What is the most popular Korean comedy film?
As the evenings get warmer and friends gather by the Han River, the smell of fried chicken and the sound of delivery scooters fill the air. Chicken and Beer (chimek) has been massive in Korea (and very tasty) for years. So perhaps it’s not surprising that the most successful Korean comedy film features chicken! Extreme Job (2019) is about a hapless narcotics team who take over a chicken restaurant to stake out a drug trafficking organisation.
The highest grossing Korean comedy film
Directed by Lee Byeong-heon, the film was a huge hit at the cinema. Everyone was talking about it at the time. And it’s now the highest grossing Korean comedy. And second highest viewed film after The Admiral: Roaring Currents, an epic action war film starring Choi Min-sik (Old Boy) as hero Admiral Yi Sun-sin who defeated the Japanese navy when they invaded in the 16th century.
In the fabulous historical zombie drama series Kingdom, Ryu Seung-ryong stars as the cold and frightening baddie with his ambitious and calculating eyes on the throne. Here he plays a bit of a loser! He’s a detective on the brink of losing his job, has money worries, and even avoids going home to face his disappointed wife.
The Plot
Chief Go (Ryu Seung ryong) is the leader of an incompetent drug squad that carries out a rather inept stakeout to catch a narcotics gang. If you want to know how ‘professional’ they are just watch the opening scene which hilariously sums up their ‘skills.’ Ironically, they do much better cooking chicken when they take over the conveniently located restaurant for the stake out. It’s a quirky, dysfunctionally united team.
The film trots along at a pretty brisk pace and there’s a kind of twist at the end which I liked. The concept of the film is amusing too. The chicken restaurant industry is so competitive, and yet they are successful without wanting to be! The film takes the viewer through different emotions as there are moments of pathos and pity for the underdog. Ridiculous situations are mixed with down-to-earth poignant scenes.
One of my pet peeves in action films, though, is the long-winded fight scenes we are inevitably forced to endure at the end where the goodies and baddies battle it out. We know who’s going to win, so hurry it along please. This film is also guilty of this. Even with the martial arts element, I was still grumpy.
The Comedy
People have told me how they laughed out loud in the film. It did make me laugh in parts, especially early on. I watched it without subtitles when it first came out. I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around on Netflix (with subtitles!) But I think some things do get lost in translation. And of course, comedy can be difficult since culture, language, and personal taste play such a huge role. There’s some violence in the film – we are dealing with the underworld of narcotics after all. But sometimes I wasn’t sure if those scenes were supposed to be funny or not (!)
For me, this comedy is not as endearing or laugh-out-loud as Miss Granny or as easy to enjoy as Luck Key. But it’s still worth watching – even if only to see what the most successful Korean comedy film is all about. The American remake is supposed to be coming soon starring comedian Kevin Hart with Universal Pictures and CJ Entertainment. So it will be interesting to compare the two!
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