Ossan's Love: Love or Dead – Movie Review & Film Summary

Haruta is a real estate agent who relocated to Hong Kong in the past year for his work. Now, he's back in Japan and reunited with his old coworkers, including his boss, Kurosawa. Although Kurosawa used to have a massive crush on Haruta, they now have a strictly platonic relationship. Haruta also meets Justice, a new employee who recently joined the company. Haruta and Justice share a lot in common. Both have goofy personalities and similar interests, so they quickly befriend each other.

Upon Haruta's return, his company experiences an unexpected shake-up. The head office has approved a redevelopment project. It involves building the biggest resort facilities in Japan. Haruta and his coworkers are now working under Mamiana's supervision. Mamina is an ambitious corporate professional who clashes with Kurosawa. As the team does market research, it quickly becomes clear that the redevelopment project is unpopular with small business owners. They resent being forced to relocate elsewhere.

Haruta's boyfriend, Maki, is promoted to work directly with Mamiana on this aggressive real estate project. Maki takes his new job position very seriously, always working overtime to impress his boss. When he returns home after work, Maki is annoyed that he still has to handle the household chores. Haruta barely helps out with the domestic errands. Eventually, Maki decides to move back in with his parents to focus on his career. His relationship with Haruta suffers, especially since his boyfriend suspects Maki and Mamiana are getting too close.

Meanwhile, Kurosawa falls down the stairs during an accident. Although he isn't seriously injured, the fall causes Kurosawa to lose all his memories of Haruta. Due to his sudden amnesia, Kurosawa falls in love with Haruta again, just like before. However, Maki is convinced that his former boss must be faking this memory loss, using it as an excuse to get close to Haruta. Maki and Kurosawa butt heads, leading to an explosive feud between them.

Ossan's Love: Love or Dead disappoints me. The sequel doesn't match the quality of the original series, lacking its endearing charm. The televised drama delighted audiences with its lively humour and emotional plots. In contrast, the movie seems more polished due to a significantly higher production budget. Yet, the story feels needlessly bloated. Ossan's Love: Love or Dead includes many excess elements that detract from the love story between Haruta and Maki. 

The movie is plagued with issues. Firstly, the story isn't intriguing. The real estate company was a backdrop to minor subplots in the original drama. It becomes a predominant focus in the film, even though that wasn't what made the series enjoyable. Secondly, the new characters seem superfluous. Ossan's Love relies on famous stunt casting instead of developing Justice or Mamiana meaningfully. And thirdly, the over-the-top action sequences are unnecessary. Everything seems dumbed down in this film, relying on absurd humour to appeal to a mainstream moviegoing audience.

However, Ossan's Love: Love or Dead is a deceptively silly film, hiding a meaningful message beneath all the ridiculous antics. Every once in a while, there are a few surprisingly well-written scenes about Haruta and Maki's relationship. Deep down, the movie's themes show more emotional nuance than what meets the eye. Mind you, these moments aren't very common. They are often eclipsed by lots of juvenile slapstick humour. Nevertheless, those one or two scenes are pretty poignant, giving us a brief glimpse of what the Ossan's Love movie could have been.

Maki's character comes across as too unlikable in the movie. While I understand some of his frustrations with Haruta, Maki behaves so standoffishly that he seems unreasonable. He constantly keeps secrets, doesn't communicate with his boyfriend, and prioritizes his career over his relationship. It doesn't help that we hardly see Maki's perspective, making his behaviour towards Haruta seem erratic. I wish the movie had spent more time fleshing out his characterization. Instead, it wastes time on Justice, Mamiana, and other uninteresting distractions.

In terms of humour, Ossan's Love: Love or Dead is passable as an action-comedy movie. Some people won't enjoy this type of low-brow, exaggerated humour, but the jokes can be charming in a silly and lighthearted way. Sometimes, the comedic scenarios are too farfetched for me, which works against the film's immersion. It's hard to take the plot seriously when I suddenly worry about bomb threats, abductions, and explosions out of nowhere. Ossan's Love: Love or Dead suffers from a lack of realism, prioritizing comedic nonsense over coherent logic.

I understand the need to make a mainstream movie more dramatic to hold the audience's attention. Yet, I would've preferred a simpler, smaller, and more intimate story instead. What makes the original series so beloved isn't the big cinematic sequences, the corporate espionage plot, or the star-studded stunt casting. I only want a low-key Ossan's Love sequel that focuses on Haruta, Maki, and Kurosawa instead of all these senseless additions. Although Ossan's Love: Love or Dead is packed with action and humour, the movie is sadly missing its original charm.