Hellcats
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Current user rating: 96/100 (17 votes)
Profile
- Movie: Hellcats (International English title) / I Like It Hot (literal title)
- Revised romanization: Ddeugeoun geotsi joa
- Hangul: 뜨거운것이 좋아
- Director: Kwon Chil-In
- Assistant Director: Yang Jung-Ho
- Writer: Kim Hyeong-Su, Kim Su-A, Park Hye-Ryun
- Producer: Kang Woo-Suk, Eun-yeong Kim
- Cinematographer Seong-cheol Jeong
- Release Date: January 17, 2008
- Runtime: 110 min.
- Studio: Cinema Service
- Distributor: Cinema Service
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Plot
27 year old screenwriter Ami (Kim Min-Hie) hasn’t completed her first script in over a year. On her birthday she gets scolded by her older sister Young-Mi (Lee Mi-Suk)and her niece Kang-Ae (Ahn So-Hie). To seek consolation she turns to her boyfriend Eun-sook, who she knows is a deadbeat and headed in the wrong direction.
Because of this, she relunctunctly goes on a blind date and meets Soong-Won. He’s a confident accountant and seems to be the better choice for her, but woefully lacks a sense of humor. She is kind of attracted to him, but is this love? Should she think about marriage or keep working herself to death?
Her older sister, Young-Mi, is 41 years old, an interior designer, and a single mother. She seems to enjoy her life and her work. Young-Mi then meets a younger guy while working on an assignment and they have a one night stand. She kind of likes him, but also wants to be professional at work. The couple pretends not to know each other by day. Young-Mi also notices sudden mood swings which her doctor attributes to the menopause. She notices that she gets easily annoyed by Keung-Su. Is this the oncoming stages of menopause?
Young-Mi’s daughter, Kang-Ae, is a high school student who’s usually kept busy looking after her mom and her frustrated aunt. In her own personal life she has a boyfriend named Ho-Jae. They’ve been dating for three years, but still stuck in the first stages of a relationship. To her annoyance, he seems more interested in games and motorcycles than her. Young-Mi’s friend than pushes her to have sex with Kang-Ae.
Cast
- Lee Mi-Suk - Kim Young-Mi
- Kim Min-Hie - Kim Ami
- Ahn So-Hie - Kim Kang-Ae
- Kim Sung-Su - Oh Seung-Won (Accountant)
- Kim Heung-Soo - Noh Won-Seok
- Yoon Hee-Seok - Choi Kyeong-Soo
- Kim Beom - Ho-jae Lee
- Jo Eun-Ji - Miran
- Jeong In-Gi
- Oh Woo-Jung
- Jang Hang-Jun
- Jang Suk-Hyun - guy at Young-Mi's bar
- Kang Hae-In - Yoo Mi-Ran
Trailer
Image Gallery
Film Festivals
- 2008 (10th) Udine Far East Film - April 18th-26th
Ki Says:
Feb 11 2009 4:46 am
Sometimes that old proverb “if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck…” just doesn’t hold up. The new South Korean film “Hellcats” would be such an example of this. The film was marketed as a modern romantic-comedy and it does begin like such a film, but by the conclusion of the film your left with something entirely different. A lot of times this is an ominous sign, but in the case of “Hellcats” the change of direction was much needed and surprisingly affective.
hellcatsv2-1.jpg“Hellcats” revolves around three ladies, all related, but representatives of three different generations. There’s 40 year old Young-mi Kim, an interior designer and a single mother. She’s proudly independent and seems to enjoy life and her work. One day, she starts a new assignment working for a theatre company. A much younger character actor at the theatre company takes an interest in Young-mi, with the end result being they are involved in a romantic relationship. Young-mi’s world then gets turned upside down when she learns that she is in the first stages of menopause.
Meanwhile, 27 year old Ami is a Young-mi’s younger sister. She has lived in Young-mi’s apartment for the past three years without ever paying for rent. Although she’s not a total deadbeat, Ami struggles through life as an aspiring screenwriter. She’s on her 17th re-write for a screenplay that has been in the works for over a year. Her personal life isn’t in much better shape either. Ami’s boyfriend is a budding musician but makes zip for income. After her 27th birthday, Ami decides to test the waters and meets well-to-do accountant Seung-won. Although the accountant’s personality is as stiff as a wooden block, he possesses good looks, a cultured background and a high paying job.
Lastly, there’s Young-mi’s teenage daughter Kang-ae. She’s had the same boyfriend for three years , but has never even had an intimate kiss. Kang-ae tries to jump start their relationship by taking lessons from her best friend Mi-ran. Things become more complicated when Kang-ae starts developing feelings for her female friend Mi-ran instead.
The first half of “Hellcats” is your run-of-the-mill romantic-comedy. Similar to recent Korean films like “Love Exposure” or “Crazy Waiting” the film attempts to show variations on the modern day woman’s viewpoint on relationships. The centerpiece of the movie is held by Ah-mi, played by Min-hee Kim, and at least during the first half of the film, her character is as grating as a screeching horse. She’s constantly shrieking and constantly complaining. Her older sister Young-mi, played by veteran actress Mi-suk Lee, seemed to take the opposite tact, but so much so that Young-mi seemed devoid of any personality during the first half. Lastly, the youngest of the Kim’s, Kang-ae, played by So-hie Ahn of the K-pop group Wonder Girls, displayed awkward charm, but wasn’t given enough screentime to really expound on that impression.
Then in an unexpected shift, the second half dropped all romantic-comedy pretenses and delved straight into the heart of their relationships. This was when each of the main characters displayed three dimensional personalities and, as a result, become much more agreeable. What worked so well during these moments were the thoughtful display of emotions instilled into the main characters by director Chil-in Kwon. This doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as Chil-in Kwon prior film, “Singles,” was a commercial hit dealing with similar subject matter. There’s even a near identical sub-plot involving a girl falling “almost” in love with a foreign born Korean and at the last minute deciding whether to move overseas. This time around, Min-hie’s decision to stay or go was harder to believe, but I’ll give the movie the benefit of doubt and postulate that there’s maybe one girl that would pass up good looks & money to stay true to their identity.
The most compelling of the storylines for me would have been the surprise twists and turns involved with Kang-ae and her best friend Mi-ran. That was completely unexpected (never seen it as sub-plot in a commercial Korean flick before), but done just right. Meanwhile, Min-hie Kim toned down the shrieks and become much more affable by the end of the film. Ditto with the eldest Young-mi.
By now you can surmise that “Hellcats” is somewhat of a “chick flick” even hinting at a feminist viewpoint. But, this isn’t to say the film’s content won’t hold interest for guys. The relationships displayed in “Hellcats” are dealt with a surprising amount of depth and likely to appeal to men and woman alike. Turns out that “Hellcats” was a lot better than expected. If anything, if you watch “Hellcats,” be patient during the early portions of the film and you’ll likely be rewarded with a solid film developing right before your eyes.