Baby and Me is a Korean film adaptation of the Japanese manga Aka-chan to Boku by Marimo Ragawa. It stars Jang Geun Suk as the protagonist and Mason Moon as the baby in question.
Han Jun Su is an incredibly rebellious 18 year old high school student that gets into so much trouble that his parents are required to visit his school to apologise for their son’s behaviour almost every single day.
Jun Su’s parents get so fed up that they decide to run away and stay somewhere else for a while, leaving their son to deal with the consequences of his actions alone.
As you might expect, Jun Su simply sees this as an opportunity to throw a huge party and proceeds to go to the Supermarket to stock up on the booze.
However, whilst he is not looking someone places baby Woo Ram (Mason Moon) in his trolley…accompanied by an unsigned note naming him as the father!
Jun Su is overwhelmed and sets out to find the baby’s mother, with only his friends and a strange girl from his school (Kim Byeol) to help him.
GOOD POINTS
– Jang Geun Suk shines in this film as the bad kid that gets pulled down to Earth and into reality. Despite the fact that he plays the role of the arrogant teenager, viewers can easily be taken by his character and feel like they are walking every step with him through the hardships of parenting.
– Kim Byeol offers a strong and likeable female character. She is intelligent and often the voice of morality in Jun Su’s life. This is quite refreshing as it can be said that female characters are often not given a lot of substance unless they are in the main role.
– There is a really good balance of emotion and comedy and the narrative is handled well enough to make it deep and meaningful. The plot is given extra weight in the tackling of Jun Su’s friends problems, being in a state of severe poverty and having a mother that is very ill shows the viewers a great sense of realism.
BAD POINTS
– The baby Woo Ram is given an inner monologue (voiced by comedian Park Myeong Su). Personally, I was quite appalled when I first heard it and thought it was such an unnecessary decision. However, as the film progressed, I got used to it and managed to see its comedic value. It is just best not to take that part of the film so seriously.
OVERALL
Baby and Me is a great film for those that want an emotional yet quite funny film that is easy to watch. As previously mentioned, all the character’s issues are covered in a good way, but not dwelled upon for too long, so the film’s pace is not slowed. This film is also recommended for any fans of Jang Geun Suk who want to see him at usual best.
Links to watch this film with Eng Subs:
