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| K won SangWoo plays JiHoon, a transfer student from America who loves to brawl but hates to study. At 21, he's still in high school and doesn't seem to be bothered by this. His dad hasn't given up on him, however, so he hires a tutor, SuWan (played by Kim HaNeul). JiHoon makes life miserable for his tutor so the latter would quit. He finds out that SuWan is not one to give up easily. The two battle head-on with neither wanting to be the first to raise the white flag. They tolerated each other's company until the student finds himself enjoying her company and the tutor finds herself thinking about him. Can SuWan go beyond the level of tutor and be the girlfriend of this guy, a 21-year old high school student?
I am making a list of my favorite Korean movies and My Tutor Friend flew right on top of that list. I would say this is Korean romantic comedy at its best.
The story between JiHoon and SuWan unfolds perfectly: there was no rush in letting the two fall in love in the middle of the movie, such move would be a downright killjoy; neither was too much time wasted in developing a romance between the two, such move would be a downright bore.
Your interest is captivated by the antics of the quirky characters but you never lose sight of the fact that this movie is a love story between the tutor and her student. I was skeptical with the gang bit in the story. I thought that it could be done away with, but, in retrospect, I thought it blended well with the movie. Besides, the fight scenes were quite good with a few awesome stunts, though I've seen better.
I have to commend the lead actors. Kwon SangWoo was close to superb in this movie. The sarcasm and devil-may-care attitude was magnificently delivered that when it was time to show the guy's sensitive side, I was blown away. Do I hear sighs in the background? Not to be outshone was Kim HaNeul who performed equally well. Her character required her to be sassy and demure all at once, a stint she pulled off splendidly.
10 kimchi dishes out of 10.
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