Palette Cleansing

….is usually a good thing.  Then you mistakenly ingest poo and are left with a nasty ass taste in your mouth.

I really wanted to see Ha Ji Won in something less intense.  I watched Hwang Jini a few years ago and she was superb, stony when she had to be cold, freaky when she went nuts.  I think she’s a tremendous actress with a lot of range, and really needed something to make me laugh after the cry fest that was Damo. 

I didn’t want to commit to another series and thought to check out the Korean film 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant (2004).  The premise was a typically formulaic bad Korean drama; poor girl does something to offend rich guy, rich guy forces her into indentured servitude, which she accedes to by signing a form, she has to clean his nasty apartment, or wash his car, blah blah blah, she finds out he lied to her, she gets him back, they fall in love, they kiss by a body of water, the camera spins as their unmoving mouths are glued together forever and ever and ever and ever. 

Maybe it wasn’t a bad if you were a 14 year old Korean girl.  It is likely that that was the demographic the screenplay and director were targeting.  Reactions were overly dramatic (as 14 year old girls can be) and the situations ridiculous.  There was really nothing redeeming, no deeper message a la “S-Diaries” to give the film any meaning. 

Ha Ji Won certainly has range, as she capably played a silly 18 year old high school senior.  I think it is likely she did her job, and the movie was what it was meant to be; a poorly written, poorly conceived silly piece of fluff. 

Mission accomplished though.  The tears from Damo lubricated the sockets to accommodate all the eye roll activity from this film.  Please don’t bother watching this ever.  Please.