Film Review: Tokyo Pop (1988)

Official synopsis: Bleach-blonde wannabe rocker Wendy (Carrie Hamilton) is disillusioned with her life in New York City. After receiving a postcard from Japan saying “Wish you were here,” she spontaneously hops on a plane to Tokyo with dreams of making it big as a singer. Quickly finding herself broke and a fish out of water, she moves into a youth hostel for gaijin (foreigners) and takes up work as a hostess at a karaoke bar. Just when she’s at her breaking point, she meets Hiro (Diamond Yukai), a rock ‘n’ roller whose band is looking for their big break. They form a romantic and musical connection and Hiro convinces Wendy to become their lead singer. Through a combination of hustle and luck, they stumble into their 15 minutes of fame, but Wendy soon comes to realize that being a gaijin rocker may be nothing more than a passing fad.

Director Fran Rubel Kuzui’s Japan/U.S. coproduction Tokyo Pop is a charming time capsule that captures the vibes of both New York City and Tokyo in the late 1980s. The rock music scene was alive and well, and dreamers in both countries had high hopes of striking it big. Tokyo Pop brings two such dreamers — one from each of those countries — together in a rock and roll romantic comedy drama that feels as fresh as now while delivering nostalgic feelings galore.

The late Carrie Hamilton, who was the daughter of Carol Burnett and Joe Hamilton, gives a wonderful performance as Wendy Reed, a young woman who tires of her life as a backup singer in NewYork City and who — long before such modern conveniences as email, text messages, and free international calls — impulsively flies to Tokyo to meet a friend who, it turns out, has moved on to visit another country. Alone and not knowing anything about Japanese language or culture, she eventually bonds with Japanese rocker Hiro (Diamond Yukai) and becomes an accidental celebrity — thanks to a chance photographed encounter between her and some joshi wrestlers including the legendary Aja Kong — which, she soon learns, isn’t all she thought it might be.

Cultural differences provide humorous moments along with more serious ones, and Kuzui, who cowrote the screenplay with Lynn Grossman, balances those elements quite nicely. Kuzui and Grossman create protagonists who viewers can truly care about, and Hamilton and Yukai give believable, engaging performances.

Cinematographer James Hayman captures the proceedings nicely, from the sweaty rock clubs of New York to the karaoke bars of Tokyo, and beyond. The music includes plenty of performances from the film’s two stars, along with other acts including the well-known band X Japan.

Tokyo Pop has a big heart behind it, and I recommend Third Window Film’s beautiful looking and sounding 35th anniversary 4K restoration of this film for anyone interested in a feel-good movie boasting fun rock music and a strong 1980s energy.

Tokyo Pop, from Third Window Films, was released on Blu-ray and digital on May 8, 2025. For more information, visit https://thirdwindowfilms.com/films/tokyo-pop/.

Joseph Perry also writes for the websites Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), B&S About Movies (bandsaboutmovies.com), The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict (gbvreviews.com), and Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).

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