Hollywood screwball comedies have long been favorites of Japanese filmmakers, with many listing such genre masters as Frank Capra, Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder as influences. Screwball comedy heroines, however, are usually self-centered, hard-headed types, while the local feminine ideal on screen is still typically self-sacrificing and soft-hearted. But if Koji Maeda's debut feature, "Kigeki Konzen Tokkyu (Cannonball Wedlock)" is any evidence, there is at least one funny exception.

Her name is Chie (Yuriko Yoshitaka), a 24-year-old office lady who is not passively waiting for Mr. Right to come along or, as in her grandmother's day, to be introduced by her parents. Instead, aiming to maximize her pleasure on this planet, she juggles five guys, hanging out with whomever strikes her fancy or fulfills certain needs.

There's the suave 54-year-old beauty-salon owner (Takaaki Enoki) who underwrites her foreign travel plans; the tall, macho motorbike-shop manager (Munetaka Aoki) who takes her on stress-relieving rides; the tousle-haired college kid (Takuya Yoshimura) who's scrumptiously cute; and the once-divorced sales exec (Ryo Kase) who listens to all her troubles.