2002
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SYNOPSIS:
Hyo Jin is a marriage consultant. She
organises dates between people too busy to socialise and find their own
`Perfect Match`. It is a job she gains much satisfaction from and one
she is good at. Her advice and her own personal life are not synchronous
however - she has an unseen boyfriend whose presence is only expressed
by a photo on her desk at work and spends most nights with friends on
their own search for love.
Korean romantic comedy
directed by Moh Ji-eun.
Screenplay by In Eun-ah.
Starring Shin Eun-kyung, Jung Jun-ho,
Gong Hyung-jin, Kim Yeo-jin.
Running time: 101 mins
Language: Korean with English subtitles
OFFICIAL
WEBSITE:
www.romanticcomedy.co.kr
[Korean text]
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HEROIC-CINEMA'S
REVIEW:
Hmm. A matchmaker who has
trouble finding a match for herself - sound familiar? Well it is a
romantic comedy and once the basic premise of the film is established,
you can pretty much guess how it will turn out in the end. Still,
doesn't mean it isn't watchable.
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| So how does it stand as a
Romantic Comedy? Well, I will admit it is quite enjoyable and something
that doesn't take much effort to watch. With the plot well established,
what makes these movies are the characters and their relationships. In A
Perfect Match, most of the characters I could automatically relate
to and associate to people I know (not including me of course. Haha.
Much too staid and dull to be a character in a romantic comedy.)
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| The main
character, Hyo Jin, is for all intents and purposes Emma but Shin Eun
Kyung pulls off a good performance as the caregiver who's concerns seem
greater for her friends and clients than for herself. And the chemistry
between herself and Hyun Su (Jung Joon Su) is convincing and reminiscent
of many a Meg Ryan film. Jung Joon Su is effortless as the introspective
Hyun Su and but really is does little but be the object of affection.
The other characters that populate the film are, however, where the
strength lies. It was always fun to watch Hyo Jin's pack of lovelorn
friends lament about their situation or the drinking sessions between
her and Jung Joon, her long time confidant - who just happens to be a
guy that holds a torch for her. Otherwise the film is littered with
misadventures and chance encounters that push the film along towards
what you know is coming.
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| But any problem I may have
had was not so much with the movie itself but more appropriately the
genre itself. I mean, I cannot say that much distinguishes A Perfect
Match from the number of other Romantic Comedies I have seen. It was
Korean and some aspects of the film are distinctly integral to the
culture such as the openness of the intentions of what we see as dating
agencies to ultimately get a marriage arranged. I also found the amount
of parent intervention of interest - but then that could just be my
western sensibilities. Expectations weren't high and nothing really
suggested they should be. On that note, however, I would recommend you
stick around for the credit sequence as it shows a different story
altogether that I thought was quite clever.
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| So A Perfect
Match is a fine example of the Romantic Comedy genre and easily
enjoyable at that. It is the kind of movie you need to share with
somebody though. Either to smile at how lucky you are or laugh at how
life never seems to be that simple.
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Rating: 6½ dates before
marriage out of 10
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