Tusabu ilche

Twosabu Ilchae or "My Boss, My Student" is the sequel to the fantastic jopok comedy "My Boss, My Hero". The original still stands as one of my all time favorite movies, and one of my all time favorite Korean movies. It was a creative, well made and written movie, with excellent acting and direction. It's sequel may not fair as well however.

The sequel follows the lead Gae Do-Shik in his quest to get a college degree. To do this, he decides to student teach at a local high school, the catch, Gae Do-Shik is a 30something gang leader. The plot itself is largely the same as the prequel, and with the same leads, it is easy to know what to expect, and as the original was a great movie, all this bodes well for this installment.

First and foremost, this is a comedy-drama, unmistakably so. It jumps back and forth between well acted comedy that is quick and clever, and wrenching if not somewhat predictable drama. In fact, the dramatic aspects are largely reminiscent of basically every teacher drama out there, from GTO and Gokusen, to Dangerous Minds and Mr. Hollands Opus, while the comedy is a culmination of several elements, especially direction and editing.

The movie runs just over two hours, which at best is maybe 20 minutes too long, however, this is a minor complaint. This is a solid movie with several fantastic elements like characters, acting, and direction, making this a movie that won't disappoint. A worthy sequel.