Sex is zero with (English Subtitle)
Story: Eun Sik is 28 years old and has recently started school at the university. He is a member of the Cha Ryu group and practices with them daily, through painful endurance training. He meets the much younger and gorgeous Eun Hyo, for whom he holds a completely one-sided attraction. Eun Sik’s amazingly unlucky, and a host of embarrassing situations happen to him. Through all of this, him and his insanely horny group of friends help make one of the most memorable sex comedies, complete with both hilarious and somewhat dramatic moments.
Review: It’s really hard not to laugh at “Sex is Zero”. One of the main things this movie has going for it is the fact that it throws everything you can expect in a sex comedy at you at a fast pace, which of course includes: Boobs, masturbation, eating stuff you shouldn’t, getting caught masturbating, oral sex and masturbating with friends. While a few jokes in the film are hit or miss, the majority of the running time is immensely enjoyable.
The strength of this movie lies in it’s characters, but that’s also one of it’s weaknesses. What this means is that, while Eun Sik and his friends are hilarious and likable, it’s hard to get any feeling from some of the women, especially the lead girl, Eun Hyo. Throughout the film, it becomes increasingly hard to care about her, as she seemed virtually heartless through many moments. It could be said that this was the kind of character she was trying to portray, but it doesn’t come off like that. To be fair, she cleans her act up near the end of the film, forced as it may seem.
It’s hard not to feel bad for Eun Sik, but he’s so damn stupid sometimes you want to kill him. While the emotions and jokes he conveys are funny and believable, his would-be significant other never seems to reciprocate anything but loathing. Not to spoil anything, but the films finale is disappointing. Let’s just say it manages to end things the way every teen film does, dramatic interlude notwithstanding.
Yun Je Gyun doesn’t really direct this film with any special flair worth mentioning. At times it comes off as cold, as if it was just a job that needed to be done quickly and efficiently. While it is efficiently produced, and looks great, there doesn’t seem to be as much heart as there is in a film like My Sassy Girl, which manages to be funny and compassionate in regards to its characters and the viewer. While it’s not fair to compare the two, as they are completely different films at the opposite end of the spectrum, it’s just a matter of the feeling you get from the direction, as Korean films have seemed to be a very warm lot.
The choice of music in the film is very 80s, like a throwback to sex comedies before it. It’s just too bad they chose the eardrum tearing out “We got the beat” as the opening song and as one to include on the menu. A minor gripe that’s worthy of mention if not just to advise the viewer to lower the volume as you pop the disc in. There, KFCC just saved your ears from bleeding, so don’t say we never did anything for ya.
Overall the film mixes fairly well, with the proper doses of gorgeous Korean girls taking it off for you, scrawny effeminate guys shrieking and your daily overdose of internet porn masturbation. It’s just that the film falls flat in a few areas and has a hard time getting the kid across the street to help pick it up. The dramatic section is a bit odd, and the finale is a tad cliched, but watch this once or twice with a few friends and you’ll laugh your ass off.
Country : South Korea
Year: 2003
Genre: Comedy
Format: DVD
Running Time: 1H36
Distributor: A 9 Media
Date reviewed: 04/15/2003
Producer: x
Director: Yun Je Gyun
Cast: Im Chang Jung, Ha Jin Won, Choi Seong-Guk, Jin Jae-Yeong
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