My Sassy Girl DVD with Elisha Cuthbert, Jesse Bradford, Austin Basis (PG-13) +Movie Reviews

Packaged like a romantic comedy but really a drama

Daniel Winegarden | Phoenix, AZ | 12/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elisha Cuthbert stars as Jordan Roark and Jesse Bradford as Charlie Bellows, two apparently mismatched New Yorkers who randomly meet on a subway platform.

The packaging and parts of the movie stylistically say "romantic comedy." And there are funny parts, but not based on the now common gross gags or sexual double entendre. But the humor is not the core of the movie. Charlie Bellows is a typical romantic comedy straight man, so it's easy to see where viewers might be misled. Jordan Roark is not the typical inhabitant of a romantic comedy. In fact she's the mystery. What makes her so volatile and emotionally dangerous but compelling?

The movie was deeper than I expected with a real reward at the end. I couldn't take my eyes off of Elisha Cuthbert. The story builds somewhat slowly but the nuance is there in Elisha's characterization to explain everything in retrospect. I found her compelling. There was no mystery why Jesse's Charlie Bellows fell in love, despite the Elisha's manic behavior as Jordan.

It wasn't the romantic comedy I expected, but it was a rewarding, surprising and oddly compelling drama by the end. I've rewatched it several times and found additional subtlety, emotion and meaning each time. My Sassy Girl was much better than anticipated, and perhaps expectations play a role.

Those viewers that saw the original Korean version have vastly different expectations and apparently wanted the same movie in English, and didn't get it. Those that want and need a light romantic comedy would also be disappointed. If you're willing to ride along and let the movie develop on its own merits, there's more meaning and drama than meets the eye in the first half of the film.

Recommended. My Sassy Girl"

A failed attempt at re-making a popular film.

Steve Kuehl | Ben Lomond, CA | 08/24/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Maverick/Vertigo originally got high marks for deciding to remake a very popular Korean film of the same name, but the results were less than fantastic. The targeted audience of teen to twenty-somethings was obvious with two castings of the Bring It On actor Jesse Bradford and the popular 24 daughter Elisha Cuthbert.

The requests for this one were already pouring in because of the original piece, plus the director from the highly rated Love Me if You Dare made his next film. I'll skip the comparisons between the two films and just try this one on its own merit.

The storyline of two young strangers meeting in New York and falling in love appears quite forcefully after a novice storyboard coverage of the main character's early life. Our Cuthbert character plays the strange and mysterious rich girl with a damaged back story we know nothing about. Through the course of their strange meetings, dates or whatever you want to call them, all of the teens watching left the room within 20 minutes. I stuck it out to see if this dysfunctional relationship would become believable. It never really does, and as the love story grew painfully more boring and contrived, the middle-aged ladies gave up watching also.

The ending had some heart, but overall the film never materializes into anything enjoyable, believable or rewatchable. The DVD has absolutely nothing extra to it, so between there being no special features whatsoever and a disappointing love story, I had to give it the lower rating."

Great date movie with Cuthbert goodness

Steven Lynch | Chapel Hill, Tennessee USA | 01/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Never saw the original. Don't care.

I watched this movie like 4 or 5 times on a cruise to the Carribean last week... and I loved it... and I'm a guy.

Its a great vehicle for Cuthbert, allowing her to act and not be just another pretty Maxim magazine pinup. She dominates the screen... and the male lead is subdued enough to allow her to intoxicate his world with what at first appears to be her Free Spirit wild-child ways.

Those that can't stand her Bi-polar-ish actions ...need to hang in there, ALL will be revealed. The character of Jordan Roark is much deeper than that of spoiled little rich girl. My wife couldn't hardly stand the character and was ready to give up on the movie... but I told her "Trust me, you're going to like the ending." For guys, Elisha Cuthbert is so beautiful and spunky and so full of life...well, what's not to love?

There are not one...but TWO payoffs at the end for those that do stick with it, Jordan's story...and one really great kiss. After you learn Jordan's story... you'll want to go back and watch the movie again and pick up all the little nuances of the movie that make a second watching much more enjoyable.

One superb quality to this movie is that its actually pretty clean,,, and would make an excellent first date type movie for a young couple. I wouldn't mind watching this one with the kids either, only a small bit of bad language"

What did you expect, really?

Joel Davenport | Idaho, USA | 04/04/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ho hum.

I don't think anyone expected this to be as good as the original - but I think we all wanted it to resemble it's Korean counterpart.

I feel there were a little too many creative liberties taken... the story is a little bit far fetched- the acting wears a bit thin here and there- and the scenarios are entirely different. This was so distant from the Korean version that it was hard to believe the writers had watched it at all.

Vaguely humorous, a good effort at least, but definitely not as good as the first. :("

Mistranslated

canopy | New Zealand | 12/06/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've seen the original twice. As a native Korean, I loved the original movie. It's a laugh-out-loud movie but also a heart-warming romantic comedy, excellently done by the two main actors. A definite keeper.

I was very curious to find out that they've done an American remake of the film. As the original movie had a very distinct Korean culture, I was excited to see how they've turned it into an American film. I expected to see much change in the plot but surprisingly there were many familiar scenes. The scene on the subway and the games that the girl plays were all in the American version. Even the rose scene which was a significant part in the original movie was kept in tact. Unlike other reviewers, I was actually disappointed that they kept so many of the original movie. I'm grateful that the film makers showed respect to the original movie but they forget that the original movie was geared towards a Korean audience which is why the craziness of a cute girl works. In many Korean films, it is quite common to see a girl's charm manifested in her obnoxious behaviour and such. But I wasn't convinced of it in the American version. The girl just was really annoying and I was annoyed with the guy for taking such crap from a crazy girl.

I think the movie should've been more Americanized. It has a such a sweet story to it but the film makers' over sensitivity to the original movie was, in my opinion, a hindrance to recreating this film. Lakehouse is another movie that was adapted from a very well known Korean film. They kept the spirit of the original but changed quite a lot of the plot and even changed the characters a little bit, to suit an American audience and look how well that turned out.

When a film is being remade, although there should be some homage to the original, the remade movie should still be able to stand on its own. As for this film, if I hadn't seen the original movie, I would've given this film less than three stars."

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	My Sassy Girl Actors: Elisha Cuthbert, Jesse Bradford, Austin Basis, Chris Sarandon, Jay Patterson Director: Yann Samuell Genres: Comedy, Drama PG-13 2008 1hr 32min A SWEET MIDWESTERN GUY WITH HIS LIFE PLANNED OUT FOR HIMSELF IS WOOED, GROOMED, AND ULTIMATELY DUMPED BY A COMPLICATED, ELUSIVE GAL.
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