[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Grandpas Over Flowers Investigation Team" Episode 3

Oddly enough I never for a minute got the impression that the ghost was actually real. Apparently the willing suspension of disbelief can tolerate magic water that turns young people into old people, but ghosts too? Well that's just crazy. Although it's possible Joon-hyeok is just making a very persuasive argument. Not really an argument, actually, more like he mocks everyone else on the team for even entertaining such a ridiculous idea.

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"Grandpas Over Flowers Investigation Team" is not, at this point, about much in the way of serious investigation. We don't see very much as far as the team members' actual talents go. They just bicker with one another, taking all the facts of the case at face value, and eventually we move on to the next clue that will maybe hopefully unravel the mystery once and for all.

The mystery itself is pretty average. There are just enough clues that the denoument comes off decently, but there's also just enough inconsistencies that it would be easy to gripe about the lack of realism. The backstory makes sense. However, the reason the grandpas got involved in the case to begin with was because of a current incident of gaslighting. The criminals aren't very bright if they thought this was the best way to cover up their previous crimes.

I could gripe along these lines, but I don't particularly want to. "Grandpas Over Flowers Investigation Team" is a very flawed comedy. It's main strength lies in the energy of the cast. They look like they're having a lot of fun, and that energy is fairly infectious. In terms of writing quality the jokes here are relatively weak. The actors just sell them so deliberately it's hard not to find a little humor from the context. Apparently the policies for sharing police information are really convoluted, given the wacky schemes our characters resort to to find new leads. It's goofy and nonsensical, but it works.

The mystery works a lot better than the tone from last time, too. However obviously terrified the current victim is of a ghost, at the same time, it's a ghost. Horror stuff comes off silly even when played totally straight provided there's a very real sense that ghosts aren't real. Hopefully "Grandpas Over Flowers Investigation Team" can continue to navigate this awkward divide. While, variety show style comedy coupled with murder cases isn't exactly a great fit, goodness knows the cast is doing their best to convince us otherwise.

Review by William Schwartz

"Grandpas Over Flowers Investigation Team"is directed by Kim Jin-young, written by Moon Seon-hee and features Lee Soon-jae, Byun Hee-bong, Jang Gwang, Kim Heechul, Lee Cho-hee, Kim Eung-soo.

 

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