The romantic comedy. It’s a genre where a lot of people (especially men) will have mixed feelings about. The target audience are usually women and the stories are very predictable, although there are always exceptions to this rule who manage to do extra things to make them stand out (for example Forgetting Sarah Marshall or When Harry Met Sally). Is My Sassy Girl anything special?
Gyeon-woo (Cha Tae-Hyun) is a student who isn’t very lucky when it comes to love as he’s been single for a long time. Even his mother and aunt notice this and want to arrange something for him, but Gyeon-woo keeps thinking of reasons why he can’t meet with his aunt to talk about it.
One night, when he’s waiting at a subway station, he sees a girl (Jun Ji-hyun) who is so drunk that she almost falls on the tracks when a train is arriving. He manages to save her and decides he will sit her down on the train and leave. Things don’t go according to plan and he is forced to take care of her until she is sober again and he decides to take her to a hotel.
It’s the start of a strange relationship between the two. Once Gyeon-Woo gets to know the girl (her name is never said anywhere in the movie) it turns out that she isn’t comparable to any other girl. She’s extremely dominant (when he’s ordering at a restaurant she isn’t happy with any of his choices and there are many more of these examples) and also very strange (she manages to get him out of class with a very good reason, which you wouldn’t think up yourself). The two end up in various funny situations although they don’t seem to have a real relationship. One of my favorite scenes happens when Gyeon-woo wants to surprise the girl by taking her to an amusement park in the middle of the night and things don’t pan out like he planned.
Cha Tae-Hyun is good in his role as slightly gawky student, but it’s Jun Ji-Hyun who you really want to see. She manages to breathe life into a character that you will remember for years. The girl seems to be a strong woman who knows what she wants and is also very creative (she writes scripts for movies in which the main role, which normally is played by a man, is now played by a woman), but when you are watching it you can feel that beneath the surface a whole lot is going on.
Besides the exquisite acting the story also is better than you’d expect from your average romcom. The movie is a fresh breath of air in the genre. When you look at “best of Korean cinema” lists this one is often mentioned and I completely agree with it. In 2001 it held a place in the top 5 of most visited movies in Korea. The movie also managed to make a name for itself in America which resulted in a very disappointing remake (which I must admit I have not seen).
If you are looking for a romcom with a twist, then you really should make the effort to get your hands on this movie (for example at yesasia).
Score: 9
Challenge accepted 🙂 I will watch this movie solely based on your recommendation.
Will give a comment once I finished seeing it.
Good! Looking forward to your opinion about this movie.
I remember this as a completely unique rom-com and a very refreshing one. I doubt Hollywood gonna make something like this one. Even their remake was lacked in everything.
Yes, very original. I do think that Hollywood is capable of something unique like this. 500 Days of Summer is a good example.