Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Give Me That Handsome Suit!

Ditch those bulges and fatty underarms. So long as you’re willing to forsake your identity, you can become the most desirable dude in this planet. All you need to do is step into a handsome suit and viola! you become more delicious than Brad Pitt and George Clooney combined.

Yearning for some real relaxation, I did the unusual and succumbed to the tempting ‘brainless, pure entertainment’ movie genre when I sauntered happily to watch the Japanese film Handsome Suit.

I had expected at most an hour-and-a-half of brainless comedy, but I was sorely disappointed. Running for 115 minutes, the film has its laughing moments. But it is far from a brainless and purely entertaining production. It actually seeks to delve deeper into the human mind and find out what is more important – looks, or character.

Takuro (Muga Tsukaji) is the ugly protagonist who, after donning a specially made handsome suit, morphs into a striking Annin Hikariyama (Shosuke Tanihara) – the famous model.

Takuro falls in love at first sight with the soft-spoken and beautiful Hiroko (Keiko Kitagawa), who also has a hidden dual identity as the cute-cute plumpish Motoe (Miyuki Oshima) with a heart of gold and charm that matches perfectly with her generous laughter and warm smile she carries wherever she goes.

After having a taste of a king-like treatment by others when he’s the gorgeous-looking Annin, Takuro finds himself wavering in his stance to continue to be who he is – the ugly yet kind-hearted chef who only wants to serve heart-warming dishes the way his mother had cooked it.

Hence the question of morality kicks in – do we sacrifice the real character that makes who we are special for the perfect superficial appearance that makes others fall in love with how we look?

I remember when I was running my dating agency, we come across this question many times too. While we advocate presenting a good and attractive image to others, especially on the first few meetings with someone new, we also stress on the importance of personality and character matching.

There was even a female member who went all the way to “uglify” herself so that the guy whom she was meeting would get to know her and not be misled by how pretty she looked.

Well, I wouldn’t encourage such behaviour, but I always tell singles going on dates to “just be themselves”. The most tiring thing a person can do is to put on a mask and be someone whom they’re not, and never will be. 

I guess the debate on brains or brawns will not end, handsome suit or not. Even before the birth of cosmetics, women are already using natural ingredients to make them look more appealing in their quest for a good husband.

That only goes to show that while character prevails, good looks still have its advantages. 

Well, at least the handsome suit is really, by any measure, cute and adorable! Before it assumes the human form, that is.