Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Scene Analysis Illustrating the Excellent Comedy of 'Weightlifting Fairy Kim Book-joo'

I love Weightlifting Fairy Kim Book-joo.  It’s an excellent romantic comedy that successfully brings the cuteness, the feels, the kilig, and the laughs.  Indeed, as effortlessly as it develops and tells a genuinely exhilarating and endearing love story, it also delivers its gags with perfection.

The effectiveness of this show’s comedy is noticeably hinged on its terrific direction and the brilliant acting of its cast members, who have great comedic timing, and are very talented in using facial expressions and body movements in enhancing the value of a comedic scene.

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo has tons of hilarious scenes.  Every single one of these scenes work wonderfully because the director, editor, and actors involve are competent in what they do to bring this about.  One of the instances in which this is most apparent is the café scene in episode 14.

The setup: Bok-joo and Joon-hyung have just gotten together as a couple.  However, the people around them are unsuspecting of this.  This development is something that Book-joo’s best friends, Nan-hee and Seon-ok, will never expect since Book-joo and Joon-hyung have the appearance of being more of “frenemies” because of their constant bickering, and because Book-joo has just had a major heartbreak. Afraid of disappointing her friends, Book-joo asks Joon-hyung to keep their relationship a secret for the time being.

One day, Joon-hyung’s friend, Tae-kwon, drags him out suddenly for an “emergency” – which turned out to be accompanying him in a double date in a nearby café, as the girls refuse to meet unless Joon-hyung is with him.  Of course, Joon-hyung doesn’t want to do it – worrying that Bok-joo might found out – and tries to run.  But since he can’t tell him why – as he promised Book-joo he won’t tell anyone of their relationship – he has no choice but to sit with Tae-kwon and the girls.

But Bok-joo, who is already getting annoyed by then because Joon-hyung hasn’t called her phone yet, finds it out from her teammate who randomly mentions seeing Joon-hyung being in a blind date. Uh oh.
Fuming, she drags her bestfriends to the coffee shop.
Nan-hee and Seon-ok, still ignorant, think that they are simply spying on Joon-hyung.  Nan-hee and Seon-ok comment that the girls are certainly gunning for Joon-hyung, unaware that it’s simply making Bok-joo madder.  Joon-hyung is sooooo dead.
All this time, Joon-hyung hasn’t noticed that Book-joo is already in the vicinity since he’s uncomfortable and fidgety, afraid of letting his eyes roam.  Book-joo texts him…
The look of realization and terror dawning across Joon-hyung’s face is priceless….
Bok-joo threatens him further…
Greatly distressed, Joon-hyung makes an attempt to leave, but Tae-kwon brushes him off…
Poor Joon-hyung, well aware of the dire fate that awaits him, jumps like a startled alley cat when one of the girls touches him…
When the girl starts to feel him again, Bok-joo has finally had enough…
At this point, I was already in stitches.  But it gets better.  After Bok-joo’s announcement that Joon-hyung is her boyfriend, the reaction of Joon-hyung and their friends is gold, depicted through four successive shots, with each one more hilarious than the last.

Joon-hyung’s mix of disbelief and relief…
Tae-kwon’s shock…
Nan-hee is stunned…
And the clincher from Seon-ok…
I died of laughter.

This is easily one of my favorite sequences in this K-drama.  I really love how the hilarity kept escalating as the scene progresses, building up the comedic tension at its highest ante before releasing it for maximum effect.  I acknowledge that my analysis doesn’t give the whole scene justice.  Retelling it through screenshots and GIF significantly pales in comparison to watching the actual thing unfold.

This is just a glimpse of how amusing, adorable, and hilarious Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo is.  It’s just the tip of the iceberg of why this is one of the greatest K-drama series ever.

For, indeed, it is truly…
Su-weg!

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