Nov
18
2007
Two Faces of My Girlfriend
Posted by luna6
Movie: Two Faces of My Girlfriend
Release Date: September 12, 2007
Country: South Korea
Director: Seok-hoon Lee
Starring: Tae-gyu Bong, Ryeo-won Jeong
Runtime: 117 Min.
Editor Rating: 7.0
(31 Votes, User Rating: 8.71)
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Surprise, surprise, “Two Faces of My Girlfriend” is a new South Korean romantic comedy, that doesn’t suck! As the title suggests, the movie revolves around a girl with multiple personalties, played by Ryeo-won Jeong. Although “Two Faces …” is only Ryeo-won Jeong’s second performance in a full length film, and first in a starring role, she did perform admirably and made her somewhat clichéd character fun to watch and always believable. For the curious, Ryeo-won Jeong first achieved recognition in her native South Korea as a performer in the K-pop band named “Chakra.”
Co-star, Tae-gyu Bong is a more familiar face, as he has performed in several South Korean comedies and dramatic films. Tae-gyu Bong was the lucky chap that got to experience So-ri Moon’s wild side in “A Good Lawyer’s Wife” and made other notable performances in “Family Ties” and “How The Lack of Love Affects Two Men.” “Two Faces of My Girlfriend” is also directed by Seok-hoon Lee, who previously directed Tae-gyu Bong in the 2006 film “See You After School.”
In “Two Faces of My Girlfriend,” Gu-chang (Tae-gyu Bong) is 30 years old, still in college, unemployed and leeches of his family. Worst yet, Gu-chang has never had a girlfriend or even kissed a girl before. His friends are aware of his situation and usually has Gu-chang appearing as the butt end of their jokes. Then one day, Gu-chang falls asleep on a subway, after a night of drinking. When he wakes up, he sees a girl that he mistakes for a ghost. The girl isn’t a ghost, but works as an extra in a horror film. She’s on her way home, after becoming ill on the set of the film. Gu-chang doesn’t know this and immediately runs away from her. He drops his cellphone, which the girl picks up.
They eventually do meet again, but in a more typical circumstance and seem to get along well. Even more remarkable for Gu-chang, is that the girl seems to take an interest in him. She introduces herself as “Anni” and thus, Gu-chang and Anni’s budding romantic relationship begins. Unfortunately, when the couple spends an evening drinking, “Anni” suddenly takes a whole new personality, a rough talking brute like person that likes to fight. Gu-chang slowly comes to the realization that Anni suffers from multiple personalities.
From there, the movie displays a lot of fun playfulness between the two main characters, as the movie plays off the multiple personality disorder that Anni suffers from. Visuals are shot in the sharp cinematic style of most mainstream Korean films these days and also features a better than average soundtrack. Often a Korean alternative band is played in the background, who sound eerily similar to the British band known as Travis.
Since “Two Faces …” is a Korean romantic comedy and if you are in the least bit familiar with that genre, you just KNOW the movie will turn serious somewhere in the second half. With “Two Faces … ” the movie does follow convention and turns dramatic somewhere around the 70 minute mark of the film. The dramatic turn concerns Anni, as gets treated for her multiple personality disorder. This creates a difficult situation for Gu-chang as the personality he is in love with may disappear and possibly the person that loves him.
While the setup for the dramatic side of “Two Faces …” tends to get overly dramatic, Tae-gyu Bong and Ryeo-won Jeong are able to rein in the excessiveness of the script and still keep the feel of the movie true to its original spirit; a feel good comedy about love. There are a lot of things to like about “Two Faces ..,” first and foremost the agreeable performances by Tae-gyu Bong and Ryeo-won Jeong. The balance of comedy, romance and drama are also done in a well balanced manner, where the heavier dramatic elements in the final portions of the movie doesn’t overwhelm the film. In the end, “Two Faces of My Girlfriend” turns out to be a sweet, lovable film, reflective of the charm that the two main performers possess.
Cast:
Tae-gyu Bong - Gu-chang
Ryeo-won Jeong - Anni / Hanni / YuriIn-kwon Kim
Hae-eun Lee
Hye-ok Kim
If you like this movie you may enjoy: The Beast and the Beauty, 200 Pounds Beauty, Herb
2007 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews |
Comments
4 Comments so far
OMG i <3 this movie its the best korean movie i’ve seen!!
Ryeo-won is a perfect character and have a ocean smile
it just…
It was very funny, if you like this one you should also watch ; see you after school with the same kid in it…
Tae-Gyu Bong is one of the most charismatic and funny actors in Korean Cinema. I was about to pass up this movie, until I saw an alternate DVD cover where he was wearing this Transformers Tshirt and Ryeo-won clinging to his leg. I love the Ally McBeal moments - but a bit disappointed during the multiple personality treatment.