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See
You After School |
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review | notes | availability | |
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It's three o'clock in See You After School.
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Year: |
2006 |
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Director: |
Lee
Seok-Hoon |
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Cast: |
Bong Tae-Gyu, Ha Seok-Jin, Kim Tae-Hyeon, Jeong Koo-Yeon |
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The
Skinny: |
An affable loser gets caught in a strange case of mistaken
identity when he accidentally challenges the school's
top bully to an afterschool showdown. Although highly
derivative of other high school flicks of its kind,
See You After School has enough originality and
spark to stand on its own two feet. |
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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
If war is hell, then high
school isn't far from it, especially for See You
After School's hapless protagonist, Namkoong Dahl
(Bong Tae-Gyu), a young high school student who may
just be the unluckiest man alive. After constant bullying
causes the boy to transfer from school to school repeatedly,
Dahl signs up for a clinic designed especially to treat
fellow "rejects." So certain are they of their
techniques, the clinic promises to cure his affliction
and send him back into the general population with a
new lease on life. With a new school and a new semester
on the horizon, Dahl "graduates" from the
program, believing himself to be a changed man, but
is he really?
Once back in the real world,
he meets up with another "Reject Escape Camp"
graduate, the ridiculously coiffed Yeon Seong (a funny,
but sometimes overacting Kim Tae-Hyeon), who has successfully
overcome his loser status through a deceptively simple
technique: early on at the new school, he challenged
a student to a fight, knowing full well that his intended
target wouldn't go through with it. The bluff ensured
Yeon Seong's rep, and he's sure it'll work for his old
friend as well. Although Dahl is skeptical, he figures
he might as well give Yeon Seong's idea a try. And wouldn't
you know it? Fate intervenes to allow Dahl to do just
that.
Enter Choi Min-Ah (the alluring
Jeong Koo-Yeon), a sexy student who not only catches
Dahl's eye, but soon wins his heart without saying a
word. When he spies her being hassled by three punks,
Dahl decides to seize the opportunity, believing he'll
not only ensure his reputation as a tough guy, but capture
Min Ah's affections as well. As good as his intentions
are, his "carpe diem" attitude backfires:
one of the bullies is Kang Jae-Koo (Ha Seok-Jin), who's
not only the toughest kid in school, but a veritable
legend when it comes to schoolyard brawling. Unfortunately,
Dahl doesn't back down from the fight at first, even
when Jae Koo gives him the chance. What ensues next
is not only madcap dash throughout the day to avoid
a fight, but a hilarious case of mistaken identity,
in which Dahl is not only erroneously believed to be
a bully in his own right, but also mistaken for Jae-Koo
by kids from a rival school looking to settle an old
score! Even worse, a bully that made Dahl's life miserable
at his previous school is stalking the school grounds
in the hopes of catching up with his old target! But
to what purpose?
It's safe to say that See
You After School treads familiar territory. For
one, the film essentially plays out like an uncredited
remake of the 1987 film Three O'Clock High right
down to the continual usage of clocks (this time around
they're digital) that count down the hours until the
final battle. Other familiar aspects extend to the movie's
lead actor, Bong Tae-Gyu, who plays a character not
too far removed from the one he assayed in Ssunday
Seoul (minus the werewolfism, of course). But thankfully,
the film doesn't feel like a tired rehash, as it milks
both the comedy and the dramatic aspects to maximum
effect. Kudos go to Bong Tae-Gyu, who takes a seemingly
cardboard character, and makes him three dimensional.
Although Dahl seems at first to be the stereotypical
high school geek, he isn't entirely mild-mannered either
and feels very much like a real guy, even if the situation
is exaggerated for comedic purposes.
And unlike many of its predecessors,
See You After School has technology on its side,
as there are many CGI fantasy sequences used to punctuate
the humor. One low-tech interlude worth citing is an
entertaining music video-inspired fantasy sequence early
in the film that features Dahl fawning over Min-Ah as
she transforms into a sexy nurse, a midriff bearing
policewoman, and a Sheena-esque jungle girl - a scene
that any red-blooded heterosexual male should be able
to respond to and appreciate!
Although the film initially
seems to be all about lame toilet humor, it quickly
rights itself, thanks to Bong's performance. As his
character makes every effort to get out of school (feigning
sickness, paying people off), he comically finds himself
only further ensuring that his afterschool match is
destined to occur. One amusing scene involves Dahl's
sincere attempt at earning detention, which quickly
turns into a rousing speech that proves to have unintended
consequences, both for his own reputation and his budding
friendship with Min-Ah! Surprisingly, the film's inevitable
turn towards serious drama actually seems organic, rather
than a contrived filmic convention. All these qualities
and more allow See You After School to transcend
the familiarity of its material. Although in many ways
its derivative of other high school flicks of its kind,
See You After School has enough originality and
spark to stand on its own two feet. (Calvin McMillin, 2006) |
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Notes: |
The film's production company, Cineon, strongly
denied allegations that See You After School
is a rip-off of Three O'clock High, instead proclaiming
that the film deals with universal issues. |
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Availability: |
DVD (Korea)
Region 3 NTSC
EnterOne DVD
Korean Language Track
Dolby Digital 5.1
English and Korean Subtitles
Various Extras |
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Copyright ©2002-2017 Ross Chen
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