The Two Faces of My Girlfriend (DVD) (Korea Version) DVD Region 3

The film begins as awkward young man and all round loser Goo Chang (Bong Tae Gyu, who recently showed genuine comic talent in How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men and who worked previously with director Lee on See you After School) being outed as a virgin in front of his friends, much to his embarrassment and annoyance. However, destiny soon gives him hope in the form of the beautiful Anni (Jeong Ryeo Won, known for the television hits My Lovely Sam-Soon and What Planet Are You From? here making her cinematic debut), who appears in his life after he finds her wallet, and who for some reason doesn't take an immediate dislike to him. Things seem to be going well enough, until suddenly one night when she gets drunk her personality undergoes a radical shift, and the sweet, quiet Anni is replaced by the brash, violent Hanni, who promptly accuses Goo Chang of trying to take advantage of her and proceeds to beat him up. Although understandably confused, the poor boy perseveres and tries his best to further his relationship with Anni despite her tendency to abruptly turn into Hanni. However, as he gets closer to her heart it becomes clear that she is hiding a tragic secret that holds the key to her crazy behaviour.

Like its female protagonist, The Two Faces of My Girlfriend really is a film of two halves, with the first hour or so offering a good amount of zany gags, most of which revolve around Anni's personality switching during inappropriate moments. However, this all changes as director Lee quite suddenly decides that her situation is no longer funny as he launches into an exploration of her sad past. As such, the film shifts tone very abruptly, and not only stretches credibility with a cliche, silly tale of woe but confuses the viewer by trying to convince that what was previously played for laughs should now be taken seriously. Certainly Lee seems to have be more at home with the film's humorous aspects than with its stab at serious drama, and his direction flounders a little towards the end, abandoning his bright and breezy approach and the long musical montages which pepper the early stages in favour of characters sitting around staring into the rain and other familiar chestnuts. Whilst this is by no means to say that the film goes off the rails, it does lay the melodrama on a bit thicker than was really necessary.

Of course, for viewers looking for a few tears along with their laughs this is not much of a criticism at all, and although the film is predictable, following the "sassy" formula to the letter, it still makes for entertaining viewing thanks to a winning sense of humour and a pair of great comedic performances from the two leads. Jeong Ryeo Won does well in what effectively amounts to a dual role, and although both Anni and Hanni are fairly two-dimensional characters, she manages to achieve the difficult task of whipping up some viewer sympathy along with the laughs. This is mainly since although she looks cute, she comes across as a genuine oddball, and whilst she doesn't quite convince in the latter stages, for the most part she succeeds in treading the fine line of believability between being aggressive and vulnerable. Bong Tae Gyu is certainly value for money in an archetypal wretched male role, spending most of the running time being beaten up by Hanni or indeed pretty much every other member of the cast, and does a decent job of adding a touch of emotional depth as his character (very) slowly makes the journey from selfish boy to caring man. Since both stars are likeable and charismatic enough, despite a rather weak script their relationship is touching, enough so to keep the viewer interested once the laughs have dried up, and though the film is never as emotional or moving as it clearly aims to be, it does at least come across as being heartfelt and genuine.

As a result, The Two Faces of My Girlfriend is a solid example of the Korean romantic comedy genre. Benefiting from a pair of game and appealing performances by the two stars, the film is generally entertaining and amusing, and should definitely be enjoyed by fans of the form, especially those not likely to be deterred by its last act dive into angst.

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com