“Cute” is the word that best describes romantic comedy “On Your Wedding Day” starring Korean sweetheart Park Bo-young.

Park, at the age of 28, is one of those actors who seem never to age. She can pull off both the innocence of a high school girl and complex emotions of a much older woman. Her voice can sound both sweet and shrill depending on the situation, and the range of her facial expressions is impressive every time she is on-screen.

These are the impressions from the latest film by Lee Seok-geun: funny, cute, lighthearted, and leaving you reminiscent of how it used to be when you were younger.

The film starts off as Park’s character Seung-hee and her co-star Kim Young-kwang’s Woo-yeon stumble upon each other in their high school years, and embark on an awkward romantic journey. It follows the two in their on-again, off-again relationship throughout their college years and to when they are adults, dogging them as they mature through the trials and errors of life.

Despite his modelesque stature and good looks, Kim is on point depicting a lovable loser hopelessly in love. A good-natured person, he sometimes can be stubborn and infuriating, but ultimately is charming.

A lot of characters in movies these days have such traits, but Woo-yeon is depicted in a very convincing manner that is not forced. The audience would just smile and end up rooting for him.

That is one thing the movie does well -- create likeable characters. This is not to say all the characters are good guys, of course, but everyone in the movie perfectly fits his or her part.

One of the biggest mistakes a movie can make is to try to get the audience to like its protagonist so much that it makes him or her a saint, making the character one-dimensional and hard for viewers to connect with.

This is not the case with Woo-yeon. He makes mistakes and obnoxious moves, and yet the audience still loves him because he’s going through the process of growing up. We’ve all been there, the angst of the youngster that makes us do crazy and stupid things.

Another thing about the movie is that it is funny. The supporting characters, particularly Woo-yeon, have just the right amount of funny and heart. The movie doesn’t try to make the comic relief ultra-goofy, which is again another trap that these films often fall into.

While Park leaves a lasting impression, the movie is still a coming-of-age story about Kim’s Woo-yeon, and by the closing credits, it feels genuinely good to have watched him through his journey.

Describing the final scene runs the risk of a major spoiler, but let’s just say the dialogue is what makes the journey fulfilling.

It is a slightly cuter version of the film “Architecture 101” with the nostalgia factor intact, and what makes it work is the two actors’ chemistry and heart and the director’s character building.

“On Your Wedding Day” opens in local theaters on Aug.22.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)