Sex Is Zero

Some movies occasionally try to mix serious drama with absurd humor. Most doesn't succeed at all. SEX IS ZERO does succeed, though! Slapstick jokes, some very funny, some very stupid and some lost in translation are mixed with extremely serious drama towards the end, and then goes slowly into the comedy genre again - with great results.

Very nicely done movie that are probably most inspired by movies like BRING IT ON and American PIE. However, this is a Korean movie, and that means it's weirder, better acted, slightly more surprising and original.

Be prepared for serious drama mixed with high-school humor, though. And be prepared for lots of cute girls! :) 7 of 10.

Korean movies found their marks with comedy, lavishness, and bit of romance or sexploitation. This is one of the earlier movies of this type that has good plot, and many funny moments.

The movie is about a Korean cheer leading competition, with romance that goes along the way. Many good looking athletic women and men show their skills on screen. I'd say maybe 70% of the entertainment is from the eye candy factor. There aren't any vulgarness to the movie although there are many sexual innuendos.

Korean movies have come a long ways, and the quality of actors have really gone up. The story isn't seamlessly smooth, but this problem goes away with Sex is Zero 2. The movie was pretty experimental when it came out, so that's OK.

I'm all for these cleverly done K movies, and I hope they'd continue making good movies like this one.

SEX IS ZERO (2002): Raunchy comedy/drama starring pop idol Lim Chang-jung (see JAKARTA) as a hapless college schlub who falls for Miss Popularity, who conveniently happens to be dating the biggest prick on campus and is therefore blind to Lim's hopeless overtures until she gets knocked up and beaten silly by her embarrassed mother. Often feels like an idealized male-centric filmization of the director's unrequited college romance, except that here the dream girl is made to suffer unspeakable anguish before she wises up to the man who really cares about her (a made-for-the-movies conceit if ever there was one). The dramatic scenes are uncommonly powerful, but they seem almost too heavy in places for a comedy that tries so hard to be base. You may never look at bread or frying pans the same way, though. UNBELIEVABLE FACT: if you watch the making of doc on the Korean DVD, you'll learn that the scene where a secondary female character throws up on her date WAS NOT FAKED. Man, talk about suffering for your craft: the girl downs two full 1.5 Litre bottles of water, mixed with one cup instant noodle soup and voila! Real barf! Which the actor then has to enjoy while he kisser her in the same take. Probably the most f'd-up thing I've ever seen in all my years of movie watching.

This comedy quite okay. Definitely inspired by Last American Virgin which itself is a remake of Lemon Popsicle. The basic of the story is the same with the other two but this movie adds lots other elements to make it quite different but still enjoyable.

Having watched a number of Korean films over the years, I got hold of this film assuming that in spite of its raunchy title and subject matter there would be little sex, nudity and grossness. Boy was I wrong! This makes American Pie look like children's TV. Sperm sandwiches, masturbating burglars and anal intercourse slapstick mean that the first half of the film is actually very funny. But like other Asian comedies, a light-hearted beginning leads to a serious second half designed to make the conclusion cathartic.

The film begins with Lim Chang-Jung as a student returning to university after completing his military service. Upon his return he falls in love with one of the cute girls in the university, but she only has eyes for the rich boy who oozes superficiality. Nevertheless Lim Chang-Jung befriends her and tries to help her deal with the difficulties of having a superficial, snobbish boyfriend. It is those scenes where he tries to be there for her that totally change the tone of the film. The serious issue of an unwanted pregnancy is dealt with in a way which is very touching and believable, even if there are certain scenes which are over exaggerated (Lim Chang-Jung getting hit over the head with a hammer in the aerobics competition is ridiculous).

There is an element of fantasy in this film, but perhaps it is more from the female perspective. The man who dedicates his life to make a woman happy and is willing to make extreme sacrifices for her sake seems like the type of ideal man in Sex and the City.