"Ah Fuck. It's a porn republic because of the internet."Korea is yet again responsible for another romantic comedy. They are the reigning champions of the genre and just might be running out of steam. My Scary Girl (달콤, 살벌한 연인) attempts to change all that by adding a few twists and perhaps something new.
Hwang Dae-Woo (Park Yong-Woo) is a thirty-something, shy, soft-spoken English professor that has never had any luck with the ladies. No date, no kiss, nothing. Dae-Woo is a nice guy and longs for female companionship and with help from his buddy he manages to ask out Lee Min-Na (Choi Gang-Hee), his new neighbor from downstairs. With love at first site, for Dae-Woo anyway, he finds out that she's an aspiring art student that wants to study in Italy someday. Mi-Na is everything that Dae-Woo could want in a girlfriend. She's smart, beautiful, and most important of all...she talks to him. After going on a few dates with each other, the two begin to really hit it off. Dae-Woo's dorky, "I've never been around a girl in a romantic way" charm starts to take it's effect on Min-Na and thus the sparks start to fly. Now that the two are in love, Dae-Woo shows up bringing some flowers for his sweetie, but to his surprise he finds a naked guy coming out of Min-Na's shower! Dae-Woo is naturally crushed by this discovery and wants to call the relationship quits. Min-Na explains that he's just an old boyfriend that barged his way into her place and he means nothing to her. She promises Dae-Woo that she'll take care of everything and that he shouldn't worry.
And that's about as much of My Scary Girl without giving away too much of the zing. With that said, you get a typical romantic comedy that takes a chance by implementing some new ideas. The look and feel is all up to snuff with what you'd expect from Korean cinema. In a way, it's really all up to the viewer and how much they've been exposed to this type of film in the past. If you're tired of the somewhat stale Korean romance formula, then the twists probably wont' do anything for you. On the other hand, if this type of film is your bag, then you'll most likely enjoy it for what it is and smile at it's attempts to bring you something new. As a whole, there isn't anything technically wrong with My Scary Girl, but it leaves you feeling unmoved and unfulfilled. In the long run, and unfortunately, it just comes off like an old dog trying it's hardest to do a new trick. (CBKevin)
