Review: 'My New Sassy Girl' has one of the most unconvincing movie couples

Gyun-woo’s girlfriend (Victoria Song) in “My New Sassy Girl.” (Clover Films)

Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 100 minutes (~1.75 hours)

“My New Sassy Girl” is a South Korean-China comedy that’s a sequel to 2001’s “My Sassy Girl.” It follows the adventures of Gyun-woo as he gets into a relationship with another sassy girl. It stars Cha Tae-hyun (Gyun-woo), Victoria Song (Sassy Girl), and Fujii Mina (Yuko). It is rated PG.

“My New Sassy Girl” suffers from several production issues, chief of which is the picture quality. It’s especially noticeable during the low light scenes, when you can clearly see the graininess on the otherwise smooth complexions of the main cast during close-up scenes. There are also poorly edited subtitles, which haven’t been checked for placement (since they overlap several of the film’s own subtitles at many points, hampering the readability of either), and have spelling and punctuation errors at other points. It’s this lack of polish that makes the film more difficult to watch than it already is.

Gyun-woo (Cha Tae-hyun) and his girl in “My New Sassy Girl.” (Clover Films)

Highlights

Childhood sequence is cute and endearing

A long childhood sequence is required to provide the exposition and emotional weight necessary to explain the appearance of the new love in Gyun-woo’s life, and more importantly, how quickly he gets over his previous beau. While the appearances of the child actors certainly highlight the copious amount of plastic surgery that has to occur before adulthood, they’re also the most genuine performances in the film. Without a need to pander to the camera or exaggerate lowbrow slapstick, the young stars are able to project real emotion and hence make a true connection with the audience.

Gyun-woo in “My New Sassy Girl.” (Clover Films)

Letdowns

Purposeless nonsense

While the first “My Sassy Girl” was silly, it did so in the name of fun and story. The sequel attempts to ape the ridiculous tone of the first movie without considering why it should do so. The so-called funnies puts form before function, and results in a meaningless cacophony of visual humour that might elicit a few empty laughs but leaves no impact.

Special effects from the 90’s

Once or twice is fine, but putting in special effects that look like they were done in five minutes using PowerPoint just shows how much thought went into it. Special effects of today are capable of so much more, and it speaks to the lack of imagination of the producers that they’re using such garish effects on the characters. If the cast cannot emote, no amount of special effects will improve the performance. Someone clearly forgot to tell the producers that the special effects that were hip and cool in 2001 have gone out of style… 15 years later.

Lack of romantic tension

The developments of the story have the relationship deal sealed in Act One already. This is why, although it’s billed as a romantic comedy, it’s really just a straightforward comedy. There’s no romancing involved and no tension that the characters won’t be together, because they already are. Without an obvious conclusion for us to root for, what exactly are we watching “My New Sassy Girl” for? To see a married couple co-exist?

Zero chemistry between Cha Tae-hyun and Victoria Song

The pair are as loving as a pair of dead fishes. There’s absolutely no spark between the pair, and neither do they try very hard to generate some sort of on-screen chemistry. Instead, they’re more interested in looking as funny and interesting as possible, and the scenes between them end up like a competition to steal the attention of the audience. This, coupled with the lack of romantic tension, creates a couple that’s plain, flat, and boring.

The nonsensical couple in “My New Sassy Girl.” (Clover Films)

“My New Sassy Girl” has one of the most unconvincing couples ever to grace screens.

Should you watch this if it’s free? OK.

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No.

Score: 2.0/5

“My New Sassy Girl” opens in cinemas 12 May, 2016 (Thursday).