Remake of a much-loved Korean classic following the ups and downs of a young married couple…
My Love, My Bride is a remake of the hit 1990 romantic comedy of the same name, which won over audiences more than two decades ago with its character driven attempt to offer a realistic portrayal of love and marriage. Director Lim Chan-sang (The President’s Barber) steps into the shoes of Lee Myung-se (Nowhere to Hide), with the roles made famous by Park Jong-hoon and Choi Jin-sil being taken on by popular stars Jo Jung-suk (The Face Reader) and Shin Min-ah (The Naked Kitchen). The combination proved a winning one, and the film performed well at the box office, pulling in more than two million admissions, an impressive figure for a rom com.
Jo Jung-suk and Shin Min-ah play Young Min and Mi Young, a young couple who are recently married and still very much in love. The film follows them as they move on from the bliss of their honeymoon period and start to confront the often bitter difficulties of sharing their lives with one another. It’s not long before the two are bickering regularly and feeling tempted to stray, and when Young Min sees Mi Young with her old boss, misunderstandings ensue. Sticking together despite their troubles, the two try to make their marriage work, only to find that nothing is ever easy.
Although the romantic comedy is one of the most prolific of Korean genres, the original My Love, My Bride still stands out for many as one of the best of the form, and so the idea of a remake or of trying to inject a little realism into the usual formula isn’t an unwelcome one. While only his second outing, and his first in some 10 years, Lim Chan-sang is as good a choice as any to try and replicate the success of Lee Myung-se, and he does a perfectly creditable job of making the film a likeable mix of melodrama, humour, and recognisable real life situations. There’s nothing new here of course, though the film is a well-told version of the same old story, taking a grounded approach to the usual domestic drama and relationship woes. The bumpy partnership between Young Min and Mi Young does hold the interest and engage, and the viewer is slowly but surely pulled into their lives, Lim managing to attain the required level of emotional involvement before the inevitable last act tears arrive. Things do get a touch manipulative and clichéd in places, more so than in the 1990 version, but the film generally comes across as heartfelt, and is at its best when focusing on the more humdrum and everyday aspects of life and marriage. Lim shows a good eye for small details, and these help to anchor the film and to distract from its basic familiarity.
As with the original, the key here is the chemistry between the lead players, and Jo Jung-suk and Shin Min-ah are both on charismatic form, and, crucially, are believable and sympathetic as a couple. To an extent, Young Min and Mi Young are interesting characters precisely because of their normality, and though the film is comical in places, there’s a pleasing lack of the kind of wackiness that would have made it far less convincing. The film also benefits from a well-written script, with a narrative that’s very much driven by its characters rather than events, and it’s obvious that a fair amount of effort went into making its protagonists rounded and substantial figures.
My Love, My Bride is definitely one of the better Korean romantic comedies of late, and a worthy remake of the 1990 classic. As its box office haul suggests, Lim Chan-sang succeeds in connecting his audience with the characters, and while never surprising and probably still mainly one for genre fans, the film is pleasingly earnest and moving in a more honest fashion than usual.
