“Life Risking Romance” Is Peak Korean Comedy
The other day I received a letter via Pony Express:
“Dear Sebastian, why do you write reviews of such mid films? Have you ever heard of cinema? What qualifies you to write about such garbage? You are clearly such a talented and bright individual. Why do you waste your time writing reviews and commentary of such mediocre masterpieces?- Yours, Albert Einstein.”
Well here’s another Albert Asshole, another review of a foreign picture I doubt you’ll deign to watch or witness titled “Life Risking Romance.” A touching tale, built around the love triangle of Ja-in, a sexy but annoying mystery writer with IBS, Rok-Hwan, a simp cop who’s trying to get to the nookie and then Jason, the handsome FBI agent from Miami who’s here on “business.” It’s a film that’s got everything-love, violence, humor, police brutality, crude fart jokes I hated (I hate scatological humor) and of course, friendship.
Let’s start with a situation: Ja-in is crazy. She keeps calling the cops on random people claiming they’ve committed these crimes which they haven’t and everyone thinks she’s a kook. They’re right, she is. This time, she takes it too far. She calls the cops on her own publisher, who is confused and annoyed. He tells her to bring him a book in the next 6 months. Her friend Rok-Hwan drives her home and tries to do friendzoney things like a trip to the country, etc. But before long, Ja-in has a new conspiracy. The man upstairs, Jason, is a serial killer who stuffs bodies in suitcases. Unfortunately, this is the opposite of the case and he is actually an F.B.I agent here to teach the Seoul police how to better investigate murders. Meanwhile Ja-in keeps having run ins with Heo Jong-Goo, who is accused of larceny many times over (Ja-in memorizes wanted posters for fun.) This leads to some great suspense and a boss battle between Jason and Jong-Goo which leaves him behind bars.
Meanwhile Rok-Hwan is getting mad about how close Ja-in and Jason are getting. At one point he batters Jason under the guise of police business. What a psycho, you find yourself thinking. If only. From there things take several turns that I will not spoil because the movie is just really that good. It’s a slow burn, and then things happen fast.
I loved the depth and humor of this film. It managed to cram a lot in 90 minutes and it did so in ways that were delightful, intriguing and bizarre. It’s a very Korean film as well, and if you aren’t used to their style of humor you might be confused at first. I loved it though. It was very straightforward and sly in its story telling while being very honest about the type of movie it was. It was funny but surprising poignant. The writing was strong and balanced between moods, at times giving you laughs and at other times giving you tension and action. I was never bored, even after the credits rolled.
The characters in this film were delightful. Ja-in is a great lead, someone you root for, but not so much you’re afraid to see her in bad situations. Rok-Hwan seems like a nice guy but you’re unsure of his intentions while Jason seems like Mr. American Prince Charming. Yoo-Mi, Ja-in’s best girlfriend fills a typical dumb blonde role admirably and really nails the stereotype. Even the minor villain, Heo Jong-Goo is more goober than Godzilla and will make the audience relish his time onscreen by the end of the film.
The writing is impeccable, full of punchlines, callbacks and clever twists that keep the audience engaged. It’s a very complete film, which is a shame because I want a sequel. Of course as of writing this, this film is 7 years old so it’s highly unlikely. Very sad indeed. But this film itself is a treasure of Korean cinema, a proof of concept for foreign audiences if you may say. The perfect mix of fun, danger and fanatacism for the average American to process.
Thematically it’s perhaps simple and straightforward: waiting for love, love where you least expect it, a love triangle etc…lots of love. But also some wild crime themes. The prevalence of dead women in suitcases and the general idea of human trafficking is handled disturbingly lightly for an American audience. I for one was highly skeptical of Ja-in’s decision making throughout the film, finding it surprising and at times absurd. Why chase a guy whose fetish is zipping women into suitcases. Why? WHY?
But in the end it all kind of works out and we’re happy. I couldn’t complain. It was an expertly written, choreographed, and shot film and I loved almost every minute of it. There were some awesome action sequences, farsically Indian Jones in their execution sure, but they were exhilarating. The final battle scenes are great, enough flash and enough heart to make everyone gasp and cry all at once. I love a good picture that brings its main characters together at the end.
And yeah, that kind of wraps up my review, because I want to stay spoiler free. But trust, this film is a fun watch. Very Korean, whatever that means to you…I personally loved it. Even a nouveau foreign film viewer could learn a lot about convention from this film. It was a genuine picture that made me feel things for its characters, including laughter, joy, disgust and confusion. What more could you want from an hour and a half of your time?
Life Risking Romance is currently streaming on Tubi and will probably be there for the forseeable future. If the desire to try out Korean cinema, specifically romantic-action-comedy ever overtakes you I recommend you give it a watch.
