kluseba
I'm a big fan of Asian and South Korean cinema and I really dug some of their eccentric and humorous movies such as "Save The Green Planet!" or "Quick". "My Wife Is A Gangster" is though neither a good comedy nor a good gangster flick. The movie is quite overrated and had two unnecessary sequels.I must admit that the initial idea of the movie sounded promising. There were a couple of very good South Korean movies where a wife had some sort of a double identity and secret life as a special agent for example. "Shiri" is a great example and "My Girlfriend Is An Agent" also has its moments. That's why I have watched this movie. But the idea doesn't work very well on here. The two main actors don't have any chemistry. The weird situation of a female gangster married to a shy bourgeois husband could have been funny but the scenes in here are boring, the scenario isn't credible and the humour is very childish, predictable and superficial.The gangster side of the movie isn't any better. It feels as if it had been inspired by a few serious Yakuza movies by Takashi Miike or Takeshi Kitano and desperately wants to parody the genre. The whole thing doesn't work for two reasons. The actors are annoying, mostly bad and not credible at all. A naked gangster running after a punk through half a city isn't funny but more embarrassing than any bad Jackie Chan movie. Second, the characters are boring and you simply don't care about them.Then, there is the story of the movie. Well, what story? The gangster woman fulfills all wishes of her dying sisters and goes through a weird relationship with her husband. Meanwhile, her gangster clan beats up a few punks for any reason. When one of her guys gets killed, his friend suspects the wrong guy and his revenge fails horribly. When the gangster wife comes to save her gang, she loses but her life is spared. She later recovers from her injuries and her husband is ready to avenge her and become a gangster himself. That's it.The viewers have to accept that the stiff husband changed his mind and became a cool bad boy from one instant to the other because he loved his egoistic wife that never showed him any kind of appreciation so much. This rushed and silly story simply doesn't carry a film of almost two hours of running time.Is this scenario credible or original? No. Are there any surprising elements? No. Is there a coherent and gripping story line from the beginning to the end? Not really.Two or three scenes were at least a little bit interesting and slightly funny. That's why I gave three very generous points for this.I recommend you to avoid this movie if you are looking for intelligent humour, a few good gangster movie sequences and an original story. If you just feel like switching your brain off and enjoy some childish slapstick humour inspired by stereotypical Hongkong action comedy flicks and generic Japanese gangster films, go and waste your time.
FilmFlaneur
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** My Wife Is A Gangster is an uneven Korean crime comedy, which nevertheless has some interesting things to say about the role of the sexes in general, and the place of women in particular. Eun-Kyung Shin, mostly familiar in the West from her appearance in the weird fantasy Uzumaki and Ring Virus (1999), plays Cha Eun-jin, alias Mantis, also nicknamed 'Big Brother'. She's a fearsome number two in a crime organisation, in charge of 50 men. Normally seen in blue business shirts and trousers, she is a ultra cool, deadly fighter, feared and admired by those over whom she has control. Her unyielding side is fatally compromised however when she discovers her sister dying of cancer and who, as a last wish, asks her to get married and have a child. Meanwhile an opposing gang is causing trouble, while S***boy, a raw recruit to the gang from the country, has to be shown the ropes...
One could easily imagine this plot being remade by Hollywood, for instance with Steve Martin as the gormless husband selected by the gangsteress to promote her marriage and pregnancy, or Angeline Jolie in the title role. Many of the rough edges would undoubtedly have to be smoothed off in the process, as My Wife Is A Gangster is surprisingly violent, notably in the final scenes where the pregnant heroine is kicked in the stomach. As such, it works as a Long Kiss Goodnight scenario in reverse, as the non-nonsense action woman has to discover/re-invent her softer side. The action of the film is sandwiched between two major confrontations: the first, as the opening credit sequence roll, is a startlingly stylish fight in the rain, featuring the deadly flying knives of Eun-jin, and the last a revenge attack on those who have killed a popular henchman. In between there is another stylish knife fight, this time a matter of honour between Eun-jin and a Japanese martial arts expert, whom she succeeds in defeating and reducing to 'a eunuch'. This confrontation, set in long grass and rolling hills, whether deliberate or not, reminds one of the climax in Kurosawa's early masterpiece Sugato Sanshiro (1945). While not on that level, and influenced by the cool shenanigans of The Matrix (1999), the present film makes the most of a fairly limited budget in the action department, effectively conveying the casual violence of gangsterdom.In fact so insistent are the set pieces that the more frequent, quieter moments of the film require some adjustment on the part of the viewer. First-time director Cho Jin-Kyo has chosen a tricky property in terms of tone, and has trouble balancing the fault line between villainous combat and the social comedy surrounding it. Eastern cinema, of even the most serious genre kind, can have a slapstick manner that's disconcerting to Western audiences. Fortunately a lot of that distraction is absent here, although there is a peculiar scene in this film involving smelly feet, a resuscitated cat and a tense stand off between gangs which works uneasily. The subplot, featuring Shitboy and his mentor Romeo (a ultra-cool henchman), is more effective, although their occasional Laurel and Hardy antics hardly connects with the main predicament of Eun-Jin.It is Eun-jin's concern for her sister that gives the film its heart. At her instigation she has to act out a different lifestyle, softening her looks with make-up, which involves a dating agency, courting a man, entering into marriage, setting up home and eventually trying for a child. Having chivalrously - and unnecessarily - come to Eun-jin's aid during a street fight, Kang Su-Il is quickly selected as a prospective groom, being gullible and desperate for a mate. Proposing to the female gang leader with tender words from The Bridges Of Madison County, after the marriage he soon realises that he is only allowed to touch her with permission, that a Yakuza-type tattoo covers her back and his initial advances can be rejected with a kick to the groin. But once the need is felt to get herself pregnant then the process is reversed and, in scenes satirical of the usual meek role allotted to wives in Eastern cinema, she forces herself upon him at regular intervals. Much is very amusing parody, whether it the sight of such a independent, strong woman learning how to flirt and tease and even suck cock, (moments which recall those in Golden Chicken aka: Gam Gai, 2002), or just sitting demurely, cold eyed with fury, during the traditional romantic introductions. The excellently staged wedding scene, set in a chapel stocked with nightclub girls, gangsters and a punch up in a balloon-filled balcony, is a highlight. Eun-jin's henchmen make awkward witnesses to the happy event, but they are persuaded to follow through this, and her other increasingly bizarre lifestyle choices, by a fierce loyalty to their leader. Her most realistic suitor worships her from afar after she brought him out of a coma, but he is too intimidated by the debt to act upon his admiration.
Eun-Kyung Shin gives her difficult role suitable presence, and one is almost convinced of the punishment her slender figure gives out to those who transgress against her. As the unlucky husband, Sang-Myeon Park is also good as a man who gradually gains his self esteem and pride, although his transformation to avenger and then leather-clad hero at the end of the film is less persuading. A similar transformation overtakes S***boy who, with new hairstyle and cool dress sense, promptly steps into the shoes of the absent Romeo to introduce the new bumpkin to the gang. And, having been relieved of her responsibilities and promises by the death of her sister, for Eun-jin it's business as normal. But perhaps that is the point: in a film that plays with sexual roles and stereotypes, the changes and reversals we see in characters are often ludicrous, pointing up social and cinematic stereotypes in a broad but effective fashion. It's worth seeking out, although more accomplished, less formulaic, comedies are now emerging from Korea on DVD like Barking Dogs Don't Bite (aka: Flandersui gae, 2000) and Attack The Gas Station (aka: Juyuso seubgyuksageun, 1999).
