Cheotsarang sasu gwolgidaehoe (2003) User Reviews

unfortunately, i must agree with Brian T.

[tai4ji2x · 5/10 · 27 May 2005]

being a person of Asian descent, i understand the cultural context from which movies like this arise. i can also see how this humor will either be incomprehensible or offensive to unfamiliar viewers.

that being said, even though son ye-jin is my fav korean actress right now, and the "man's man" inside me might be giddy at the fact that she momentarily wears a bikini in this "film" - like Brian T. said, the misogynistic and patriarchal undertones of the movie are just too blatant.

we Asian people can do better. as Asian men, we can do better for our sisters, mothers, daughters - than to assume roles like the father and son-in-law characters in this film.

A great cast can't save this horrible movie

[zhixiong · 2/10 · 20 June 2005]

Yun Dong-geun, a veteran actor (Who's Got the Tape, Marrying the Mafia), Cha Tae-hyun (My Sassy Girl, Lover's Concerto), and the beautiful Son Ye-jin (A Moment to Remember, Lover's Converto, The Classic) are not enough to turn the tables of this horrible movie. The story is plain Grade 'C' boring and resorts to male pubic hair anecdotes to capture our attention in the first 20 minutes of the movie. It failed.

Seeing that Crazy First Love was produced in 2003 made me feel more disgusted. There were far more better romance/comedy Korean movies made before 2003. Timeless classics such as 'My Sassy Girl' (2001), 'My Wife is a Gangster' (2001), 'Sex is Zero' (2002), 'Marrying the Mafia' (2002) can easily topple Crazy First Love in terms of entertainment value and storyline. I thought 'Wet Dreams' (2002) was done in bad taste, full of male organ and nonsense jokes. However Crazy First Love brought the definition of bad taste to a whole new level.

There are better Korean movies to watch. Do not waste your life on this movie.

Mao points: 2/10

Typically overblown tragicomedy that signifies much of what westerners find inaccessible about Korean cinema.

[BrianThibodeau · 1 September 2004]

CRAZY FIRST LOVE (2003) Directed by Oh Jong-rok. Typically overblown tragicomedy that signifies much of what westerners find inaccessible about Korean cinema and, to some extent, the Korean psyche. Let's call this lecture Misogyny and the Posessive, Overgrown Man-Child. To protect the virtue of his daughter (Son Ye-jin), an authoritarian high-school teacher (Yoo Dong-geun) sets - and keeps changing - unreasonable standards for the young slacker (MY SASSY GIRL's Cha Tae-hyn) who has loved her since childhood, then must work WITH him when she grows tired of their constant meddling and surveillance and becomes involved with another man. Korean men do not come off particularly well in this film (but then,that would depend on who you asked). They're either shallow gadflies or control freaks with maturity issues. How fitting, then, that the only way the male filmmakers could rationalize their crazed behaviour in the greater social theme of things is to slap the progressive-minded female lead with myelodysplastic syndrome, the same terminal disease - read punishment - that killed her mother at 18. Faced with her own immortality, and in a scene far, FAR too reminiscent of MY SASSY GIRL, we FINALLY discover why she couldn't be with the man who has gone to insane lengths to win her affection and why she COULD be with a lothario who will one day find happiness with yet another woman.

While it's tough to deny the calculation behind emotional scenes like those that end this film - and in Korean cinema scenes like these are legion - one can't shake the feeling that for Korean comedic cinema - indeed MUCH of Korean cinema in general - to truly move on and perhaps capture a larger international audience, Korean filmmakers may need to dispense with a great deal of the contrived, subtly misogynistic heart string manipulation that, ultimately, reinforces dated stereotypes about patriarchy, makes childish men look like pariahs and punishes women for thinking outside the box. People crying on mountaintops (and this film is has one!) are starting to wear thin. See also SEX IS ZERO for a similar treatment of these themes. 3

painful... to watch

[krankcolc · 2/10 · 12 August 2004]

This is a painfully awful film. I've seen worse, but not lately (It's worse than CATWOMAN, even!). I usually find something good to write about in all the Asian films I watch, especially the Korean comedies. This one has absolutely nothing. It's not funny, it's not romantic, and i already have 4 year old that whines all day long, so why would i want to kill nearly 2 more hours of my day listening to a grown man do it. The only saving grace is the lead actress, but unfortunately it is for her beauty and not her acting.

Save your dollars for the "better" comedic films like "My Wife is a Gangster", "100 Days with Mr. Arrogant" or even "Please Teach Me English". Your brain will thank you (maybe).

Not a good movie...

[DM-19 · 3/10 · 22 June 2004]

The synopsis of the movie is mentioned in other reviews, so I'm just going to tell you what I didn't like about this movie. It's far too inconsistent and what starts off as a light comedy - in the mold of say, My Sassy Girl or 100 Days with Mr Arrogant - skews into soap-opera melodrama at the drop of a hat, with all players involved shouting and crying their way through proceedings. Tae-hyun Cha, who was pretty good alongside the fabulous Ji-hyun Jun in My Sassy Girl, is mistaken when he thinks that screaming at the top of his voice constitutes good comedy while all Ye-jin Son has to do is stand around and cry a lot. If you like shopping for the odd Oriental movie on auction sites and are looking for a nice comedy, I would recommend either of the previously mentioned titles, including Spy Girl and the 2 My Wife is a Gangster movies.

great movie!!!

[briansfile24 · 9/10 · 22 May 2006]

This is a great movie!!! I'm seeing some bad reviews about this movie on this site, but I think I know why (btw, I'm Korean). Among many Korean movies I've watched, I think this movie has a little more depth to it then some other Korean movies with simpler plots. This movie takes place in the southern region of South Korea, and about 95% of the dialogue is in southern dialect, meaning very unique and distinctive words/expressions which are very hard to translate in English while carrying the full intended meaning. For example, one of the ending lines of the movie quotes, "I will protect her until I paint the walls with my poop," in Korean (before translation) this is a very comical and meaningful line, but when translated in English as above, it sounds rather awkward than funny. In addition, there are parts in the movie which may seem very very strange and weird (or simply difficult to understand or find funny) to viewers who aren't Asian. Some parts of the movie may only be understandable to it's actually intended meaning if the viewer had lived in Asia(??) I have lived in Canada for over 8 years and can see the different perspectives of the Asian viewers and the other viewers on this movie. Anyways, I found this movie GREAT!!! and recommend it to any viewers looking to look (more) into Asian culture, or are willing to challenge themselves with trying to understand what the actors/plot actually mean, other wise I recommend other Korean comedies such as "my sassy girl" or "100 days with Mr.Arrogant". Thanks for reading my babbling, I hoped it didn't offend anyone, and I hope it helped you.

I don't know why everyone is hating, it was a pretty good movie.

[korean-dude · 10/10 · 15 June 2010]

Okay, so most of the other reviews are making comparisons with My Sassy Girl. Why the heck would you compare a romantic comedy to My Sassy Girl? Which was/is the best romantic comedy to date(Most people would agree). Any romantic comedy compared to My Sassy Girl would of course be not up to par.

I give this a 8/10 or so. The story was actually not a bad one. The ending is somewhat a cliffhanger and allows the viewer to determine what happens(which I don't personally like in a movie) but whether it be a happy or sad ending it was still pretty good. This definitely deserves better than a 5.1 though. I would say it have at least a 6.0 Everyone is complaining about Cha Tae-hyun's character just screaming to be funny. Well, that is his character in the movie, that is his personality so I don't know why you would complain about it. Also, Son Ye-jin's character is supposed to be a crier. If any of you had the slightest clue of why she did what she did then you would understand why she cried so much. Yun Dong-geun did a great job as well. His character changed dramatically because he became better friends with Cha Tae-hyun.

People need to look deeper into a film than just judge the general film itself. Why the heck bother to write a review if you do not fully understand the movie's plot.

It's similar to a fairy tale that will find a way to have a blissful ending.

[heartrob_kid2000 · 8/10 · 23 January 2004]

--->> spoiler alert <<---

The movie is filled with fun and laughter. Although in the end, (since this was a Korean film), I already expect the smooth flow of drama that really makes me so fond watching Korean Films. It starts with a slight animation about two babies, Il Mae and Tae-il. The two have been best friends ever since Tae-il's mother breastfed Il Mae after her mother died. Her father bestows her to Tae Il, who first has to achieve certain conditions which include getting into university, passing the judicial exams and including the size of his... hahaha!!!

Tae-il was always been a trouble-maker. That's probably the reason why Il-mae's dad hesitate to allow him to be with his daughter. Il-Mae's dad which is also Tae-il's teacher has so many condition before he can be with his daughter. Because of that Tae-il was challenge to change his stupid behavior and tries to be serious as he can be until the time that he accomplish his career.

Il-mae's character was so mysterious. On the first part of the movie, you'll notice that she really hates Tae-il. Maybe because of his dense attitude. But deep inside she also feel affection for Tae-il no matter who he is. Wherein you will become aware of at the last part.

Il-mae's mom died because of a certain disease. Since then she always comprehend and felt so sorry for her dad. She loves her dad so much. She always notice that her dad was in great sorrow about her mom. Unfortunately, she don't like to see Tae-il the same way she sees on her dad. Because she inherited her mom's disease.

The ending was so remarkable. It's my favorite part. It's similar to a fairy tale that will find a way to have a blissful ending.

I enjoyed it.

[martin-fennell · 8/10 · 8 January 2012]

I found this movie to be very ejoyable. I laughed, and I cried. Yes, the lead character's shouting was a bit much. But I wasn't that bothered by it. I don't know what else to say about it. I thought the explanation of why she didn't want to marry him was a good one. The acting was adequate. It was nice that the lead character was pretty ordinary looking. The misogny went completely over my head. I'm afraid I don't think of stuff like that when watching a movie. Should I give low marks to a film, because it shows women in a bad light, or give high marks to a film because it embraces feminism. I don't think so. The film entertained me enormously. I hope i have enough lines written now, let's see. Yes, I have. Hooray.