Life’s Punchline is a Japanese drama film released in 2021, directed by Inomata Ryuichi based on the original screenplay written by Shigeki Kaneko. This slice-of-life drama tells the story of five young people in their late 20s who struggle to overcome the failures of their lives. The film depicts the struggles of the characters as they try to fulfill their dreams and overcome the obstacles that stand in their way.
Synopsis
The movie follows the story of three men in their late 20s named Haruto, Junpei and Shunta, who are part of a not-so-popular comedian group named “Macbeth”. Two women also in their late 20s meet them, and together, they try to overcome their failures in life. One of the women named Rihoko Nakahama, decides to quit her job and starts working part-time at a restaurant named ‘Meikushiraazu’. She meets one of the Macbeth comedians named Haruto and gets interested in learning more about their comedy group.
Rihoko’s residence is located near Macbeth members’ housing. And, the Macbeth members often come to the restaurant where Rihoko works to write their comedy sketches. One day, Rihoko attends a live comedy show performance by the Macbeth group. But she is shocked to learn that Macbeth will stop performing as comedians, and their last concert is just three months away.
After the Macbeth live performance, Haruto approaches Rihoko and thanks her for coming to the Macbeth group performance and talks to her about other things. From there, Rihoko becomes close to the other Macbeth members and frequently meets them. The film also depicts a flashback to the time Macbeth was formed. Junpei invited Haruto to create a comedy group to perform at a school festival.
However, when they performed, only a few people watched their act. Meanwhile, other students gathered around Shunta who had won the National Puyo Puyo game competition. Back to the present day, Rihoko’s sister, Tsumugi, who lives with her, feels strange about her sister’s fascination with the comedy group. Meanwhile, Haruto, Junpei and Shunta are worried about the future of their group.
Because the Macbeth comedy group is not famous, each member had a part-time job to sustain their livelihoods. Haruto, Junpei, and Shunta decided long ago not to continue with their Macbeth comedy group if it doesn’t work out for them within ten years. Meanwhile, Kusunoki, who became the Macbeth group’s manager, asked Haruto and others to reconsider their decision. In the remaining two months, the memories of their struggle to build the Macbeth comedy group return.
Junpei, for the time being, begins to think about continuing his parents’ business to marry his girlfriend, Natsumi. Shunta was offered a full-time position by the owner of the restaurant where he worked part-time, but Haruto still doesn’t know what he will do when Macbeth is no longer there. Not only Haruto, Junpei, and Shunta but Tsumugi, who now works in a small bar, also thinks about their future. So does Rihoko.
Conclusion
Life’s Punchline is a movie that depicts the lives of five young people trying to overcome the failures and obstacles of their life. The film portrays how their dreams are shaping after they’ve gone through various struggles and unforeseen events. It’s also a story of friendship and how these five people support each other. Overall, Life’s Punchline is a heartwarming film that’s well worth watching.
