With February being just around the corner, what’s a better way to prepare for the upcoming Jay Park show in London than by watching the 2011 film starring the rapper?
Written and directed by Ra Hee-chan, the film aims to capture the dreams of young people through the use of music. Lee Yoo-jin (Ji Hyun-woo), Ji-oh (Jay Park), Hyun-yi (Jang Seo-won) and Ricky (Randy Kim) play four men who form an idol group, Mr. Children, and are unified by their passion for music. The group are formed by the determination of Goo Joo (Park Ye Jin) who aims to remake a fallen band with new, perfect singers. The film follows the men training for their debut, and all is set to go well. Well, unless one particular music industry power (Kim Su-ro) can help it!
Before watching this film, I had anticipated a Korean “if High School Musical was Step Up”, but it actually managed to (somewhat) pass my low expectations. The film comments on the hardships of idol life and the difficulties groups that come from small companies face. However, this is reflected in the dialogue, which mostly revolves around characters saying “go do this!” or “go do that!”, which isn’t ideal. Goo Joo also comes across as completely emotionless, which although allows her to avoid being the laughing stock of the film, comes across as strange considering that she was shown as being involved in a tragic accident which left to Mr. Children initially being disbanded.
Jay Park isn’t an excellent actor by a long shot, but, he serves his purpose well. It’s impossible to deny that he is a great dancer, and the scenes where he tries to teach Yoo Jin a choreography are an interesting watch. With minor camos by half of U-Kiss as well as Nam Gyu Ri, it’s a star-studded cast which serves to strengthen this image that 2011 is the year of K-Pop.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable film, but I feel like there could have been more done with the storyline. Is it re-watchable? Probably not. Try out the trailer below!:
