Some Great Happiness Guys: Male Host Documentary

I would be very impressed if you could show me someone in this country that doesn't find Japan utterly fascinating.  What might be even more fascinating is that maybe 30% of what's going on over there is explicitly NOT! for foreigners.  When I say "not" I mean it.

I had the great fortune of visiting Japan in April in 2008 and I was witness to many a wonderful thing.  It was sakura season so the pink cherry blossoms were raining down everywhere you could see.  Love was in the air.  This was a big time for Japan; the flowers are littering the streets and people are getting close. The love hotels are filled; campy and chic boutique places of "lodging" that cater to getting it on.  Half the fun of renting one of these rooms for a couple hours was seeing the shy young couples sneaking out of every other hotel.  Just to be seen in that area was a dead giveaway because all of the love hotels tend to be grouped together.  And to visit one when you're in the proverbial mood is a necessity.  You average Japanese apartment where most of these kids live are so small that it's not even worth trying to get naughty with your loved one - especially when one parent is usually home.  As funny as these hotels are it's a lucky thing that they are so readily available for the occasion.  But some people, as it turns out, don't even have a lover to begin with and that's a wholly different story.

Let me steer away from the hotels and into the host clubs.  I'm sure we've all heard of Japanese hostess clubs - where a beautiful girl will sit with you, compliment you, laugh at your stupid jokes, and get you to spend a bundle on posh libations all with the understanding that it is highly unlikely that sex is in cards.  Many a powerful man crumbles to the skillful tactics of these talented temptresses but switch the gender roles and the idea becomes a little more obscure.  No one ever thinks of a place where a woman would visit to be consciously seduced by a man - but there are such places and business is good.

The Great Happiness Space, the documentary by director Jake Clennel, explores just such a place.  At first you think it's just a band of arrogant Japanese glam male models boasting about how to seduce women and you ignorantly scoff at how wrong they are.  You quickly discover, however, that they are so on their game that even if they told the women that they were playing them right to their face them women would still be back and ready for more.  It is these gentalmen's business to make the ladies swoon and raise their spirits to be able to handle their hectic day to day lives in the busy streets of Osaka.  Their fresh suits, new haircuts, fancy accessories, and quick witted charm creates this "happiness space."  And although you know that this all comes at a hefty fee to the ladies the film masterfully has you consider what price the men are paying to provide these services.  The countless bottles of champagne that are popped per night, the seemingly endless push of energy they must provide for the atmosphere, and the constant obligation to make sure every single female that is pining over them feel attended to and wanted in her own unique and special way.  Exhaustion does not even begin to describe the side effects that plague these gentleman.  I'm sure, though, that somehow they are able to overcome such exertion by the 40,000+US dollars they take home every month! - and most aren't above the age of 25.

This was one of the first movies to stream on Netflix and it seems to be a favorite of anyone I've recommended it to.  Clennell's film style is simple, up front, the drama is complex, and the feeling after seeing it is of great happiness.  You will see just how expert one can get at providing that "happiness space" and the price both parties pay for such mastery.

It's still streaming on Netflix, BTW.

--J.O'Ly.

PS.  Ladies, help me out.  What is it that makes you come back again and again to the man of your dreams?