It's nice to take breaks from dramas once in a while. Sometimes, you need to watch movies to remind you that stories don't need to be stretched to fill in numerous episodes all the time. Things can be simple - a normal storyline, inject a bit of conflict so that things won't be too boring, then have a happy ending. And that it is exactly how this movie was made. It's a bonus that some of the actors were very familiar since we've just seen them in Buried Hearts.
Initially, Oppa and I were concerned that this was going to be corny. Park Seri (Shin Eunsoo of Twinkling Watermelon, Summer Strike, and Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol), a graduating high school student, was so fixated/annoyed with her curly hair. She can't wait to get rid of it to impress her crush, Kim Hyun (Cha Woo Min of Buried Hearts and Melo Movie). Her fellow curly, Ko Injung (Kang Mina of Welcome to Samdalri and Hotel Del Luna), shares a new treatment with her to straighten her hair, the Seoul Magic Treatment. While it's expensive, Seri gets lucky because it turns out that the guy she saved from drowning in the sea and her new classmate, Han Yunseok (Gong Myung of 20th Century Girl and Extreme Job), was the son of the salon owner (Hong Eunhee). Since Yunseok was injured from the drowning incident, Seri managed to strike an ex-deal with mom, she'll help Yunseok move around then mom will give her the Seoul Magic Treatment for free.
Although the secondary actors like Seri's friends (Yoon Sanghyeon of Buried Hearts and Doctor Slump; Choi Gyuri; Lee Soe of The Glory and Snowdrop; and Son Heerim) had the tendency to be over the top, the lead actors were great. Gong Myung was perfect as the seemingly meek Yunseok but who does not hold back and speaks his mind fearlessly if needed. Shin Eunsoo was also great as the cute, self-conscious Seri.
But we still treaded cautiously because we felt it was going to be too shallow with teens putting premium on their physical looks and using/exploiting friends to get favors. I get that this is a common theme/feeling that young adults go through but I still believe in the power of spreading good vibes and reaffirming them to make them feel better about themselves.
Then the movie switches on its magic. It shows us the beauty of young love unfolding - how one makes the other fall for him little by little, how small, consistent actions can trump one-off, grandiose displays of affection - the way Yunseok beat Hyun. The way he reassured Seri that he liked her the way she was, showing up as a mascot to cheer her on CSAT day and giving her a snow globe and even botching her pre-treatment hairwash to hopefully convince her that her hair was fine - straight or not. And oh the magic of those little bits of affirmation - how Seri learned to love and value herself, realizing that she did not need to change to be loved and appreciated. And she need not compete with her smart and straight-haired twin sister, Hyeri (Lee Daeun).
But of course, we need a bit of drama to avoid being too linear. And to make things realistic - because life is not always a bed of roses, life happens and we need to deal with it. It's unfortunate that Yunseok has to migrate to the US to avoid his abusive dad (Kim Chanhyung of Good Boy). And Seri, understanding the difficult situation Yunseok is in, sends him a message telling him they should just be friends and they should end things already. Usually, I'm against sacrificial acts like this - letting one go and telling them you don't love them so leaving won't hurt that much. I'm sure there are other ways to work around these problems - like maybe seeing each other one last time and promising to try to keep in touch and be back together when the time is right, with no need to promise that they won't break up. But I was fine with what Seri did here. After all, it was heartbreaking to see Yunseok bawling and begging his mom for them to stay in Busan.
And we see Seri bravely moving on. Graduation was bittersweet, knowing that Yunseok was not there. And add to that seeing the Chronicles of Love photobook he lovingly prepared for her, containing pictures of all the cute moments they shared together and reassuring Seri that he will hold all of those memories in his heart and they can never be erased. It was like a painful reminder of the young love we've had the privilege of experiencing but that we eventually had to lose and let go off.
But the movie refuses to be cruel. It gives us a very happy ending - with bonus cameos from Jung Yumi (Summer Vacation, Youn's Stay, Jinny's Kitchen 1 and 2, Train to Busan, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, Live, and Reply 1994) and Gong Yoo (Seobok, Train to Busan, Squid Game 1 and 2, The Silent Sea, Guardian, and Coffee Prince), as the owners of the cafe where Seri and her friends hang out.
Going back to our happy ending, I loved how the seemingly simplistic title of the movie, which we initially thought was all about Seri's tangled, curly hair, was actually a beautiful analogy of how life and love, like hair, can get tangled a lot of times. But things and love that are meant for you will come back and straighten things out on their own - the way Yunseok returned to Seri, complete with a huge jar of paper cranes to show how much he missed her.
This was truly a solid love story.
Oppa says...4.7.
Noona says...4.7.