Tokyo Pop

Tokyo Pop is the story of a girl punk-rock musician living in New York, who finds the scene dead and at the behest of a friend, moves to Tokyo, where things are allegedly happening. Carrie Hamilton, who stars, is the late daughter of Carol Burnett, and despite a strong physical resemblance, she's a unique talent in her own right and carves out a distinct identity for her character (only once did I detect a mother-daughter similarity: when she's calling out to passing cabs in Tokyo, I felt we were just moments away from the Tarzan yell). She's tough and confident when we see her in black leather prowling the streets of New York and Tokyo, and she's fearless. We're never afraid for her when she first arrives in Tokyo completely lost; we feel that she'll figure it out. After suffering some early setbacks as a gaijin (foreigner) who the Japanese eye warily, she hooks up with a Japanese boy who calls himself a rock-and-roller and whose English is workable, if a little tentative (he often tends to answer her by saying "Sure" or "Maybe"). He invites her to be the singer in his band, and then the Happy Fairy Land Storybook kicks in. The band becomes a sensation, singing a cute boy-girl rendition of the Lovin' Spoonful's Do You Believe in Magic and her face is on every magazine cover and billboard. The fame game is fun until it isn't and Carrie has a crisis of conscience and needs to go back to playing "her music" and breaks up the act. Yet in the final scene that plays during the closing credits, we see Carrie gushing an 80's power ballad. Why? That ending completely subverts the story we've seen for ninety minutes; she's transitioned from Debbie Harry to Debbie Gibson, another sellout singing Americanized Tokyo Pop.

It's not unheard of; real-life rock-and-rollers have done the same (Eric Clapton is a glaring example, although his metamorphosis took longer than one plane ride), but it just kills any integrity the character and the movie have built up. Tokyo Pop is a showcase for Carrie Hamilton's talents, nothing more. I mourn her passing.

Hello! My name is Paula, I live in Argentina, and I've always had this odd fascination about this film, since I was a teenager actually, and I the last song performed by Carrie Hamilton was so enchanting! It is called "Never Forget", but I can't find it anywhere! and nobody seems to be interested in this film, or the movie soundtrack. Please contact me if you can provide me with some info. paula155@hotmail.com is my email address. I really don't get how this movie is so mysterious and has no fans clubs, forums, or things like that. It was really disappointing when I knew about Carrie's death. She was so young, and talented, her voice was an inspiration.

This is a cute little film. Ultimately it doesn't really go anywhere, but at the very least it's an extremely realistic portrayal of what it'd be like to suddenly fly to Japan with no friends there, no command of the language, no knowledge of the culture and conventions, etc. I suppose part of the reason the film succeeds so well in this is that it's a Japanese-U.S. co-production.

One of the best parts of the movie is the soundtrack. The track by the new wave band that the main character is in at the beginning of the movie is very nice, but "Rakuen, Rakuen" by Papaya Paranoia is wonderful! Even better is being able to watch P.P. perform -- just too bad they didn't include the whole number. So much energy and adorableness from this all-girl Japanese rock band.

The real shame is that the soundtrack's out-of-print worldwide. The Papaya Paranoia track is not available on their other albums, which are hard enough to come by as it is.

I loved this film. A lot. Though my tastes may be a bit different than most people I've met, I really did enjoy both the comedic and romantic aspects of the film, and I thought both blended very well. My favorite example of this was when Hiro (played by Tadokoro Yutaka of Red Warriors), takes Wendy (fantastically played by the late Carrie Hamilton) to a hotel; the movie makes a good point of explaining just how much of a problem language barriers can be, though in a way we can all laugh at, which I found to be great ...

Overacted in some parts, underacted in a few, and misdirected in many, this film is my idea of a great time, and I hope those of you who feel the same way make an effort to see it for yourself.

Tokyo Pop is a classic eighties story of a American girl who goes to Japan to become a rock star. Carrie Hamilton is excellent as the lead. It is sad that at thirty-eight she passed from lung and brain cancer.

Diamond Yukai is stunning as the boy she falls for. The music is very eighties, but still the versions of Blue Suede Shoes, Natural Woman, and do you believe in Magic are classic. Hiro's (Yukai) original song to her is beautiful and Hiro's Song at the end is sung with passion and is also a wonderful song.

It was incredible that Kino Lorber finally put out a blu ray. I've owned a videocassette since 1988 and have b tried to buy a bluray for years. The soundtrack has been on repeat for me for thirty- five years. Al though I will admit two of the songs are kind of too punk, Japanese for me, but the rest are stellar.

I suggest everyone watch this film. It is a unknown classic.

Thank Carol Burnett for helping get this disc made for her daughter, Carrie Hamilton.