Bang-gwa-hoo-ock-sang

Remember the 1987 high-school comedy classic THREE O' CLOCK HIGH? It seems the makers of SEE YOU AFTER SCHOOL do, as the plot is exactly the same: a new boy in school accidentally tangles with school bully and is challenged to fight after school, and the rest of the film deals with his increasingly desperate schemes to avoid the fight.

It might be plagiarism, but it still provides a very solid foundation for some good, funny comedy, in the typically "cruel", physically violent, painful style that has become the hallmark of Korean comedies like MY SASSY GIRL, ATTACK THE GAS STATION and SAVE THE GREEN PLANET. The horrors of school are mined effectively in a film that will have universal appeal, both to fans of Korean cinema, and fans of the 1980s high-school comedies that Hollywood used to churn out.

This movie reminded me a lot of the movie "The New Guy". I wouldn't be surprised if the director and makers of this flick were influenced to do a comedy with the similar premise and concept. So there is a new transfer student that is down on his luck and is bad luck just follows him everywhere. And has been a puppet on strings all through out his life. Until he meets a friend that teaches him the ways of trying to appear tough so no other students would bully them. But when he tries to act tough in order to impress a girl he falls for he gets himself into a bit of a pickle. Because he gets in the way of the biggest bully in school. So he gets set up on a deadline to meet the bully after school in order to fight. So the plot is basically about him trying to avoid the fight and get out of the situation he is in. And while doing so he starts building a reputation for himself, although most of it is a misunderstanding. And that is what drives this comedy, I enjoy comedies with misunderstandings and this movie is constant misunderstanding one after the next. But the the most intriguing part about this flick is how the whole story is told in one school day. Korean students live at school so it's possible but it seemed a bit over the top. This has more humanistic elements than expected that deals with one would do for popularity and acceptance and if it's worth it all. Overall it's a decent fun comedy that is driven by misunderstandings.

6.8/10