Review | Film review: Let’s Go, Jets! – Suzu Hirose shines in Japanese high-school cheerleading comedy
Director Hayato Kawai’s engaging coming-of-age story about a group of misfits training for a world championship allows its women stars to shine
3.5/5 stars
Anchored by an energetic central performance from 18-year-old Suzu Hirose, Let’s Go, Jets! repackages the well-worn sports drama into an engaging coming-of-age tale about competitive cheerleading at a remote Japanese high school.
Hirose first found fame as the titular sibling in Hirokazu Koreeda’s Our Little Sister , holding her own against established stars such as Haruka Ayase and Masami Nagasawa. In Let’s Go, Jets! From Small Town Girls to U.S. Champions?! – to give the film its full title – the young actress takes centre stage as Hikari, the driving force behind Fukui Chuo High School’s unlikely squad of misfits.
With no prior experience, Hikari enrols in the squad to cheer on her soccer star boyfriend (Kentaro), only to discover boys are off-limits under the officious regime of coach Ms Saotome (Yuki Amami). But under the shared mantra “Cheerful, Natural, Beautiful”, Hikari and her equally unqualified teammates learn the importance of discipline and cooperation, as they vie for a spot at the world championships in Los Angeles.
