The 15th and last installment in the The Drifters comedy series shows little of the exhaustion common to end-of-series films. One reason is that Masaharu Segawa was directing only his second Drifters film after taking over from long-time series director Yusuke Watanabe and still had fresh ideas for making the five-man comedy team funny.
For those familiar with The Drifters’ small screen antics, which tended to the wild and ragged rather than the fine-tuned and well-rehearsed, Hey Suckers!! Here We Come!! will come as a revelation. The boys not only play the characters with their trademark energy and insolence (the outlines of their TV personas are clearly visible), but execute complex bits of comedy with spot-on timing, such as Chosuke Ikariya and Cha Kato’s hide-and-seek routine with stolen jewelry. Drifters leader Ikariya plays Ikari, a failed rank-and-file cop who is out-ranked on the force by his obnoxious brother-in-law Nakanishi (Koji Nakamoto), the husband of his kvetching ex-cop sister (Kirin Kiki). In fact, Ikari has to live with this pair, much to his discomfort.
As if that weren’t enough, Kato (Cha Kato), a scapegrace chinpira (apprentice gangster) of his acquaintance, is always making trouble for him — while causing his stock to fall even farther at the station house. His only refuge is a bar run by sympathetic Haruyo (Kayako Sono), who likes him because he resembles a gorilla she once knew at the circus.
The plot gears start turning when a jewel heist goes wrong and the gems end up not their rightful thief but with a smuggling gang. The gang is negotiating a sale with the yakuza when Kato makes off with the loot, not knowing how valuable it is. Many unintended consequences ensue, from the inevitable chases to a shot at professional redemption for Ikari, although Kato’s gorgeous sister Kinko (Mitsuko Baisho), fresh from the countryside, may prove a fatal distraction.
As usual for the series, the ending is a slapstick free-for-all, though choreographed with a precision that Segawa learned from the silents. The film remains one of his personal favorites.
Mark Schilling