Review | Netflix drama review: Let’s Get Divorced – Japanese romcom series about a power couple trying to split against the odds drags on for too long
- Starring Riisa Naka and Tori Matsuzaka, the show subverts romcom conventions as an affair sparks divorce proceedings between a politician and a beloved actress
- But enjoyable characters aside, the story is cluttered and drawn out. Condensing the run time from 12 to 2 hours may have made for a much less laborious watch
2.5/5 stars
In a playful subversion of genre expectations, romantic comedy Let’s Get Divorced is not the story of two strangers who meet and fall in love, but instead introduces us to a married couple battling to go their separate ways.
Riisa Naka and Tori Matsuzaka star as the unhappily wed pair, whose irreconcilable differences are driving them apart, only for their professions – and everyone around them – to persistently conspire to keep them together.
Set in the high-profile worlds of national politics and the entertainment industry, this 10-episode series avoids any scathing satirical dissection of either professional sphere, keeping the tone light and frothy as it skips through a procession of matrimonial misadventures.
Taishi Shoji (Matsuzaka) is a fledgling politician, following in the intimidating footsteps of his recently deceased father. When he is snapped by the paparazzi in a romantic clinch with beautiful young reporter Sakurako (Lisa Oda), his wife Yui (Naka) asks for a divorce, an act certain to derail her husband’s political future.