Asuka (Mayu Asada) is a sexy pickpocket who operates on crowded Japanese subway trains. Her methods are simple but effective: She seductively rubs up against her targets to arouse them before slyly lifting their wallets. When her wallet is stolen by another pickpocket, she is convinced her latest victim, Yuji (Yota Kawase) was the one who took her cash. Since Yuji got pretty handsy with her on the subway, Asuka then blackmails him into becoming her partner in crime, saying she’ll go to the cops and ruin his good name if he doesn’t throw in with her. Together, they begin stealing more wallets from unsuspecting commuters, and eventually, she convinces Yuji to commit more elaborate crimes. Predictably, things threaten to fall apart once they start having feelings for one another.
The early scenes of Asada slowly roping the poor straightlaced dope into a life of crime have a fun, Something Wild-type vibe to them. The way he falls in love with her even though she is obviously using him for her own ends is kind of sweet too. Naturally, he’s engaged, which complicates matters, but I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say that everybody winds up getting what they want in the end.
Although Dirty Scoundrels starts off kinda kinky with all the scenes of groping in public places, it soon settles down into a sorta square romantic crime comedy. While predictable, it’s always engaging, and the performances by Asada and Kawase are rather charming. Their courtship scenes are sweet, and even the gratuitous subplots (like Asada taking Kawase to meet her grandmother, who is also a pickpocket), manage to entertain. It clocks in at a scant fifty-one minutes, so it does feel a bit rushed at times (especially towards the end). However, the quirky characters and occasional steamy softcore scenes make it worthwhile.
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