Real-life couple Kim Molina and Jerald Napoles play Luneta and Park, who develop feelings for each other in K-Drama fashion, in Darryl Yap’s latest offering, the parody comedy “Seoulmeyt.” The writer-director pokes fun at the Korean Wave, but does it with affection. He shot his film in Koreanovela style — bokeh, slow-mos, with a dreamlike quality, and food shots.
But he seems to have changed his game — or maybe it’s Viva’s decision. The writer-director’s trademark off-color humor is toned down to a PG-13 level, and the melodrama and theatrics are dialed way down. Still, his brand of vulgar humor remains to be intact.
The first half or so is dragging, with a short supply of wit and with very random humor. The movie only truly livens up when Napoles transforms himself into an oppa. The genuinely funny moments are far in between, and they are entirely because of Napoles.
The actor is an intellectual comedian with a sharp understanding of what is funny and draws inspiration from his keen observation of people’s idiosyncrasies Here, Napoles once again proves his comedic talent, that even his slit-eyed gaze as an oppa impersonator already generates laughter, on top of his Korean-accented English. But sadly, Napoles is underutilized here. Molina’s character is also one-dimensional, with nearly no personality.
She’s just a grief-stricken mild-mannered young woman. It’s hard to draw out laughter from the talented duo when they’re given little material to work.
