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Juri Ueno, Yûta Hiraoka, Naoto Takenaka, Shihori Kanjiya, Kei Tani ... see more see more... , Eriko Watanabe , Fumiyo Kohinata , Yukari Toyoshima , Miho Shiraishi

A group of scheming Japanese schoolgirls attempt to get out of summer math class by delivering bento boxes to the school's brass band, in the process contaminating the meals and forming a stand-in ban... read more read more...d with the one real musician who hasn't fallen ill. A group of struggling female math students are in class when daydreaming Tomoko (Juri Ueno) peers out the window and sees the brass band loading into a bus to perform at a local baseball game. Shortly after their bus pulls away, a catering truck carrying the band's bento boxes arrives to discover that the band has left without their meals. Tomoko immediately recognizes this as a surefire way to get out of class for the day, and proposes to the teacher that the girls deliver the lunches personally. But on the way to the game the girls drop the lunches into a mud puddle, and decide to dunk them in a local stream to clean them off. In the process, the bento boxes get contaminated, causing everyone in the band except for Nakamura (Yuta Hiraoka) to fall badly ill. The only thing that saved Nakamura was the fact that Tomoko ate his lunch before the girls arrived. Now, as the rest of the band gets rushed to the hospital, it's up to Nakamura to find some replacements. Naturally, he recruits the girls who caused all the trouble in the first place. Over the course of the next few days, the girls really begin to enjoy playing music. When the band recovers and comes back to claim their instruments, however, the girls scheme with Nakamura to raise enough money top purchase their own instruments, ultimately forming the band "Swing Girls and a Boy" and rehearsing for their debut performance at the upcoming winter music festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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90% liked it

3,640 ratings

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Directed by: Shinobu Yaguchi

Release Date: September 11, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (276)

  • skactopus
    April 20, 2009
    skactopus
    Sort of following the same formula as his previous film, Waterboys, Shinobu Yaguchi both writes and directs, Swing Girls, which is a comedy drama to remember.

    A bunch of unlikely high school girls come together to form a successful jazz band. Sure, that may not s

    ... read moreound like anything special, but it is the delivery of the story that will blow most people away. This film delivers on all fronts. The humor is laugh out loud hilarious, the pacing is moderate and comfortable, and the camerawork is more than adequate.

    There are a lot of things that are exaggerated and a little unbelievable, however, this is what makes a seemingly emotional drama all the more entertaining. This picture never gets boring and even the predictable ending is jazzed up entertaining.

    Each of the main characters has their own personalities and each is shown well and easy to pick up on. This, in turn, makes for a unique group of individuals all with the same goal.

    The acting is a bit over the top, but it doesn't hurt this film in any way. All the characters have great chemistry and it really does feel like they are close friends in real life. Heck, they probably are.

    Swing Girls may sound corny, but this is one film that is just highly entertaining and enjoyable to watch. "There are 2 kinds of people in this world. People who swing and people who don't."
  • Bancho
    July 26, 2011
    Bancho
    A School of Rock-esque comedy about an underdog student band, Swing Girls contains all the ingredients that make Japanese comedies great: a eccentric plot, slightly awkward but emotionally captivating characters, and just the right amount of absurdist humor.
  • Claraity
    December 5, 2007
    Claraity
    The story is sort of typical (though not bad) of a school music band, where a rag tag group of characters join together to become a great jazz band. The pacing was a little slow, and the incredibility of their growth in skill is a bit much, but overall I really liked this movie. ... read moreIt's a really funny and heart-warming movie. I'll watch this movie again and again when I want to cheer up or have a good laugh.

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