Funny Moments Don't Add Up in `Two Guys'
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By Joon Soh
Staff Reporter
For a film that has two of the top local comic talents sharing the screen and the writer for one of last year's top comedies at the helm, "Two Guys" isn't the laugh riot that one might expect. The film has a number of clever twists and hilarious moments to keep it entertaining, but not enough to live up to its impressive resume.
As the title makes pretty clear, "Two Guys" is a buddy film in The Classic sense. The comedy pairs up Park Joong-hoon and Cha Tae-hyun as enemies who, due to wacky circumstances, end up having to rely on each other to survive.
Cha, best known for his work on "Yopgijogin Kunyo (My Sassy Girl)", plays Hoon, a con artist specializing in credit card fraud who is just one step ahead of the numerous debt collectors out for his head. He finally meets his match when, while working as a parking valet at a club, he is chased down by bounty hunter-for-hire Joong-tae, played by veteran actor Park.
Joong-tae's job is simple: take his captive to a hospital and get one of his kidneys taken out as payment for his debt. But things, of course, get a bit more complicated than that, with an inebriated foreigner with ties to a crime ring, a super high-tech briefcase, various hired assassins, gangsters and cops all ending up in the mix.
It's all rather silly and writer-director Park Heon-soo knows it. But Park, who was behind the script for last year's comedy "Singles", shows a surprisingly subtle touch in juggling absurdities. Especially funny are the apartment wrestling match between Hoon, Joong-tae, Chinese assassins and a credit card company employee, and a chase scene through a crowded Chchimjjilbang (sauna and bathhouse).
Unfortunately, all the clever moments can't hide the fact that there's something a bit too predictable about "Two Guys". And in the end, the film's lack of a strong and interesting plot keeps it from making the most out of the lead actors' talents.
Staff Reporter
For a film that has two of the top local comic talents sharing the screen and the writer for one of last year's top comedies at the helm, "Two Guys" isn't the laugh riot that one might expect. The film has a number of clever twists and hilarious moments to keep it entertaining, but not enough to live up to its impressive resume.
As the title makes pretty clear, "Two Guys" is a buddy film in The Classic sense. The comedy pairs up Park Joong-hoon and Cha Tae-hyun as enemies who, due to wacky circumstances, end up having to rely on each other to survive.
Cha, best known for his work on "Yopgijogin Kunyo (My Sassy Girl)", plays Hoon, a con artist specializing in credit card fraud who is just one step ahead of the numerous debt collectors out for his head. He finally meets his match when, while working as a parking valet at a club, he is chased down by bounty hunter-for-hire Joong-tae, played by veteran actor Park.
Joong-tae's job is simple: take his captive to a hospital and get one of his kidneys taken out as payment for his debt. But things, of course, get a bit more complicated than that, with an inebriated foreigner with ties to a crime ring, a super high-tech briefcase, various hired assassins, gangsters and cops all ending up in the mix.
It's all rather silly and writer-director Park Heon-soo knows it. But Park, who was behind the script for last year's comedy "Singles", shows a surprisingly subtle touch in juggling absurdities. Especially funny are the apartment wrestling match between Hoon, Joong-tae, Chinese assassins and a credit card company employee, and a chase scene through a crowded Chchimjjilbang (sauna and bathhouse).
Unfortunately, all the clever moments can't hide the fact that there's something a bit too predictable about "Two Guys". And in the end, the film's lack of a strong and interesting plot keeps it from making the most out of the lead actors' talents.
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