Tampopo (タンポポ, Tanpopo, literally "dandelion") is a 1985 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami, and starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe.

A pair of truck drivers, the experienced Gorō and a younger colleague named Gun, stop at a decrepit roadside ramen noodle shop.

After the rematch ends in a draw, Pisuken reveals he is a contractor and Tampopo's childhood friend, and offers to renovate the shop's interior.

A group of business executives visit a French restaurant but have no idea how to order and are upstaged by a surprisingly worldly subordinate.

A women's etiquette class on how to eat spaghetti silently in the European manner abruptly changes course upon observing a white man slurping his noodles.

The man is ultimately shot several times by an unknown assailant, to his lover's horror, though he is satisfied at the end of his life and hopes to see it play out like a film.

[2] Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, commenting that "Like the French comedies of Jacques Tati, it's a bemused meditation on human nature in which one humorous situation flows into another offhandedly, as if life were a series of smiles.

"[4] Andrew Johnston writing in Time Out New York commented: "This film is his broadest comedy by far, and its principal subjects are those great global constants, food and sex.

"[6] Tampopo has received unanimous praise from critics, with a 100% approval rating and average score of 8.53/10 from Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews.

The site's critical consensus states, "Thanks to director Juzo Itami's offbeat humor and sharp satirical edge, Tampopo is a funny, sexy, affectionate celebration of food and its broad influence on Japanese culture.