The Uchoten Hotel is a fast-paced portmanteau piece focusing on a dozen characters brought together under the roof of one hotel on New Year's Eve. Ably scripted by Koki Mitani who gave us the underrated Warai no Daigaku, populated with a stellar cast, this film achieved very decent box office in Japan. Mitani's tributes to Billy Wilder that crop up through the film give a clue to the audience demographic that fueled the grosses in Japan: 50-plus middle class couples looking to smile. That is not to denigrate the film, only to more clearly say what it is and what you should not expect. There are no real laugh-out-loud moments (though Toshiyuki Nishida, who pops up half-way through, comes closest), and you won't cry. It's not It's A Wonderful Life, but it is not bad if you are in the mood.

The performances on the whole are top drawer, with Koichi Sato, Nishida and the ever- flawless Koji Yakusho stand-outs. YOU is under-used as a timid singer who finally finds some steel (though not a voice, as her stage appearance at the end reveals), and the only cringe-inducer is Kabira who shouts his way through his role as a frustrated suitor. Some of the stories, too, work better than others - the cheating professor gets tiresome, and the Chairman's face-painting dilemma doesn't quite come off. But the bellhop who gives away all the icons of his failed musical ambition only to have them return through convoluted routes is quite touching, Takako Matsu as the single mother bringing together star-crossed lovers plays out nicely, and the spineless politician who is saved by a hooker and, inadvertently, a busker, is strong on heart and comic irony.

The film came out during a wave of nostalgia in Japan for the Showa era, more specifically the post-war period up to 1989. The Japanese baby boomers who came of age and shaped that era, and who are now in or approaching retirement and have all the disposable income in the country, took to the film, a feel-good flick with the look of a previous era and a life-affirming message. It might not receive such a warm welcome overseas, but for those in the mood for Japanese-style unchallenging schmaltz, the film is worth a look.