. Nice to hear (that is, read subtitles of) some of his thoughts. A few trailers for other movies- Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams, Rica 3 ("Speed! Thrills!" looks great!), two nasty nun movies, and a modern promo spot for this film. Nice photo gallery. No commentary by people telling us how we should enjoy the movie or telling us the history of the old fart actors in yakuza films. No commentary.

Hey Media Blasters! Thanks! I want more!"

Oh Miki, you're so fine...

UbiK | 07/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ah, Miki Sugimoto! There's just something about her that makes you think she reeeeeally lived the life back in the day, you know? That to act these sorts of delinquent, girl-gang parts was not a big stretch for her...
Anyway, GIRL BOSS is a Sukeban movie so you can expect and get a lot of crazy stuff; sex, violence, corny, slapstick humor, an unlikely musical interlude and lots and lots of fun for fans of girls fighting girls! And let me just say, these films, with their powerful female leads, are also by a mile more feminist than anything else being made in the kawaii-obsessed Japan of today! ;)
The first half of the movie is an excellent example of the wildcat excitement we expect from the genre as we follow Miki's attempts to muscle in on a piece of Osaka with her improbably named gang, the "Gypsies" (sounds more like a fashion label, ne? - to which cynics might say "Bingo!"). We are treated to a relentless succession of brawls and beatings in dingy backstreets, hot chicks in 70s fashions, thrilling hand-held camera work and lots of Miki looking beautiful and running expertly in chunky heels! Suuuuuugoi ne?
Well it would have been amazing indeed if all 86 minutes of GIRL BOSS was that story outline, BUT... there's a big narrative shift when Reiko Ike appears literally at the half-way mark, effectively relegating our Miki to second billing (in her own darned movie!). The unsuspecting viewer is then dished up a very trite romance and revenge tale, as Reiko (in this order) rediscovers her lost boyfriend, who she then slaps, is then betrayed by, who then she attempts to kill and who finally she tries reconcile with! Now that's one high maintenance relationship!
After the hard cool sexiness that is Miki Sugimoto, Reiko is looking more like an obaasan than ever and over-emoting all over the place as though she's in an entirely different movie (which is probably what most viewers will be thinking during the second half when they start to wonder "Where's Miki gone?" during all the soggy melodrama and "Has someone changed the film without me knowing?").
Sadly, it's a bit downhill from there (although the grungy baseball stadium scene has some nice visuals) and the ending is just slapstick silliness."

Pinky Violence, YES!

Asian Mack | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 01/03/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike and even Yoko Mihara, what more could you ask for? The Sukeban series is among my favorites in the Pink Violence films. Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto are both gorgeous. This film is just pure madness and mayhem with beautiful Japanese women fighting and acting crazy. You have to order the "Pinky Violence: Toei's Bad Girl Films" book from Japan to go with your Pink Violence collection as well as Hot Wax's book/music cd combos. I have the Pinky Violence book and it is awesome. I also enjoy the films with Meiko Kaji (Sasori series, Lady Snowblood), Junko Miyazono (Female Demon Ohyaku, Quick-Draw Okatsu, Play Girl tv series), Reiko Oshida (Delinquent Girl Boss series, Okatsu The Fugitive, Play Girl tv series), Yumi Takigawa (School Of The Holy Beast) and Yoko Mihara (guest stars in films like Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs and Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion)."