Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies

When I sat down to watch the 2015 South Korean movie "Woking-Geol" (aka "Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies") then I have to admit that I was finding the storyline oddly familiar. It wasn't until about 20 minutes into the movie that I realized that this was actually a remake of the 2010 Brazilian movie "De Pernas Pro Ar".

Now, I am usually not overly keen on remakes, especially when they start to transcend countries and languages. There are an abudance of American remakes of Asian horror movies that just were less than dubious. So yeah, I was having a bit of difficulty with this movie.

But writer and director Beom-sik Jeong actually managed to convince me to put away my hesitation for the movie, as the story was re-written enough to actually surpass the 2010 original movie in terms of entertainment and enjoyment. Sure, the basis for the storyline in "Woking-Geol" was the same as "De Pernas Pro Ar", but it was expanded up and changed enough to make it all the more enjoyable.

The movie is well-helmed by actresses Yeo-Jeong Cho (playing Baek Bo-Hee) and Clara Lee (playing Oh Nan-Hee). Actually all performances in the movie were good, but the two lead actresses really carried the movie phenomenally.

There are good and genuine laughs throughout the course of this movie, and it is actually a movie that is worth sitting down to watch.

My rating of "Woking-Geol" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Crackling Korean comedy about sex and marriage with intense moments mixed with good comedy.

The basic question of this comedy is work or family and marriage better?

A couple with a young daughter are in a sexless marriage. The wife works in marketing at a big company & is fired after a mistake. She meets up with a neighbor that owns a sex toy shop. Then decides to become a partner in the business. At the same time she works to bring sex back to her marriage.

The theme of this film might have you think it's a softcore sex movie. Not even close. There is no actual nudity. There are a couple of sex scenes but not even softcore and mostly played to lighten the mood. But you do get to see a number of dildos which are worked into the comedy of the film. I did laugh a few times. A few.

The two stories of the sex shop & the relationship between the husband and wife were interesting. Unfortunately, some things didn't work. A few times they went for cheap laughs with something ridiculous but didn't come across as funny. Just stupid. A few other things were very predictable.

I'd really rate this movie a 6 1/2. It was just okay. Had a few laughs and I do mean few. The main characters were interesting. Just felt like the movie wanted to be more explicit but didn't. Or should have. They could have had funnier scenes. Too restrained. Probably wouldn't recommend to most people.

This is a really funny, light-hearted and witty movie centered mostly on the marital problems of the protagonist and her husband. It was filmed in great style with clever dialogue, colorful cinematography, an over the top attitude and a multitude of hilarious throwaway gags (the toy company, for example and keep a sharp eye on the background characters) that will keep you rolling.

Although sex and sex toys play a prominent role in the story and there are several sex scenes that border on soft-core pornography, there is surprisingly very little actual nudity other than a brief shot of a photo displayed in an art class. The material deftly treats its topic very humorously without crossing the line into prurience, vulgarity or gross-out humor. The English subtitles don't even include any dirty/slang words, if you can believe that, although it does appear that some of the jokes didn't quite survive being translated from Korean.

The story races through the first hour or so in highly entertaining fashion, but unfortunately goes completely off the rails in the final act as the film inexplicably and abruptly changes tone from light comedy to plodding melodrama. Clocking in at just under two hours, the film would have been improved immensely simply by leaving the final 20 minutes on the cutting room floor.

Still, the first hour is highly entertaining and worth watching even if you skip the last few scenes; it should be quite obvious when it is time to pull the plug, which is encouraged.

The story, incidentally is highly similar to the 2012 American comedy "For a Good Time, Call..." which is also recommended.

There is going to be displays of nudity and sex that TV Kdramas do not exhibit. This film is refreshing and tasteful with lots of comedic scenes. The actors are well chosen and compatible with one another. I wouldn't be surprised if they had fun making this film. This is a must-see film with your lover.