Cutesy teen K-romances can be an uphill battle for those not in the target demographic, but Love Untangled (now on Netflix) flips the script on that somewhat. Likely hoping to rope in a more diverse viewership, director Namkoong Sun, working from a script by Ji Chun-hee and Wang Doo-ri, tames some of the genre’s hyperbolic tendencies, and takes the time to nurture its characters so they’re more than cartoonish rom-com stereotypes. The result is a lengthy two-hour sit, but the core couple in this story is so endearing, we don’t mind spending a little extra time with them.
The Gist: It’s a classic teen-comedy setup: An insecure high-schooler trapped between two love interests. Does she have a wacky group of friends? Of course she has a wacky group of friends. Who else would help her coordinate elaborate setups so she can finally confess her long-gestating goopy feelings to the object(s) of her affection? Confess her long-gestating goopy feelings to the object(s) of her affection if she can get over her primary insecurities, which is where the movie title comes into play: Se-ri (Shin Eun-soo) has unruly curly hair. It’s not Natasha Lyonne out of control, but it’s pretty big and poofy, and her attempts to straighten it have been far from fruitful. This apparently was not the desired style of the time and place, 1998, Busan, South Korea. It’s the Pager Era. Cathode ray tube TVs. And, apparently, hair straighteners. All that stuff is ephemeral. But hormone-based teen awkwardness? Eternal.
That last part is key. Se-ri narrates how the first time she confessed her love to a boy, they happened to be standing in a graveyard. She was basically a toddler. And she has yet to shake the symbolism. She has sworn off confessing love – but. There’s always a but. Se-ri has a sorta secret spot by the beach where she likes to go swimming and one day she notices someone else knows the sorta secret as he emerges from the water in slo-mo, the water dripping succulently off his shirtless torso. He’s the hot guy at school and everyone crushes on him, but not like Se-ri crushes on him after this particular interaction in which he’s nice to her and leaves the door open for something, maybe. It’s notable that he’s not a jerk, but a friendly sort with an inviting smile; jerk crushes in teen rom-coms are a dime a dozen, and this movie avoids such a characterization. Anyway, Se-ri admires him from afar, but not so far afar that she can’t be beaned by one of his stray soccer balls as she and her friends gawk at the boys on the pitch.
While Se-ri plots to someday get her hair under control (note, her hair is just fine, and it’s actually quite endearing and fits her a-bit-nutty-but-adorable character nicely) and then ask Hyeon out, the movie plot plots against her plot by introducing The New Guy. And it’s quite the introduction, as Yoon-seok (Gong Myung) falls into the water at the sorta-secret swimming spot, and Se-ri saves him from drowning. Then he shows up at school the next day on crutches. He’s a quiet, reserved type, recently relocated from Seoul. Se-ri slowly indoctrinates him into her friend group, which seemingly exists solely to enable her romantic longings, which is a way of saying they’re underwritten; Yoon-seok may be a little smitten with Se-ri, but he nevertheless plays his part in boosting her seduction strategies, and often looks like a deer in the headlights. Poor guy.
Se-ri soon learns that Yoon-seok’s mother runs a hair salon, and boasts a miracle hair-straightening procedure. A miracle hair-straightening procedure that Se-ri can’t afford, so what with that one coincidence and another that she stages, Se-ri arranges to help the hobbled Yoon-seok carry his books and whatnot in exchange for the miracle hair-straightening procedure, which will then be followed by her proclamation of love directly to Hyeon’s face, sure to be slack-jawed agog over the uncurly hair. That’s if she doesn’t start feeling things for Yoon-seok first, which would make everything rather complicated – and we all know if things are uncomplicated, the movie might not be as fun.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Love Untangled shares similarities with stuff like Easy A and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and is a notch better than flimsier stuff like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Performance Worth Watching: Let it be known that there are no true heavyweight characters in this movie. It’s just not designed to be too deep. But Shin gives enough endearing quirks and physical flourishes (don’t overlook her subtly physical performance; body language is key to some of the comedy here) to Se-ri, rendering her a protagonist worth caring about.
Memorable Dialogue: In voiceover, Se-ri states the movie’s thesis: “My hair turned into a tangled mess – and so did my life.”
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: Love Untangled embraces cliches without necessarily indulging them. Sure, that’s hair-splitting, but it’s relevant to our appreciation of the movie, which takes the typical clueless-to-the-thing-directly-in-front-of-her plot and quietly makes it about how and why circumstance plays a part in blossoming relationships. Such is the delineation between the immediacy of lust (although lust may be a strong term in the context of this generally innocent and squeaky-clean movie) and how sincere love grows slowly and deliberately out of friendship. Of course, ye olde friendzoning is an ocean current you don’t want pulling you under, so Yeon-sook is treading some hazardous water.
Not that this is some profound rumination on the nature of human relationships, mind you. The film manufactures and contrives enough of an emotional rollercoaster that it feels more like a movie than real life, but I still found myself rooting for the protagonists and laughing through their various comedic-ironic foibles. For every instance where the screenplay concocts, say, a dopey dodgeball game to mirror the many unspoken emotions of the scenario, it takes the time to develop its characters, e.g., contrasting Se-ri and Yeon-sook’s family situations in a dramatically satisfactory manner. Despite the film’s length and overly familiar structure, this is all far preferable to the usual prom-com horsecrap of too many films of this ilk, K-derived or otherwise.
Our Call: Love Untangled is far better than expected, a pleasantly watchable confection with a hint of substance. STREAM IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.