Movie Review: My Girlfriend is an Agent (2009)

Yesterday we finally got to watch My Girlfriend is An Agent. It was great. In fact, I don't remember seeing a more hilarious movie for the longest time. It's probably also one of the more entertaining Asian films I have seen in years. Hong Kong movies have generally been crap and I don't know enough Japanese films to say. So this latest Korean offering gets (at least) a 7.5 out of 10 points from me.

Kim Ha Neul stars as a Ahn Su Ji, a top-notch agent working for the Korean secret service. She used to date Lee Jae Jun (played by the very funny Kang Ji Hwan), but because of the countless lies she told for her work's sake, their relationship could not take the strain. Eventually, Jae Jun broke up with her and left Korea without giving her a chance to explain herself. Broken-hearted, Su Ji tried to forget Jae Jun and subsequently began dating someone new. But as fate would have it (as is usually the case in movies), their paths crossed again 3 years later. The way they met again is really laugh-out-loud funny. A bit slapstick, but nonetheless hilarious. I won't reveal more; no spoilers in this review.

It turns out that Jae Jun is now a rookie agent, and is trying to make the cut for the elite Harimau team (did you know? Harimau is the Malay word for tiger and also the name of the company that produced the movie). IMO, Kang Ji Hwan is perfectly cast as the bumbling agent. Whenever he makes a blunder, his facial expression has just that right mix of serious goofiness, which is totally classic. And of course, making everything even harder, now he has to keep his identity a secret from Su Ji (right when their relationship seems to be picking up again). A series of misadventures soon follow. The nightclub and amusement park scenes with the two of them on field missions had me laughing till my sides ached.

This is a highly enjoyable movie. It's silly but in a good way. Besides the leading man and lady (who have wonderful onscreen chemistry, by the way) the supporting cast is also superb. And although it's supposed to be a sort of goofball comedy, the love story between Su Ji and Jae Jun is very emotionally charged, and has more to offer than your average Hollywood romance comedy. Mostly it came down to the star power and acting chops of Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji Hwan, who manage to pull everything off convincingly. Even the more ridiculous moments (for me it's the fencing sequences) will just make us audience go, awww. We are ready to forgive these two anything, as long as they end up together.

In the end, we all know true love will prevail. So I don't think that counts as spoiler. :) Don't expect something too deep or too clever. But you can count on having a rollicking fun ride in this movie. This is entertainment at its best. Guaranteed to make you laugh. HelloHallyu recommends it!

[Posted by mydaemon]

My Girlfriend is an Agent @ Level 7 Bureaucrat

En garde! Kim and Kang sparring in a scene from the movie.

A gala premiere of the My Girlfriend is an Agent, also know as Level 7 Bureaucrat, was held at the Cathay cinema last night. Both the leads, Kim Ha Neul (of On Air fame) and Kang Ji Hwan were both in Singapore for this event.

There's going to be another publicity event for the movie at the Heeren this evening at 6.30pm. Pity that I am most likely still stuck in the office. for fans of Korean dramas and movies, Heeren is the place to be this evening. Get your cameras ready as both Kim and Kang will be at the event.

We at HelloHallyu can't wait to catch it on the big-screens when the movie starts its run from 5 Nov!

Kim Ha Neul the All-Action Heroine

Agent Kim on her majesty's service. Shaken, not stirred.
(Source: Cyworld)

Who'd have thought that Kim Ha Neul, who recently appeared in SBS's On Air as the super-cool superstar Oh Seung Ah, would traded in her designer wear for the rough and tumble life of an agent in her new movie Level 7 Bureaucrat.

In this action movie, yup, you are reading it correctly, Kim stars as a secret agent, a la 007 James Bond, who rides horses, fence, take on baddies with karate chops and a gun that's strapped to her thigh which comes in handy during tight situations. Check out the photo above if you have any doubt about the gun being strapped to her thigh portion.

I hope the film will be released in Singapore since it also stars Kang Ji Hwan, whose character Hong Gil Dong gave me loads of laughs when I caught it on the telly recently.

SBS Drama - On Air (2008)

(Source: SBS)

Watching SBS's On Air is akin to watching an exposé, or documentary, on the going-ons inside the Korean entertainment industry. The drama encapsulates the constant struggle between the artistic vision of the director/scriptwriter and production houses and the managers of drama artistes. It is one work which gives viewers an intimate look at the complexity of producing the dramas which all of us of have come to enjoy in our everyday life.

On Air's storyline centres around the lives of 4 persons, Kim Ha Neul, who plays a Korean superstar - Oh Seung Ah, Lee Bum Soo, who plays Seung Ah's manager - Jang Ki Joon, Park Yong Ha, who plays the role of a director - Lee Kyung Min and Song Yoon Ha, who plays the affable and sometimes eccentric scriptwriter - Seo Young Eun.

What I liked about this drama is the way how the romance between the 4 main characters were developed. The feelings among the characters were never the in-your-face, "I Love You" expressions. Instead, what viewers get are subtle hints and tender gestures which expresses the feelings of one character for another.

For example, Jang Ki Joon is always there for Seo Young Eun, from the birth of Young Eun's son to the obstacles she faced when writing the script for Ticket to the Moon, which by the way was drama which the 4 characters are working on in On Air. I shall not touch further on the relationships since saying anything more is tentamount to giving out spoilers. Just enjoy how the relationships unfolds.

Apart from the good character development, viewers will find On Air highly educational in that it shows us a great deal of how the Korean drama industry works and what makes it tick. Entertainment magazines or programmes would have given most of us have a vague idea that stars and their managing companies have a great deal of leverage on production decisions, but what astounded me was how complex and 'dirty' the dealings can get.

Whether it's real or not, I am sure Oh Seung Ah's managing company SW Entertainment gave a good characterisation of how many managing companies are dealing with the production houses in real life. So do be prepared for a lot of ugly backstabbing scenes. Frankly, I find it rather scary how the power struggles are being played out behind the scenes of all the dramas that we are watching in the comfort of our homes.

The ever sweet looking Kim Ha Neul
(Source: SBS)

Perhaps she's superstar includes being herself when she's in public, but Kim Ha Neul has won herself a new fan with her cool and collected performance as a snobbish superstar a la Snow Queenish performance, which Sung Yu Ri sadly failed to do in a similar role - Kim Bo Ra in The Snow Queen. I will definitely be looking out for her dramas in future.

Watch the drama even if your only reason is to understand why black/silver tape is always covering the brands of the vehicles used in the filming of Korean dramas. You'd be surprised at the effort, from the cast to the production team, that goes into bringing one drama to our screens.

Overall, I would rate this drama in the league of Alone In Love and Flowers for My Life, which readers of HelloHallyu would know are the dramas which both Mydaemon and I love. It may not have won the ratings contest, On Air still garners a highly respectable 8.5 out of 10 for me. I highly recommend the drama to readers who enjoys Korean drama. One cannot but have a newfound respect for the artistes and production crew behind each drama.