Haru (Rinko Kikuchi) and her Mexican husband Luis (Alejandro Edda) love ballroom dancing. They live in Tokyo where they dance in competitions. Haru takes them very seriously. Luis takes a more relaxed approach.
Everything seems to be going well for the couple until Luis suddenly dies. A stricken Haru mires herself in grief. Her dance partner is gone. She refuses to leave the house.
Such is the setup for director Josef Kubota Wladyka's Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, a showy blend of fantasy, romance, and dance, all more or less grounded by the emotional reality of Haru's grief.
Wladyka's hybrid approach carries the movie, along with Kikuchi's performance, which relies on vivaciousness and pluck as Haru falls captive to her own fantasies.
Something has to get Harus out of the house and away from her massive collection of LPs. With assistance from Haru's sister (Yoh Yoshida), a free-spirited cousin (YOU, a.ka. Yukiko Ehara) coaxes the grieving widow out of seclusion, pushing her to take a dance class.
The outcome proves predictable. Haru quickly falls for her handsome instructor, Fedir (Alberto Guerra), and the movie weaves its way through bold production numbers, comedy, and, yes, discussions about open marriage.
Haru knows Fedir is married to a champion-level ballroom dancer (Keren Louis). But instead of telling him that her husband has died, she claims to be in an open marriage, too. And, yes, she dances well with him.
Not all Wladyka's quasi-whimsical choices work. He overuses a giant black crow, a vision of Haru's late husband and clearly involves someone wearing a feathery crow suit. The movie's shifts from reality to fantasy aren't always clear.
At the same time, Wladyka makes lively choices of pop music that include tunes from Dirty Dancing and a silly but entertaining production number built around Be My Baby.
Wladyka's use of appealing Latin American music adds multicultural flavor without too much strain, but some serious issues fall by the wayside. Luis's father (Damian Alcazar) and his sister (Cristina Rodlo) arrive to return Luis's remains to Mexico for burial. Haru wants to free his soul, which she believes requires cremation. The cultural clash is quickly resolved.
Take that as a clue. Wladyka's playful tone keeps the story from digging too deeply, relying instead on Kikuchi's verve to propel a story that seems more eager to put on a show than plumb any emotional depths.
