Reviews

Ryūhei a salary man loses his job, and is soon on the scrap heap of the unemployed, a very common and relevant case for so many in these times.

In this case the film documents what it means to be a working man or woman, a case of how a job can define a person. In the case of Ryūhei it's the struggle to maintain that sense of honour and pride that is so ingrained in Japanese culture, that when he is finally let go, he simply packs his belongings from work and walks out-not a word to his colleagues, and not a word to his family.

The next morning he leaves for 'work' donned in the usual work attire spending the day on the fringes of regular life-lining up for free food, sitting in public libraries, roaming the various employment offices for vacancies, then coming home earlier then usual to face the doom of subsequent family expenses (the son wants to take piano lessons, the wife wants a new car, the heater needs to be replaced).

Despite the downward spiral into despair for which this film descends into,there is a feeling of a more hopeful future.

Yeah this show is pretty trashy, but that's the appeal of these types of shows. The same reason people watch 'You are what you eat' with 'Dr' Gillian Mckeith. We love seeing people worse off then ourselves; ooh look how fat that woman is!! Look at her arms.....she eats what!!!

Contestants often stand in their underwear, as there flabby backs, thighs and stretch marked stomachs fill up the screen, followed by some pale, anaemic, emaciated figure that hasn't eaten in a decade. The only difference between the two shows is in addition to a real doctor (Dr Christian Jessen, and his 'feeding clinic',) contestants are expected to swap one terrible diet for another.

The fun begins when were introduced to the super-sizer/skinny's weekly food intake. What you see is absolutely gross. Depending on whose diet it is; if its the super-sizer, all manner of crap falls through this tube; chips, pizza, curry, crisps, coke, pasta, pie etc- all mushed together –if its the skinny tube your lucky if more than a piece of toast and some juice falls through.

During the week we look on as the super-sizer sits opposite the skinny contestant picking at their favourite roast dinner, while narked off because all they've had to eat is a banana, and some tea. Made all the worse by the skinny contestants groaning at the size of the food, coupled by rude comments about the crap they eat.

I know that plenty of people have said why not just put them both on healthy diets? (They do get healthy diets after the experiment) What is the point of these extremes? But then what would be the point of this show? Its premise is to shock and entertain.