MY SASSY GIRL (South Korea, 2001)
Directed by: Kwak Jae-Yong
Starring: Cha Tae-Hyun, Jeon Ji-Hyun

“Girl is a rewarding challenge — and further proof that Korean flicks are the sassiest girls on Asian cinema's block."

- Stephen Short, TIME Asia

 Getting punched in the mouth by a beautiful girl…leading your boyfriend around by the ear like the dog he is…ah, young love. Based on an anonymous diary posted on the internet, MY SASSY GIRL is the touching true story of a dolt in love. The object of his affection is a hard-drinking chick who can only express herself through physically assaulting strangers, slinging insults, and passing out. A celebration of the way public vomiting can bring two people together, MY SASSY GIRL was number one at the box office for six straight weeks in Korea and sold over 20,000 tickets per day in Hong Kong. A hare-brained sassafras of a romance, it was the second highest grosser of 2001 (accumulating more box office loot than Shrek, Harry Potter, or LORD OF THE RINGS), mostly based on the appeal of the two actors at its sweet n' breezy core. Cha Tae-Hyun won "Best New Actor" at this year's Korean Oscars (the Chongryoung Awards) and Jeon Ji-Hyun, who has appeared in only three films, has no less than 75 internet sites devoted to worshipping her full time.

SASSY refuses to take anything seriously, from young love to the rules of romantic comedy. Lovingly frosted with parodies of everything from classical Korean literature; to Wong Kar-wai's arthouse epic, Ashes of Time, MY SASSY GIRL lets loose a steady stream of spitballs at anyone square enough to take the proceedings seriously. It's a movie aimed at the audience like a high caliber fun gun, with no romantic comedy convention passing by without receiving a swift kick in the ribs. A touching birthday celebration turns into a military stand-off, a declaration of love becomes a study in protracted humiliation, even the first "meet cute" moment winds up with the main character getting maced in the face.

Fans say that Hong Kong owns the action movie, Japan rules the horror genre, and Korea produces the best comedies. MY SASSY GIRL more than supports that claim with its off-the-cuff charm, crisis situation humor, and a hardboiled sweetness at its heart. If empty calories are clogging your movie-going arteries, MY SASSY GIRL will zap you with the defibrillator, scrape the plaque out of your aorta, and send you on your way with a big, fat, grin plastered across your ever-loving mug. It's the kind of movie where "Wanna die?" means, "I love you."

Note: Think fast! Dreamworks just bought the rights to MY SASSY GIRL and they're planning a remake. This may be the only chance New Yorkers have to see Korea's number one comedy of 2001 for themselves.