Chicago Sun-Times - 03/14/2003
"...An endearing farce about love and logic..."
This Japanese comedy centers around the broadcast of a radio play, "Woman of Destiny", written by a housewife named Miyako who won the station's on-air contest. The play is a simple story about a fishing village romance, but shortly before the play is to have its first performance, the show's lead actress, Nokko, demands that her character become an American named Mary Jane. Though this requires parts of the script to be rewritten hours before they go on-air, the radio station agrees. However, when her male costar also demands his character be Americanized, and named Donald McDonald no less, Miyako and the show's producers are thrown into a frenzy. Both a hilarious farce and a wicked satire on Japanese and American culture, WELCOME BACK, MR. MCDONALD is a hugely entertaining comedy.