색즉시공 (Sex is Zero)
Porky’s, American Pie, Road Trip, Freddy Got Fingered…America has a fairly long tradition of teenage, gross out, sex comedies. While Korea may not have quite the same legacy, with films like 색즉시공 they are on their way.
The film is your pretty standard “college loser guy (played by 임창정) falls for the popular girl who is dating the campus stud (and by default the biggest asshole in the film) and has raunchy adventures in an effort to win her heart” fair. Since this is Korea not only is the guy a geek, but he’s much older (due to mandatory military service) than the other characters in the film.
So what are some of the comedic high points of the film?
● Dude eats a mouse ala Tom Green in Road Trip (unlike Tom Green, this happens off camera and is only implied).
● Dude eats a sandwich consisting of rat poison and fried jizz. I guess the guy who jerked off into a frying pan should get honorable mention as well.
● Girl pukes after drinking too much. This was allegedly a legit vomiting, and after doing so she proceeds to make out with a guy.
● Guy gets caught with his pants down watching internet porn.
● Guy attempting to squirt ketchup on some pizza (which is gross enough in its own right) gets the last of the ketchup on a poster of the crotch of a lingere clad model, and then proceeds to lick the ketchup off the crotch. Of course he gets caught by a lady.
● Presence of inflatable lovedoll.
● While a girl is engaging in sex with a quasi-gay character (or at least a virgin) who doesn’t know what he’s doing and going very slowly. The girl encourages him to ram it in, which he does, only in the wrong (in her opinion) hole. In the next scene she walks slowly, gripping her ass.
But this is Korea, so aside for the raunchiness and sleaze, we need some drama. This comes from an unwanted pregnancy and the decission of the girl to have an abortion. This part of the movie kind of detractions from the overall rhythm of the film and feels forced.
The first hour or so is sex joke after sex joke, guys getting hit in the nuts, spit takes, and faggy dudes screaming about mice and then suddenly it’s an afterschool special…and a aerobic dance competition. Then in the last five minutes things are wrapped up in a manner that was fairly obvious from the outset of the film.
The film is pretty fun, and a nice change from the historical dramas I’ve been watching lately, but like I said before, the overly dramatic middle segment felt really forced. Korean film makers, save the dramatic parts for the dramas and keep the rawkus sex romps pure and um…sleazy!
