By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
August 26, 2008
Loosely based on the 2001 Korean romantic comedy of the same name, My Sassy Girl follows a young couple that was brought together by unusual circumstances.
Charlie (Jesse Bradford, Flags of Our Fathers) finds Jordan (Elisha Cuthbert, 24) drunk and passed out in a subway station. Worried that she’ll be harmed, he makes sure she gets home safely.
The two have nothing in common. He has a life plan and a cautious approach; she lives moment to moment and literally throws caution to the wind.
Like The Lake House–a remake of the Korean movie Siworae–the plot of My Sassy Girl has been changed enough that it’s its own film.
While not nearly as charming as the film on which it’s based, it has its winning moments–especially in the final third of the film when it makes sense why this unlikely pair should be together.
As Jordan notes, “We have to stay alive, because we have to see how the story ends.”
Bradford and Cuthbert lend charm and likability to their roles. While the plot often asks us to believe in them when they’re placed in situations that are completely unbelievable, the actors make us root for them.
There is a surprise tear-jerking ending that is highly contrived. Still, you may want to have a tissue or two on hand.
