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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Modern Farmer" Episode 8

The conflict takes two main forms this time. First is the natural crisis arising because Han-cheol rather idiotically decided to help Soo-yeon with her obviously suspicious nighttime skulking about. It's kind of am ambivalent situation. Han-cheol really should just get a clue and take no for an answer, but Soo-yeon is reluctant to push hard on this point because if pretty much any character aside from Han-cheol finds out what she's been doing they're actually going to investigate further.

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It's funny, too, in the usual low-brow manner "Modern Farmer" has become very good at. Quite literally everything in the universe appears to be conspiring to enable Han-cheol to make a ridiculous personal sacrifice to help Soo-yeon. This factor becomes exponentially more significant whenever Soo-yeon attempts to actually defuse the situation, such that by the end...well, to avoid ruining too much let's just say it's either the birds or the bees, and Han-cheol may or may not know this.

The second form is just Min-gi doing more genuinely decent stuff. The amount of thievery that's been going on in "Modern Farmer" is rather worrisome. I'm kind of worried they might actually run out of money, which is especially bad given Min-gi's issues with the loan sharks. For the most part, though, it's just a character device here. There's jokes, a scuffle, and so and so forth.

The comedy does get kind of repetitive here, or at least predictable. Fortunately "Modern Farmer" has the sense to only use jokes that were actually funny the first time, or just the good old classic of "ooo now you're going to get it". As a result every major story problem is dealt with fairly briskly, even if by the end several cast members have clear bruises. It's made quite clear here that it's the emotional wounds that really need to be worried about, as there's just enough exposition about Yoon-hee's past to indicate that she is not, in fact, the boring empowered single mom archetype.

About the only complaint I have here is Hwa-ran's makeover at the end. Am I the only one who thought she looked better with the hair down? This new outfit just makes her look the same as most of the other women in the cast. I do hope it doesn't stick around that long. I doubt that's the right outfit to use for catching snakes. Although I suppose I do have to appreciate, in retrospect, the irony of the situation. Usually a fabulous makeover involves the girl letting her hair down- not putting it back up again.

Review by William Schwartz

"Modern Farmer" is directed by Oh Jin-seok, written by Kim Ki-ho and features Lee Hong-ki, Lee Hanee, Lee Si-eon, Park Min-woo, Kwak Dong-yeon and Lee Han-wi.

 

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