Synopsis: Kim Chi Ho, Lee Dong Woo, and Kang Gyung Jae have been best friends since high school, but can their close bonds survive the challenges of growing up? Amidst shifting priorities, these friends learn important lessons in love and life, proving that while girls and work can be confusing at any age, it's especially challenging when you're a 20-year-old guy.

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Twenty

Episodes: Movie (1)

Genre(s): Coming of age, comedy, drama

Air Date: March 25, 2015

Producers: Lee Byeong Hun, Lee Sung Doo, Lim Ji Moon, No Seung Bo

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I actually watched this movie the weekend before last with Jeremy. We were supposed to watch the second Lord of the Rings movie...but since we don't own it, and we couldn't find a decent quality, and for some strange reason Netflix doesn't have any of the trilogy...well...we watched Twenty.

Which is completely okay. I mean, I wanted to watch LotR but in all honesty, I've been wanting to watch this movie, too. I've put it off for quite a while. Which is seriously insane, considering Kim Woobin is one of my favorite actors.

Anyway, this movie is getting a 4 out of 5 stars due to it's humor. Honestly, besides the humor, it was pretty mediocre. But I surprisingly didn't mind that. I think it was mainly mediocre because it was a bit...predictable? The plot was pretty dry and in my opinion didn't go very far. The characters were funny and somewhat relatable but they didn't particularly grow on me. The start of the movie was rather confusing, and I feel that they could've definitely introduced the characters in a cleaner fashion. Names were thrown around randomly without faces appearing straight away, and so that also added to the confusion of figuring out who was who.

Despite the initial confusion of trying to figure out the characters, their names, and most of their stories, the entire movie was hilarious and funny. Jeremy laughed a lot and I loved it and there were moments where we had to completely pause because we were cracking up too hard. Or because of the secondhand embarrassment. It was an interesting take on the whole coming of age story being told, mainly because it was so funny. Like...I wish my life was that funny. I wish coming-of-age was that funny. I wish problems were that easy to solve.

For a coming of age movie, I feel that it didn't really touch on a whole lot of topics that were super important to those viewers who actually are around that age. The romance was hugely played up, the college life had, really, nothing to do with college at all, and there was really no backstory to these characters introduced, at all. It would've been interesting to know a little bit more about some of them. Instead, what was given about the two that didn't lead your normal everyday family life (Gyung Jae) was very limited and a lot was left up to the audience to guess—and also put the pieces together of why Chi Ho and Dong Woo act the way they do.

That being said, the movie did touch on some interesting, and maybe questionable, Korean culture issues. I say "issues" and "questionable" tentatively. Korea has a major drinking scene problem—one you get to briefly see in the midst of Gyung Jae's short-experienced college life as he makes a slight fool of himself when he sees a pretty girl. But, seriously, the drinking culture there is pretty ridiculous. So I don't blame his outburst. It was also interesting to see someone make an outburst at that...albeit a fictional character who won't change anything. But still.

The family values issue is also touched on. As in the son being the head of the house. Dong Woo, as the oldest who doesn't want to be a lawyer like his brother, really feels the brunt of this expectation after something happened to his father. But I wasn't able to pick up what exactly it was that happened to his father that landed the man in...prison? Chi Ho also experiences this as an only child, although not as forcefully as Dong Woo. Chi Ho could be coined as being spoiled, from a rich family, and used to getting his way. On top of it all, he's a womanizer because of all those traits. So when his father finally puts his foot down and says his allowance will disappear until he figures out what to do with his life...well, I kind of felt bad, because he's still at that age where not everyone knows what they want to do with their lives. But the Korean culture is fairly strict about having a Life Game Plan and also either going to college or getting a job straight out of high school (neither of which Chi Ho did) and also making it a respectable job or major (Dong Woo's problem).

All in all, it was an interesting movie, with some interesting topics touched upon very briefly that related to Korean culture. It was still pretty mediocre. I wouldn't really watch it again. Some tweaks to the story to either make it more relatable or to give the characters some more depth would've definitely helped the movie, in my opinion. The humor was A+ and had Jeremy and I both pausing the movie in order to either catch our breath, or hide our faces from embarrassment. I also enjoyed the light note it ended on.