Adrenaline Drive” is an extremely friendly film. It has all the qualities of a good buddy: it’s kind, it’s cool, it’s funny and it doesn’t ask too much in return. In fact, this movie is so laid back, I felt like I didn’t so much watch it as just hang out with it, get to know it, laugh and have a good time.

“Adrenaline Drive” tells the story of a couple of sad-sack Japanese 20-somethings. Suzuki hates his job at the car-rental agency, but lacks the backbone to do anything about it. His boss is such an unabashed jerk that he literally tries to pester Suzuki into quitting, knowing that no matter how horrible he is, Suzuki will take it with a sheepish smile.

Shizuko is a shy nurse, working diligently as her gossipy colleagues chatter on about the type of men they’d like to marry (rich, good looking ones, in case you fellas were wondering), and examine horoscopes in order to get a sense of their chances. (The horoscopes are dead-on. To the dismay of a chatty nurse, hers reads “Your social habits will delay marriage.”)

But everything changes for these two lovable losers when, wouldn’t you know it, Suzuki accidentally explodes a mob den as he is trying to make tea; Shizuko finds him in the wreckage and escorts him to the hospital, a near-dead mobster crashes their ambulance into a river, and, as the vehicle and its occupants sink, the two young protagonists are left on the shore with a suitcase full of money.

Of course, a suitcase of money ain’t nothin’ but trouble (especially if it’s acquired less than 30 minutes in). As it turns out, Kuroiwa (think Japanese Christopher Walken), the gangster from the ambulance, is the Rasputin-meets-Energizer-Bunny type.

From the intensive care unit of the hospital, he orchestrates the attempted retrieval of the cash using a gang of slacker mini-mobsters that happened to avoid the explosion. You know how in cartoons when people get in fights, they disappear into a cloud of smoke and move around in a non-distinguished fighting mass? Well, these young gangsters operate a lot like that. The seven or eight of them operate as one messy cloud of dumb, violent juvenility.

Shizuko and Suzuki, with a cool million or so in their backpacks, go on the run, and, once again, if you know anything about movies you know that means they fall in love. The two check into a posh hotel suite and decide to go out on the town. The severely brain-damaged in the audience will be shocked to learn that Shizuko is actually quite a looker once she gets a haircut, takes off her glasses, and dresses up a bit. Yet, flowering young love will have to contend with suspicion, greed, and the nothing-if-not-tenacious criminals on their tail.

The director, Shinobu Naguchi, obviously has a strong affection for his characters, and does a nice job of sharing it with his audience without being cloying about it. For instance, Suzuki and Shizuko’s highly anticipated first kiss is interrupted by a growling stomach and giggles. It’s this sort of restrained, tongue-in-cheek handling of the standard road picture that makes “Adrenaline Drive” more than just another romantic comedy.

It makes wide and enjoyable use of the genre’s conventions – bumbling bad guys, love on the run, the revelatory make-over, the suitcase of money – while playfully taking advantage of our expectations. Consider one wonderful scene when Shizuko’s backpack full of her share of the money is nabbed by a thief. Suzuki witnesses the crime, gives chase, gets in a tussle for the bag and is promptly arrested for trying to rob the robber. Shizuko, meanwhile, gets into cross-country mode and follows the thief for miles barefoot, finally catching up with him in the throes of a heart attack. She gives him CPR, saves his life and becomes a hero.

Naguchi’s gently ironic personality is illustrated nicely by an exchange from the movie’s production notes. An interviewer concerned with impact on foreign audiences poses this question: “People who’ve seen all your films might draw the following conclusions: a) gas burners regularly blow up in Japan, and b) women can only change if they cut their hair off. Are these true?”

Naguchi’s response is, “Absolutely. Japanese gas is uniquely dense and prone to explosions. And there is an ancient Japanese tradition that requires women to cut their hair at times of dramatic personal transition. Whenever you spot a Japanese woman with extremely short hair, you can be sure she’s led a dramatic life!”

Now tell me, how could you not want to be friends with a movie made by a guy like that?

Luke Thompson is a senior in English from Fort Dodge.