투사부일체 (My Boss, My Student) Press Screening Report

But Yoon's film had something unique, even starting from its original title. Hanja students might know about the old saying 군사부일체 (君師父一體, the grace of the King, the Teacher and the Father is equal), but the film ironically changed it to 두사부일체 (頭師父一體, the grace of the Boss, the Teacher and the Father is equal). Also, with just about every gangster comedy of the past and present offering a caricature of the Korean gangster, portraying them as old-fashioned, ignorant babies suffering from perennial Peter Pan Syndrome (until it was time to take out the sashimi knife), Yoon changed the cards a little. Korea had always been a country obsessed with education historically, so adding that element to the mix created a successful formula. Gangster trend + education... connect the dots.

This idea of gangsters having to go back to High School, because handling their business matters was not something for uneducated fools; this putting the gangster craze into a more realistic (relatively, mind you) context, even turning the second half of the film into a critique of the education system; it all made the film feel fresh, interesting, vibrant. Director Yoon was one of the most interesting new faces in the business back then, as both 'My Boss, My Hero' and his following film 색즉시공 (Sex is Zero) did extremely well at the box office. He already had established a business know how, taking part in the investment gathering process for Kwak Kyung-Taek's 'Friend' (a fellow Busan native), written several scripts including the one for 신혼여행 (Black Honeymoon), and also had a strong background in advertising/CFs. But then the bubble burst. Even going as far as 2002, when 가문의 영광 (Marrying The Mafia) took Yoon's concept and added a further layer to it -- using the country's obsession with prestigious Universities like SNU, crossing it with gangster comedies tropes -- gangster comedies were still doing pretty well. But soon it all changed, with more and more stinkers driving the formula to the ground, with the same old stories being repeated over and over. By 2004, Korean gangster comedies were pretty much dead.

The Summer of 2005 didn't only show an increasing interest in domestic films by Korean viewers, with the success of several works including 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) and 박수칠 때 떠나라 (Murder, Take One); it also showed a revival of the gangster comedy genre, with the smash hit 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law), a sequel of the 2002 comedy starring Jung Joon-Ho and Kim Jung-Eun. Featuring some famous TV personalities, like Kim Won-Hee, Tak Jae-Hoon and Jung Joon-Ha, adding popular movie stars like Kim Soo-Mi and Shin Hyun-Joon, spending very little compared to most other commercial films of the period, 'Enemy in Law' opened again that treasure trove Chungmuro closed violently a few years before. But this time instead of focusing on old, trite cliches of the genre, the filmmakers allowed carte blanche to the actors themselves, with a megaton bomb of ad-lib, TV references, culturally specific jokes and allusions to current events. The film has opened a new trend, that of the low-cost entertaining crap, a sort of 90 Minutes long variety show reprising some of trends in standup comedy shows on TV, a sort of Korean Wong Jing meets SNL potboiler which actually works. If you're in on the joke, that is, which will certainly prove a major obstacle when trying to export the film, as the comedy is not as accessible as past gangster comedies.

Now this sequel is another story, seemingly. Another trend in Chungmuro the last few years has been that of producer-driven films, star vehicles offered to directors with no star status, less likely to complain about shortcomings in the production and scriptwriting process. Even before solid information about 'My Boss, My Student' started circulating, the news that the 'Jung Trio' (Jung Joon-Ho, Jung Woong-In, Jung Woon-Taek) would return in the second episode of the 'My Boss' saga took center stage. I didn't even know who the director was until a couple of weeks ago, and most of the marketing and publicity for this film has been led by Jung Joon-Ho, not the director himself. It seems Kim Dong-Won, an acclaimed CF director who created the trailers for several films -- including 여자, 정혜 (This Charming Girl), 잠복근무 (She's On Duty) and 주홍글씨 (The Scarlet Letter) -- was only brought in to add a visual touch to the proceedings. This indeed is all about Jung Joon-Ho's aura as one of Korean Cinema's 'Kings of Comedy', and it seems the aggressive star-based marketing is already reaping fruits, as the film is fighting neck to neck with Lee Joon-Ik's 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) in pre-order sales, both at around 40-45%. Will it surpass the original, like 'Marrying The Mafia 2' did? Will it bring gangster comedies back into popular culture on a level similar to that of 4-5 years ago?

'My Boss, My Student' had its press screening at the CGV Multiplex in Yongsan. Present at the premiere the director Kim Dong-Won and actors Jung Joon-Ho, Jung Woong-In, Jung Woon-Taek and Kim Sang-Joon. The film debuts in theaters tomorrow.

Press Reaction

I loved how Seo Jin-Woo of the Daily Economy opened his short comment: 자승자박 (自繩自縛, dig one's own grave). It probably sums up the critical reaction of most of the press, who reacted pretty coldly to this sequel. Although preliminary figures (pre-order sales, surveys and polls) show the film might have a very strong opening, the key is after that. I don't need to emphasize once again how strong 'The King and The Clown's word of mouth is, and although 야수 (Running Wild) and 홀리데이 (Holiday) weren't exactly praised by the press, they still have chances to succeed in the long run. This one... I don't know. 'Marrying The Mafia 2' wasn't exactly high art, but it worked well if you watched in the right frame of mind, just going in expecting two hours of entertaining crap. But most critics noted the middle part of 'My Boss, My Student' drags so much it makes the comedy boring, that it doesn't compare favorably to the original and its many parodies (note that many people said 'Marrying The Mafia 2' was better than the original), and that the acting was too forced. Still, not all hope is lost, as Kim Sang-Joong was praised for his comic acting, and there's still decent fun to be had. They key here is the Lunar New Year holidays, coming a little earlier than usual this year (end of January), when a lot of people will just want to enjoy a fun flick without expecting too much. Whether that ends up being Lee Joon-Ik's wildly praised Historical Drama or this one, that's up to fate to decide.

Comments

JUNG JOON-HO
"The comedy in the film will give the viewers a sense of surprise, it's not something you can predict, something calculated. Instead of doing parodies like in the original, we tried to create something more original, use some new ideas for this film. For comedies, when you have teamwork on the set, then quality will eventually follow. From beginning to end, Kim Sang-Joong and all my other colleagues showed tremendous enthusiasm in this project. I came into this game not knowing much about it, but I'll show in the film how many loopholes I can find to overcome that. It was hard but also fun, and I hope people will enjoy it."

JUNG WOONG-IN
"I'd love to see Awards Ceremonies create a 'Best Comedy' award, and we'll continue to work hard until that day comes. The comedy I'm thinking about is one which combines all its elements properly and creates a certain harmony. It's just like people, looking good is not just about your eyes, nose or any other single element. But one's personal ability to combine all that into something which charms you is the essence of looking good. After all, one of the most characteristic things which moves Korean people's feelings is laughter. The kind of feelings and expression that define us, that's laughter. I hope you'll understand how much effort we went through to get that feeling across. Comedy is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes it's harder to make people laugh than doing your own action stunts."

JUNG WOON-TAEK
"It took me 4 years to grab this mike once again. I think this might be a new start for me, and I did my best. I'll continue to work hard as well. There might be parts you could consider childish or even unfunny, but I think the comedy combines effectively all the characters. While the original focused more on character-based comedy, this film is more concerned about situation comedy, it focuses less on the comic techniques of each character. And I think people like Jung Joon-Ho, Jung Woong-In and Kim Sang-Joong are perfect for that kind of comedy."

DIRECTOR KIM DONG-WON
"The original was praised for not just being a comedy, so in preparing this film, we focused on not forgetting about that. While making this film, I didn't think of it as a gangster comedy, but as a sort of fantasy. Instead of focusing on the organizational contradictions of private schools, I wanted to show a simpler morality play. Because this is a sequel, we tried our best to make people feel once again all the nuances and funny moments of the original, and I agree with what my experienced seniors [the actors] said."

Quick Judgment

Movieweek's Choi Mi-Hyun
Film Quality: AVERAGE
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Kyunghyang Sports' Choi Jae-Wook
Film Quality: AVERAGE
Box Office Potential: GOOD

Cineseoul's Choi Dong-Gyu
Film Quality: AVERAGE
Box Office Potential: AVERAGE

Screen Interview's Jang Yeon-Seon
Film Quality: POOR
Box Office Potential: AVERAGE

Cinetizen's Kim Geon-Woo
Film Quality: POOR
Box Office Potential: AVERAGE

JoyCine's Seo Jung-Hwan
Film Quality: AVERAGE
Box Office Potential: GOOD

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투사부일체 (My Boss, My Student)
Director: 김동원 (Kim Dong-Won)
Cast: 정준호 (Jung Joon-Ho), 정웅인 (Jung Woong-In), 김상중 (Kim Sang-Joong), 정운택 (Jung Woon-Taek)
Official Website
Theatrical Trailer (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media)
Teaser Trailer (Streaming, Windows Media)
Making Of (Streaming, 700k, Windows Media)
Movie Stills/Posters
Produced By: 제니스 엔터테인먼트 (Zenith Entertainment)
Distributed By: CJ 엔터테인먼트 (CJ Entertainment)
Rating: 15 and Over
RELEASE: January 19

[Sources: Film2.0, nKino, Star News, Yahoo Korea 1, Yahoo Korea 2]