Kwon Sang-woo bets on broad comedy once again with 'Heart Man'
Even as Korean multiplexes keep bleeding audiences, one formula still pays off at the box office: Those broad, leave-your-brain-at-home comedies.
The genre made up the handful of domestic productions that managed to stay afloat last year — slapstick sequel "Hitman 2" (2.5 million), buddy cop romp "Boss" (2.3 million) and the year's homegrown miracle "My Daughter is a Zombie" (5.6 million). It's no secret that Koreans have always had a soft spot for this stuff, and with investment drying up and budgets shrinking, studios are leaning into cheap and easy sells.
"Heart Man," starring Kwon Sang-woo, fits right into that mold and makes no attempt to hide it, either. Adapted from the Argentine comedy "No Kids," about a divorced dad who bends over backwards to date a woman who hates children, it's the kind of movie that dispenses with seriousness entirely. The title alone screams what it's going for, serving as a brazen callback to the "Hitman" series that Kwon and director Choi Won-seob previously teamed up on.
"Since it's the start of the new year, I just want people to leave with good vibes and a few laughs," Kwon said at Thursday's press conference at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Seoul.
After years playing finely chiseled heartthrobs in network dramas, the 50-year-old has all but transformed into a comedy workhorse of late. This time, he plays Seung-hyun, a washed-up rock band frontman whose neatly divided life falls apart when his college flame Bo-na (Moon Chae-won, a familiar face from mid-budget dramas) shows up again.
It's material for standard-issue midlife romance fare, except he's got a daughter he'd rather keep under wraps, since Bo-na happens to despise kids.
Stepping in as bumbling sidekicks are Park Ji-hwan, a staple of crowd-pleasing flicks like the "Roundup" series and "Boss," and Pyo Ji-hoon, better known as P.O from Block B.
Kwon surely has fond memories of early-year releases. "Hitman 2," the latest installment in the franchise where he plays a secret agent turned webtoon artist, dropped last January and delivered against all odds. It also drew attention thanks to a promotional stunt at a screening event, where Kwon got down on his knees in front of the crowd to thank them for showing up.
Kwon's apparently more than willing to do it all over again. "I just felt this urge to really appeal to the audience," he said. "If kneeling helps the movie do well, I'll do it ten times over.
"Honestly, I'm still figuring out what stunt to pull this time. That's harder than shooting the movie."
Director Choi, who described their working relationship as "totally in sync by now," noted their chemistry has only deepened over three projects. "Early on, we were still feeling each other out," he said. "Now we don't even need to explain things."
Moon, playing the unsuspecting lover, revealed she'd been a fan of Kwon's since her teens. "Working with someone I admired for so long — I kept that to myself on set," she said. "But now that we're done, I'm finally telling him."
Remaking a film across cultures is a tricky thing. The premise about a single dad who stays chummy with his ex-wife and brings his girlfriend home for sex while his daughter's out probably played fine in Buenos Aires. But Korean viewers can be notoriously uptight about these things, and chances are some might find it hard to swallow. The lengths he goes to to sell the lie — wiping away every toy, every trace of his kid before each date — don't make for great optics either.
But who cares? This is comedy of the broadest stripe, a movie designed for viewers who'd rather not think too deeply. There's plenty of campy silliness here and there to drown out all the moral baggage, be it lowbrow humor, borderline-cringe one-liners or over-the-top slapstick. It also gestures toward redemption in its more melodramatic second half, for those who need comedies with a conscience.
Choi, for his part, spoke with conviction about the approach and where he wants to take it. "My previous works pushed hard for laughs," he said. "This one's still a comedy, but I wanted to let the emotions breathe, keep things natural without overdoing it." His goal, as he put it, is "to become the greatest comedy director in Korea."
Moon's pitch was simpler. "To me, it's the kind of movie you can enjoy in full popcorn mode," she said. "I just hope people get to have a nice theater outing this new year."
"Heart Man" hits theaters Wednesday.
Copyright © 코리아헤럴드. 무단전재 및 재배포 금지.