1
SKITC
Probably within reach of a coffee
Ji Hwan Y Dangerously
Making a reference to a forty year old movie is probably not the ideal method of appealing to the younger demographic on MDL. Perhaps something iconic like "Breakfast Club" or "Beverly Hills Cop" would spark the right nostalgic vibe. But a forgettable, middling, sophomoric mess? Terrible idea but here goes anyway.
"Johnny Dangerously" was a 1984 movie meant to capitalize on the emerging stardom of a young Michael Keaton who had just exploded as a comedic star after back-to-back hits in "Night Shift" and "Mr. Mom". Pairing Keaton with Amy Heckerling, the Greta Gerwig of the 80's who established herself with the scintillating "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" should have been a can't miss project. It was a massive failure though. Probably because the concept was a parody of the incredible mafia movies of Coppola and Polanski. "Johnny Dangerously" was both a critical and popular bomb.
"My Sweet Mobster" encounters some of the same problems. Meant to be a comedy starring a zoot suited gangster that meets the girl of his dreams and wants to do right by his family, both start strong and score genuinely funny moments. And both don't really know what to do beyond lampooning the tough guy stereotype. Once the joke about the gangster not being such a big, tough, heartless guy, but a kindhearted softie gets played a few times, there's got to be somewhere else to go. It's fun at first. The more chaotic and frenzied it is, the more at ease Han Sun Hwa is. And Uhm Tae Goo is legit a delight as the flummoxed suitor. And Im Chul Soo takes his nemesis to an absurdly sketch comedy level. But at some point, "My Sweet Mobster" can't squeeze any more gags out of the cute, awkward gangster likes the bubbly kids streamer. And the options are:
1. Cut it short. The big secret gets revealed. Happy embraces. Roll credits. But it's a 16 episode contract, so this is a not an option.
2. Keep going back to same well. This was the route taken by "Johnny Dangerously" and it did not work.
3. Revert to stock drama storylines. Triangles. Hospitals. Roadtrips. This is where "My Sweet Mobster" goes and while it's not entirely unpleasant, it goes exactly to the exact destination and along the exact route in the exact manner as any regular viewer of k dramas can expect. Which is unfortunate because the two leads had a lot of promise if they had just avoided doing exactly the usual, typical, same ol', same ol' familiar stuff. It's also just a drag to go from light, fun romance with a supporting cast of fairly lovable goofballs to family angst and corporate & legal melodrama.
4. What could have worked was investing more screen time in the aforementioned supporting cast. Kim Hyun Jin isn't going to win any awards (see my review for "Peng" where he was one of the four horsemen of the borepocalypse) but the one night stand with Moon Ji In that becomes something more is terrific. And there are hints of other potential subplots with Moon Dong Hyuk with Song Seo Rin and Kwon Yool with Shin Soo Hyun (like repeated, explicitly telegraphed, unmistakeable flashing lights saying "LOOK AT THESE TWO. RIGHT HERE. THAT GUY. WITH THAT WOMAN. THEY'RE GONNA BE A THING. JUST WAIT.") Do these go anywhere? No. Foreshadowing with a payoff? When there's sixteen hour long episodes to insert said payoff? If drama malpractice was a felony, this crew would be behind bars for a long time. Then there's the backstory for Park Jae Chan and his first love? It's there but to what end? None that makes any sense other than make life more miserable for Ji Hwan. And the most endearing of the supporting characters, Yang Hyun Min's Jae Soo, gets used for cheap laughs, reduced to a plot device to set up a final conflict and transformed in to a blubbering weakling.
Had these supporting characters been given meaningful and fully explored subplots in a more ensemble style show, "My Sweet Mobster" could have been a massively charming and entertaining watch. It's still good but it simply can't turn a cheeky, cute romance in to a riveting sixteen episode run.
Recommended but with cautions that it will get frustrating to watch. Perhaps if it had a love broker* though...
*see Michael Keaton in "Night Shift"
"Johnny Dangerously" was a 1984 movie meant to capitalize on the emerging stardom of a young Michael Keaton who had just exploded as a comedic star after back-to-back hits in "Night Shift" and "Mr. Mom". Pairing Keaton with Amy Heckerling, the Greta Gerwig of the 80's who established herself with the scintillating "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" should have been a can't miss project. It was a massive failure though. Probably because the concept was a parody of the incredible mafia movies of Coppola and Polanski. "Johnny Dangerously" was both a critical and popular bomb.
"My Sweet Mobster" encounters some of the same problems. Meant to be a comedy starring a zoot suited gangster that meets the girl of his dreams and wants to do right by his family, both start strong and score genuinely funny moments. And both don't really know what to do beyond lampooning the tough guy stereotype. Once the joke about the gangster not being such a big, tough, heartless guy, but a kindhearted softie gets played a few times, there's got to be somewhere else to go. It's fun at first. The more chaotic and frenzied it is, the more at ease Han Sun Hwa is. And Uhm Tae Goo is legit a delight as the flummoxed suitor. And Im Chul Soo takes his nemesis to an absurdly sketch comedy level. But at some point, "My Sweet Mobster" can't squeeze any more gags out of the cute, awkward gangster likes the bubbly kids streamer. And the options are:
1. Cut it short. The big secret gets revealed. Happy embraces. Roll credits. But it's a 16 episode contract, so this is a not an option.
2. Keep going back to same well. This was the route taken by "Johnny Dangerously" and it did not work.
3. Revert to stock drama storylines. Triangles. Hospitals. Roadtrips. This is where "My Sweet Mobster" goes and while it's not entirely unpleasant, it goes exactly to the exact destination and along the exact route in the exact manner as any regular viewer of k dramas can expect. Which is unfortunate because the two leads had a lot of promise if they had just avoided doing exactly the usual, typical, same ol', same ol' familiar stuff. It's also just a drag to go from light, fun romance with a supporting cast of fairly lovable goofballs to family angst and corporate & legal melodrama.
4. What could have worked was investing more screen time in the aforementioned supporting cast. Kim Hyun Jin isn't going to win any awards (see my review for "Peng" where he was one of the four horsemen of the borepocalypse) but the one night stand with Moon Ji In that becomes something more is terrific. And there are hints of other potential subplots with Moon Dong Hyuk with Song Seo Rin and Kwon Yool with Shin Soo Hyun (like repeated, explicitly telegraphed, unmistakeable flashing lights saying "LOOK AT THESE TWO. RIGHT HERE. THAT GUY. WITH THAT WOMAN. THEY'RE GONNA BE A THING. JUST WAIT.") Do these go anywhere? No. Foreshadowing with a payoff? When there's sixteen hour long episodes to insert said payoff? If drama malpractice was a felony, this crew would be behind bars for a long time. Then there's the backstory for Park Jae Chan and his first love? It's there but to what end? None that makes any sense other than make life more miserable for Ji Hwan. And the most endearing of the supporting characters, Yang Hyun Min's Jae Soo, gets used for cheap laughs, reduced to a plot device to set up a final conflict and transformed in to a blubbering weakling.
Had these supporting characters been given meaningful and fully explored subplots in a more ensemble style show, "My Sweet Mobster" could have been a massively charming and entertaining watch. It's still good but it simply can't turn a cheeky, cute romance in to a riveting sixteen episode run.
Recommended but with cautions that it will get frustrating to watch. Perhaps if it had a love broker* though...
*see Michael Keaton in "Night Shift"
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