Peulraenmaen (2014) Reviews

• The plan man plans everything neatly until his plans go wrong...

  toskomst2014-07-13

  "Plan Man" stars Jung Jae-young as a 40ish Librarian who suffers from a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. His daily routines follow a rigorous time-table in every aspect, and besides he's obsessed with keeping things clean and avoiding germs. In fact, his lifestyle makes Hercule Poirot look positively untidy. He has, however, a soft spot for an apparently equally tidy girl who works at the local 7-Eleven, which he visits during lunch hour at the same time every day. Then fate steps in, as he crosses paths with the girl's sister, a carefree club singer who dreams of attending an Idol type singing contest. The movie is a fusion of genres as always in Korean cinema, with some romance, some melodrama and a few laughs, some of which involve the psychiatrist and the patients in a therapy group which the plan man attends twice a week. There's also a huge emotional payoff, triggered by the appearance of an ex-game show host who recognises the plan man as the wonder child with an IQ of 200 who once visited his show. Jung Jae-young fares well in the title role by making the character sympathetic despite his nervous stuttering and slight panic every time someone messes up his plans. Like John Cleese in "Clockwise" (1986), he gets plenty of opportunity to "lose it". The movie is as slick as an artificial studio production from the 50s or 60s, and it's not particularly profound, but I thought it was good fun.

• Uneven, but highly entertaining

  karluk992015-06-10

  Plan Man starts out as a typical opposites-attract romantic comedy, with free spirited Yoo So-jeong agreeing to take uptight librarian Han Jeong-seok under her wing to help loosen up his obsessive personality. So-jeong is a singer and Jeong-seok miraculously turns out to be an excellent pianist, so they decide to form a group and audition for a talent show. The setup is no more plausible than is typical of most romantic comedies, but it works well here because the two both get something out of the relationship that was missing from their lives. Jeong-seok gradually discovers that not every detail of his daily routine needs to be meticulously planned out, and So-jeong finds someone who is steady and reliable enough to be counted on. Plan Man is much more than just a light-hearted romantic comedy. In addition to the talent competition, it has subplots involving So-jeong's relationship with her former lover and flashbacks to Jeong-seok's childhood, where the origin of his compulsive behavior is revealed. With the movie trying to do so much, it's natural that some of these subplots work better than others. I found the flashbacks to Jeong-seok's childhood to be far too melodramatic and emotional to fit in well with the rest of the movie. On the other hand, the music competition was fun. The songs were well done and entertaining. Plan Man is a very good movie that deserves watching. It's not without flaws, but its strengths easily outweigh its weaknesses.

• Not Brilliant but still Great.

  reallyevilboy2018-08-20

  I really wanted to see this movie so I think my anticipation got the better of me. Not the most brilliant of Korean Romantic Comedies but it it still a very entertaining movie. Great plot and then 3 quarters through the movie there's the tear jerker. I've never cried so much in a movie as I have cried in Korean Movies and this one is no exception. Great Movie.