Directed by: Son Jae-gon (손재곤) Starring: Park Yong-woo (박용우), Choi Kang-hee (최강희) Release Date: April 6th, 2006
My Scary Girl remains one of the more original takes on the romantic comedy genre. As a romance, melodrama, and thriller all rolled into one package, it’s dark and twisted but still finds a way to be endearing. This is something Korean cinema does so well.
In his mid 30’s, Dae-woo (Park Young-woo) has held a disdain for couples throughout his life, especially happy ones. He’s never understood the appeal of taking part in a relationship and thought he was destined to be single forever. When a lingering lower back injury invokes fantasies in his mind about someone caring for him, he decides to pursue a relationship with Mina (Choi Kang-hee), a woman who has freshly moved into his building. Clueless as to how to advance or talk to women, he awkwardly begins to win over Mina’s affection. But what he doesn’t know about Mina’s past will prove to be the biggest and scariest challenge of his life.
My Scary Girl took home several awards for directing and screenplay when it released that were well deserved. Writer and director Son Jae-gon (Villain & Widow) crafted a film that was both fresh and unusual in many regards. Not many films, especially romantic ones, feature a female lead playing the part of a sociopath. In My Scary Girl, you’ve got these seemingly normal women involved in digging graves, hiding bodies, and murder. They are not some tatted up gangster types either. It’s all done in a playful way which makes the movie so oddly entertaining but is also pushes very hard on the boundaries of believability.
The overall success My Scary Girl had in terms of praise and audience attendance the year it came out is another testament to the ingenuity of the screenplay. The lead actors were super not superstars when it was released either. Choi Kang Hee (Petty Romance) is great. There’s something interesting in her eyes that hint at a sense of crazy but she’s capable of turning it around on a dime to come across as level headed and cute too at just the right times. Park Yong-woo (Late Spring) is also hilarious as the academic man-child experiencing first love.
My Scary Girl also has some great music. The perfectly suited guitar and piano riffs help to make certain segments more melodramatic and moving. I only wish they used it in more scenes.
I also like how the story centers around a relatively small cast. My Scary Girl works best when it’s closer to reality with Dae-woo’s friends. In scene’s that feature Mina’s associates, which have larger roles in the film, the comedy doesn’t mix with the violence as well as the filmmakers probably hoped it would though. Although Jo Eun-ji (Nailed), playing Mina’s roommate, stole the show on several occasions during her scenes.
There are a few pacing issues that cause My Scary Girl to fall just short of classic status. It has a great first and final act but the mid section when Dae-woo is becoming suspicious but still clueless drags a bit. It takes too long for Dae-woo to find out some hard truths about Mina. The film becomes much more fun when he tries to mentally cope with the terrifying truth about her. So I wish they sped up his knowledge of the situation and spent more time in this part of the relationship. Ultimately, My Scary Girl is worth the time for all fans of the romance genre who enjoy comedy that comes with a dark twist.
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