Real-life couple Kim Molina and Jerald Napoles play Luneta and Park, who develop feelings for each other in K-Drama fashion, in Darryl Yap’s latest offering, the parody comedy “Seoulmeyt.”
The writer-director pokes fun at the Korean Wave, but does it with affection. He shot his film in Koreanovela style — bokeh, slow-mos, with a dreamlike quality, and food shots.
But he seems to have changed his game — or maybe it’s Viva’s decision. The writer-director’s trademark off-color humor is toned down to a PG-13 level, and the melodrama and theatrics are dialed way down. Still, his brand of vulgar humor remains intact.
The first half or so is dragging, with a short supply of wit and with very random humor. The movie only truly livens up when Napoles transforms himself into an oppa.
The genuinely funny moments are far in between, and they are entirely because of Napoles. The actor is an intellectual comedian with a sharp understanding of what is funny and draws inspiration from his keen observation of people’s idiosyncrasies
Here, Napoles once again proves his comedic talent, that even his slit-eyed gaze as an oppa impersonator already generates laughter, on top of his Korean-accented English.
But sadly, Napoles is underutilized here. Molina’s character is also one-dimensional, with nearly no personality. She’s just a grief-stricken mild-mannered young woman. It’s hard to draw out laughter from the talented duo when they’re given little material to work with.
The plot is thin and simply stretched out with random gags in various comedy subgenres, lending only little time to the romantic build-up of Luneta and Park’s love story.
The earlier scenes already take us to Seoul, which include a nicely choreographed introduction to a strict, short Korean girl boss, Madam (a very good Jobelyn Manuel), who parades outdoors in the wintery cold, cartoon-like (complete with cartoon sound effects), with her army of male security staff. Maybe Yap is going for a Kim Jong Un persona for the Madam.
The Madam, who strangely disappears from the script after the first act, demands Napoles’ Park Jun Jun, a.k.a, Juanito, and his partner Sonny Boy (Kid Yambao) to make sure that the Filipinos in a small coastal town in Subic close the deal with her company PEK, so she can buy their land and build a shipping port.
Since our current laws do not allow foreigners to buy land in our country, we assume this is some time in the future, or an imagined Philippines.
PEK has two foreign competitors for the Philippine land. But since the Korean-obsessed Filipinos, led by Luneta (“Lunie” for short), need zero convincing to accept the Koreans’ attractive offer, there is no entertainment derived from, say, competitive bidding, or negotiations. In fact, this is the somber side of the plot.
But Yap throws in a dilemma in the form of Nanay Gigi (Isay Alvarez, borrowing her character’s name in Miss Saigon), who is the only one holding Lunie back from closing the deal with the Koreans.
The movie is a mix of serious drama, comedy and love story — with a dash of political shade and social commentary. There seems to be an underlying commentary on the plight of calamity-stricken Filipinos, who cannot get enough government aid and relies on foreign rescue. I also sense that Yap is perhaps also taking an interesting jab at the recent “signature campaign scam” on the People’s Initiative for cha-cha.
But the center of all this is the love story. But it’s hard to root for Lunie and Park’s romance when we barely feel their growing affection. Even the arrival of Park Jun Tae (Korean actor Ha Ju-young) doesn’t do much to inject tension or conflict.
Alvarez’ Gigi is a camera favorite, but the character’s humorless and abrasive personality makes her unpleasant.
Seoulmeyt boasts lovely cinematography, especially in Seoul, where Yap feels more visually inspired. He also incorporates rotoscope animation in some parts.
But Viva Films has yet to understand color theory and color palette, and stop dressing up people in same-colored T-shirts, which is distracting — not the monochromatic harmony and aesthetic that it tries to achieve.
Seoulmeyt feels like a different Yap movie, and maybe he is experimenting new ways in his comedy and storytelling. This one, though, is not one of his strong creations, yet hints at his evolving artistry.
2.5/5 stars
Now showing in cinemas