Shinobu Yaguchi’s 2004 comedy gem, Swing Girls is more or less a cross between High School Musical and School of Rock (before both of those were big things in the US) as well as a riff on the old “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” style of old Hollywood film making from the days of Andy Hardy and a boatload of other fun fluff musicals. It’s a fun and summery family friendly flick where there’s nothing offensive happening, there’s not a single gunshot fired and the only death here is one that’s part of the plot and it’s not a human being that gets it. Yes, I’ll actually spoil things by running a clip below the jump just because it’s probably the best use of the Louis Armstrong version of “What a Wonderful World” you’ll ever see as well as the funniest bit in a film full of them.

The movie works so well because it’s full of deadpan moments and flat out funny portions where paying attention to dialog and visual detail add more laughs. It’s a film that’s not pretending to be anything other than a homage to those old musicals and while it’s not flawless, it’s definitely worth tracking down if you like movies that guaranteed you’ll get a grin going that lasts for about as long as you’re in front of that TV or monitor…

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