My Boss, My Hero

My Boss, My Hero (두사부일체 /Doosaboo il che/頭師父一體), review1 and review2, is a 2001 Gangster Comedy film from Korea, starring Jeong Joon Ho, Jeong Woong In, Jeong Woon Taek, Oh Seung Eun, and Song Seon Mi. The summary is as follows:

As the boss of a small gang, KYE Du-shik had gotten by on his wits and bare knuckles for the past ten years. That was soon to change. Held back from promotion within the ranks due to his lack of education, Du-shik heads back to school on the order of a superior gang leader. His return is not without its complications. Intimidation dealt out by a high school hoodlum, a mischievous female student posing problems with her powerful parents relenting to her every wish, and a school that is out of control are but a few of the hazards that lay in the path of Du-shik’s education. The road is not so smooth for our hero. Although his classmates are infected by his charismatic personality and charm, will they stand by him when he most needs it? Eventually he sets out to avenge the wrongdoings of a corrupt school system. He may succeed, but will he graduate?

I watched this because I watched the Japanese dorama of the same name and I rather liked it so I wanted to see this version and how they decided to make it. It follows the same story but is comparitively less light-hearted. It focuses on the same main plotline (the boss of a gang needing to pose as a student in order to get his high school diploma) but also adds in the aspect of school life as well as its criticisms and, possibly, stereotypes. I know corporal punishment isn't allowed in the US (in fact, you can get sued and even thrown into jail for a period of time) but it was present throughout the movie, in school and out.

Of course, there were also some rather comedic moments but it's interspersed within more realistic subjects. The action's pretty good, though it has the usual "if-that-happens-in-real-life-they-should-be-dead-or-at-least-due-for-a-long-hospital-stay" situations that appear in movies all the time. However, it doesn't cross that line that much. All in all, I liked this movie in how it addresses certain issues and is pretty entertaining. If I had to choose between the Japanese drama and this Korean movie, I would say you would score more entertainment/funny points in the drama (and since it's a drama, it's longer and you get more details while some are sort of skipped or skimmed over) while the movie is a good way to entertain yourself if you're on a time crunch, even if you're not in the mood for some comedy.

You can watch it here.
Picture taken from here.