[KFCC] Bet on my Disco Review

Story: During the early 80’s in a small village in South Korea, Haejok, Pong-pal and Song-gi are three good friends trying to complete their studies, but not without regular trouble. On a casual day, Haejok runs into a mysterious young girl, which he immediately falls in love with. But his attempt at trying to talk to the girl fails miserably. Trying to deal with the case of that mysterious home town girl, Haejok and Song-gig notice that Pong-pal didn’t show up in school for the last few days. They will learn later that Pong-pal`s father had a terrible accident and he and his sister now have to work to pay the regular bills and also for the hospital fees.

But the worst is that the mysterious girl is in fact the sister of Pong-pal, she now has to work has a hostess in a popular disco bar owned by a powerful gangster and there is no way she can get away from that job. The only proposition that the boss is willing to accept is if Haejok can win the upcoming Disco contest, he will free Pong-pal`s sister from her work. Unfortunately for Haejok, he’s a really bad dancer and the contest is in a week away!

Review: I know, this plot sounds very weird, but what is even stranger is that the movie really works. Of course, it is far from being the best Korean comedy ever but its a very sweet experience that will probably surprise a lot of people.

The story is a great mixture of comedy, romance and a bit of action. The movie story flows very well and never fails to loose interest. The only complaint is that it takes a while before you can really get into the movie, because the first hour is a very big introduction to the characters and their situation. The second half of the movie is about Haejok trying to win the Disco contest. As for the best thing, it was of course that early 80’s setting. I personally found 70’s fashion very laughable so I had a really good time laughing at how the characters were dressed.

Talking about the characters, even if most of them are no big Korean movie stars, their acting was perfect for their associated characters. Lee Jeong-jin played the role of the fearless Haejok, even if he is not a very well experienced actor, his performance was excellent. As for his 2 other friends, both were also very good but Pong-pal, played by the popular young actor Im Chang-jeong, was probably the most interesting of the trio. You really feel pity for this character that tries the best he can to let her sister have a better life.

Pong-ja, played by the lovely Han Chae-yeong, didn’t have a lot of screen presence and dialogues but she really pulled a good performance that deserves to be mentioned. But in my opinion, the ultimate character of the movie, the one that you will still remember even after months after the viewing is incontestably the Dance teacher. First his appearance is hilarious, every time he appears on screen he is wearing something different, which makes him look so horribly funny, well it’s the 70’s influence. His character was also as funny as his clothe but I don’t want to spoil you too much about him since he’s so funny to discover and one of the best things of the movie.

The comedy aspect of the movie is very light, a few joke appear form time to time but nothing to really to take your breath away. The movie is a very enjoyable comedy but I was expecting the funny part to be a bit better for a Korean comedy. There’s also a bit of romance in it too, but not too much to take over the comedy aspect.

Bet on My Disco is maybe not a movie that will leave its mark as a Korean comedy but its still a movie that I will suggest to those who enjoy Asian comedies. Even if the story was a bit predictable, especially the ending, the movie still has its great moments; the Dancing teacher only makes the move movie worth viewing.