If gangster movies are currently in favor in the Korean cinema, the formula of two male lead characters is increasingly appealing to mainstream directors here. "A Wacky Switch" takes advantage of both trends - apparently a safe bet for director Jung Yeon-won, who makes his debut with this work.
Dong-hwa (Jung Jun-ho) is an obscure writer who has failed to make his name in the literary world. He wrote one novel titled "I met Kafka", and the publishing company met with bankruptcy as a result.
The problem is that Dong-hwa insists on a writing career even though no publishing house is now willing to put out his not-so-impressive novel. Naturally, his wife is unhappy and pushes him to make a living as a taxi driver. But this job proves too mundane for the writer, with his lofty artistic ambitions.
One day, Dong-hwa is offered a job as a ghostwriter for a CEO named Man-cheol (Son Chang-min), who turns out to be the ringleader of the biggest criminal syndicate in Korea.
The ghostwriting turns out to be more than a bonanza for Dong-hwa. The gangster boss offers not only excellent money, but also bodyguards and a luxury sedan. Dong-hwa is even offered the use of the gangster's office to work on the biography. The writer, who has never been respected by his family and neighbors, finds it very satisfying to show off his newly gained power on the street.
While Dong-hwa rapidly gets accustomed to his new life, Man-cheol undergoes a change himself. By recounting his life history of violence on the dark side of the law, he discovers his talent as a writer. And the role reversal, which is not as funny as the title suggests, begins to take place.
Dong-hwa's pretentiousness as a writer is understandable given that the story needs a main character with a peculiar personality to lead the plot. It seems that director Jung wants to depict an inescapable human desire, and how corruptible one can be when offered a chance to indulge in power and money.
Man-cheol's transformation seems a bit stretched. The story suggests that he uncovers his own talent for writing after meeting Dong-hwa. But Man-cheol has long kept diaries, and seems to have already possessed a literary talent without any help from the pretentious and incompetent writer.
But the bigger problem with the plot is that the transformation of the two characters is predictable and uninteresting. Even a series of episodes intended to squeeze comic relief out of the uneventful plot seem to fail.
Jung Jun-ho, who solidified his career in gangster movies like "My Boss, My Hero" and "Married to the Mafia", attempts to extend his funny image, though few would say the movie is a real comedy.
And Son Chang-min plays a tough gangster boss - a character that is far removed from his time-honored image as a kind gentleman. It would have been better if Son had taken on the role of the writer, considering his soft and intellectual image.
The film mixes a tried-and-true genre with a popular formula, and recruits top-rated actors to ensure box-office success. But the weak plot and not-so-wacky episodes suggest that it is not necessarily rewarding to tread a safe road.
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