Yeongeo wanjeonjeongbok (2003) Reviews

• Romantic Comedy... but don't let that put you off.

  rampaging_bn2004-05-01

  I had no idea what this movie was, or what it was about when I first picked it up, but I found myself sucked into it quite quickly. This review may contain slight spoilers, but if you've seen a romantic comedy before, you'll know the outset. At first glance, it's a fairly stock-standard romantic comedy about an adult class in Korea being taught english by Cathy (Australian Angela Kelly) for various reasons (business, family, overseas trips), but as you see more there are a few things that set this film apart from its competition. My main gripe with this movie would be that the characters seem to change their attitudes and feelings on a dime. The obvious love between the two main characters 'Candy' Yeong-ju (Na-yeong Lee) and 'Elvis' Moon-su (Hyuk Jang, playing a very different role than from his efforts in Volcano High) seems to start too slow and then bullet ahead just in time for the end credits. Despite the comedy, this film does have some extremely touching moments, and I did feel for most of the characters with the possible exception of Cathy. Most noticably with Moon-su's side-story of a sister that was adopted and moved to America at a very young age. All in all, it's a nice and pleasant film. I found myself laughing out loud in more than one scene which is rare for me. Also look out for cameos from some better known Korean actors, such as the man on the train with the newspaper. 6.5/10

• correction

  satsu_jin_sha2005-08-14

  i completely disagree with the posted review i usually give people the benefit of the doubt but this movie is quite funny and i think the usage of different movie mediums (ie animation, documentary)added a very cute yet thoughtful comedic value. It is a romantic comedy and not much should be weighed upon the realism but there are some pleasant real life twists and communicational misunderstandings and misinterpretations that give the movie a nice personal relevance. Also the underlying theme of the importance of people worldwide learning English as a necessity is mind opening.Especially how it is presented. The movie Isn't very serious or artsy which makes the point of people having trouble worldwide with being forced to learn English that much easier to witness for those of us who grew up in a place where English is the native language. I definitely recommend this film for fun and definitely for anyone who has the experience of being forced to learn English.

• A Good Date Movie

  NickDanger2004-12-20

  Even though the character development are not as established as hoped, this movie comes off as a pleasant surprise. The scene transitions are not always smooth, and there are a few odd tacks in the script course, but it does come off altogether as a cute date movie. The production techniques are very good, with some interesting animation along the way that enhance the whole scene. Especially the fighting game sequence. The acting was good; Hyuk Jang was good here, better than Windstruck I think. But the top acting goes to Mun-hee Na as Moon-Su's mother. There is a fairly dramatic section about a reunion of separated family that she really carries home. The dramatic portion cut into a lot of the comedy and seemed out place, but it did add some additional depth to the otherwise thin story line. Some of the character interaction were not clear but as a whole it was well done and comes off as time well spent.

• A Pleasant Surprise

  djd582008-06-09

  I almost passed on this movie since it appeared too quirky for my tastes, a romantic comedy about a class of South Korean students and its Australian English teacher. Well, I was right about the quirky part, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. This is a fairly straightforward romantic comedy made exceptional by the performances of the two leads, Na-yeong Lee and Hyuk Jang. Lee plays Yeong-ju, a relatively shy, awkward woman, who immediately falls in love with the young "player", Jang's Moon-su. Yeong-ju tries to win his love through every means possible, from asking outright to teaching a pig English. She is borderline psychotic and she would be considered a stalker in the US, but she's so funny and adorable you want her to win anyway. I must admit, it was also fun watching Lee, a very beautiful actress, turn herself into a clumsy mouse-of-a-girl. The subplot is touching: Moon-su is trying to learn English so he can translate conversations between his mother and his sister, Victoria, who has lived in the United States since she was given up for adoption. Mun-he Na plays Moon-su's mother and also gives an endearing, heartfelt performance. The only discordant note in the entire movie is the young actress playing Victoria, who clearly cannot act, but her poor performance only made me realize how good the other's were. There is also some witty use of animation in some scenes that cleverly supports the story without threatening to overshadow it. A possible exception is the Mortal Kombat parody that does goes on for a bit but it is pretty funny nevertheless, and it occurs early enough in the film so that it fades to the background by the two-thirds mark. As an aside, I have no idea what the picture on the cover of the DVD is portraying as it bears no relationship to the movie itself. Don't attempt to judge the movie by that picture.

• Cute and delightful flick that deals with mistranslation

  KineticSeoul2012-12-27

  When this movie came out, English was the rage since Asians tend to think the English language to be cool. That is probably the reason why there is random Asian words on shirts and other clothing in Korea, some that don't even make sense. This whole movie when it comes to the humor is driven by mistranslation and mispronunciations. So audiences that know how to speak English and understand Korean culture is going to get a bit of a kick out of this movie. My friend who is Korean couldn't stop smirking most of the way through this movie. The plot revolves around slightly odd people coming together in a class to learn English. But mostly has to do with two of the students in that class. One is a dorky and flirtatious guy that tries to pick up girls using English and is played by the actor Jang Hyuk. This is the reason I like Jang Hyuk, he is cool and charming actor and yet he doesn't mind acting like a bit of a dork and doesn't try overly hard to appear cool and gentleman like all the time. Which makes him seem like a comfortable person to be around because of his appearance of being a honest person with himself. He is basically a Korean heartthrob but it's cool he takes on roles like this. The female lead is a dorky and yet cute girl played by the actress Lee Na-Young who is actually but made herself look nerdy as possible for this role. This is a very low budget Korean romantic comedy that is cute and to some degree charming even when it comes the humor that is delightful to watch. 7.2/10