Crazy in Love
Lim Yoon-a: Comedy Giant. Who knew?
Pretty Crazy
Director: Lee Sang-geun • Writer: Lee Sang-geun
Starring: Ahn Bo-hyun, Lim Yoon-a, Sung Dong-il, Ju Hyun-young
South Korea • 1hr 53mins
Opens Hong Kong September 4 • IIA
Grade: B
So a couple of weeks ago there was My Daughter is a Zombie. This week it’s My Girlfriend is a Demon. Okay, it’s not called that but that’s the basic idea behind Lee Sang-geun’s Pretty Crazy | 악마가 이사왔다, a high concept rom-com that serves as a nice complement to Lee’s high concept action-drama Exit from a few years back. Pretty Crazy rom-coms harder than many rom-coms have rom-commed this year and anyone (erm… like me) who rankles at the very idea of the genre had best run for cover. However, in its shameless embrace of the form, and thanks to stellar production and a genuinely charming turn by Girls’ Generation’s Lim Yoon-a, the scene-stealer from Confidential Assignment 2: International (and who’s transforming into a comedy titan), fans of an old-fashioned goofy rom-com, complete with physical comedy, silly coincidences, awkward hunks and tragic backstories that throw up roadblocks to true love will be all-in on this one. Does the leading man go way too hard on the shy retirement schtick, tipping into half-wittedness from time to time? Yes, he does. Does the film perpetuate binary gender norms? Oh hell, yes. Does anyone looking for a few chuckles and a hopeful, romantic ending care? No. They do not.
Not what it looks like
That said Lee as writer tries to inject a little fresh conflict into the proceedings, essentially eliminating the romantic rival and playing up on the supernatural angle. Gil-gu (I, the Executioner’s Ahn Bo-hyun, in full Sulwhasoo Natural Pink foundation and MAC VivaGlam LipGlass and maybe I was wrong about the gender norms) is an unemployed random dude, bored and unmotivated, who watches one day as his new downstairs neighbours move in. This is Seon-ji (Lim), her dad Jang-soo (Sung Dong-il, Forbidden Fairytale) and cousin Ah-ra (Ju Hyun-young). Seon-ji also opens a bakery on the ground floor of the apartment complex. Wouldn’t you know it, it’s love at first sight for Gil-gu, but the woman he meets in the bakery and the one he runs into late one night in the lift are polar opposites. It’s like she’s possessed or something. Daytime lift Seon-ji is soft spoken, polite and properly behaved. Alert the media, Nighttime Seon-ji wear stilettos, messes with her hair, shoots her mouth off and has zero fucks to give dumb guys. Eventually Jang-soo tells Gil-gu what’s up: Seon-ji is indeed possessed by an ancient demon. Hate it when that happens. Unperturbed by this Gil-gu and Seon-ji enter into a cautious romance, with Gil-gu agreeing to help with demon-sitting duties. She can’t be left on her own after 2am. If there’s a rival in the picture it’s Yeong-sik (Shin Hyun-soo), one of the many shaman dedicated to exorcising the demon Seon-ji has had to dodge over the years.
Naturally there’s a conflict that almost destroys the central duo’s romance, this time an old-timey curse and something about a full moon. Refreshingly it’s a conflict that leads to a novel and unexpected ending. It’s a wise choice in line with the supernatural spin on the story but an unusual one for the genre in general in how intensely it coddles the idea of waiting for The One. It could be gimmicky but Lee does a solid job of laying the groundwork early on by letting us watch Seon-ji the demon reclaim her humanity thanks to Gil-gu’s patience and persistent kindness, and Gil-gu come out of his shell thanks to Seon-ji’s unapologetic agency. So yeah, the closing frames come with a bittersweet tone that’s entirely earned. Ahn is fine but Pretty Crazy is really Lim’s movie, and she’s clearly having fun playing to back rows as Demon Seon-ji. In some ways Pretty Crazy is more daring than Materialists is in how it subverts the rules of the rom-com game – on top of just being better at what it chooses to do. Most shocking of all it comes with considerably less sexual assault. Fancy that.