As much as we criticize unfunny shows labeled as comedies, it’s rare when we don’t laugh once at a comedy. When it does happen, we’re actually quite surprised. A new Japanese series on Netflix has landed in that category, and it was a tough hour to watch.
Opening Shot: A woman in a traditional robe sits down, looks at the camera, and says, “Why don’t you take a load off?”
The Gist: Yui Kurosawa (Riisa Naka) is in that traditional garb because she’s doing a commercial for sake, and the director wants an old-fashioned vibe. But during a break in filming, she asks her manager what would happen if she got a divorce. He panics, saying that she’d lose commercial contracts totaling over 500 million yen.
Yui’s husband, Taishi Shoji (Tôri Matsuzaka), a young member of the Diet, representing his home prefecture of Ehime, also wants a divorce, but his chief of staff reminds him of how poorly that would come off by showing him a video presentation he made. In his home prefecture, Yui is the most popular figure, having come to fame acting in a popular drama that was shot down there. Taishi’s popularity comes in somewhere behind “I don’t know.”
He’s had a rough time since taking over his dad’s seat two years prior, constantly apologizing for verbal and physical gaffes. In the speech he’s on the way to make, he mispronounces the name of the candidate he supports and calls her “womanly.”
The two of them barely talk to each other in their posh Tokyo apartment, except when they do their latest “Yui Channel” show on YouTube, where the two of them act like a happy couple.
A lot of the difficulty stems from a tabloid photo from three years ago; Taishi was caught kissing a TV presenter named Sakuraku Mimata (Lisa Oda), and while Yui didn’t dump him then, she’s never really forgiven him for it. She still makes appearances with him at political events, which she hates; she doesn’t want to be known as a politician’s wife. Even though most people call her by the name of the show that made her famous, she far prefers that to being “Mrs. Shoji.”
Another influence on their marriage is Taishi’s mother, who lives upstairs, has a key to their flat, and not-so-subtly suggests clinics where Yui can do IVF treatments. She doesn’t want the Shoji political dynasty to die off with her son.
When Yui contemplates why she wants to divorce her husband, she realizes that when he goes back to his hometown, he not only changes his manner but really connects with the people there and gets votes. We see a flashback where he’s standing out in the rain to solicit votes, and she decides to do the same, though he puts up an umbrella to keep her from getting soaked.
After shooting scenes from her new series with her handsome young costar, Yui is scheduled to join her husband in Ehime for an annual festival, but decides to miss the flight when a handsome, jobless stranger named Kyoji (Ryô Nishikido) literally runs into her, then waits for her in the same spot the next day. They spend a nice night together, while Taishi finds himself tempted by Sakuraku once again. At this point, once the two of them reunite in Ehime, they both think it’s time to get that divorce, despite the influences that are keeping them married.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Strangely, Let’s Get Divorced has the vibe of a recent divorce-themed sitcom, Splitting Up Together. Why do we think that? Because in both, the split-up is somewhat mutual, but the exes need to be involved in each other’s lives.
Our Take: Let’s Get Divorced is billed as a comedy, but we didn’t laugh once while watching the first episode. It’s not like divorce can’t be an inherently funny subject, but the way the crumbling marriage between Yui and Taishi is being handled, at least in the first episode, seems more sad and pathetic than funny.
There’s infidelity involved, as well as just some general dislike, at least flowing from Yui’s side. Taishi, even though he’s only 34, seems to have the values of someone much older, including a sexist streak a mile wide.
To be honest, we didn’t really feel any sympathy for either side, because if they had any kind of backbone, they’d stand up to the people and institutions that are conspiring to keep them married and just go tell them to screw themselves. The comedy is supposed to come from the fact that they have to stay married even though they don’t want to be, and we’re just not seeing it.
That being said, there’s potential for the divorce itself to be funny as it goes forward. The lawyers each person chose have their own interesting character tics, and the couple’s determination to get that divorce may bond them in a strange way. But until we see that part, we’re not sure if we want to endure more hours of depressing stares and silence.
Sex and Skin: None, even in the scenes where Taishi is tempted by the TV presenter.
Parting Shot: Yui and Taishi are presented intake forms by their respective lawyers, and they start to fill them out.
Sleeper Star: Ryô Nishikido stands out as Kyoji, who is charming despite having no job or money, and enough time to wait until Yui crosses his path again in order to meet her. She’s just intrigued by the fact that he has no idea she’s an actress.
Most Pilot-y Line: There are lots of scenes where we hear both Yui’s and Taishi’s inner monologue; Taishi’s is especially annoying because its good side and bad side have frantic arguments. It’s not a good look for the show.
Our Call: SKIP IT. There’s nothing funny about Let’s Get Divorced, which is unfortunate, considering it’s supposed to be a comedy.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.