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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Rules of Dating"

Yoo-rim (played by Kang Hye-jung) is a new teacher. Because she doesn't have a prior employment record, Yoo-rim is placed under the care of fellow teacher Hong (played by Park Hae-il). They both have significant others. So, naturally, Hong proceeds to sexually harass Yoo-rim at every possible opportunity. On one occassion this escalates into explicit rape. So obviously "Rules of Dating" is a...romantic comedy?

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I frequently got the sense during "Rules of Dating" that this movie is rather dated. That's a strange feeling to have given that the film is only ten years old, but for a sense of perspective, I'm twenty-eight. I was taught fairly consistently throughout my life that rape and sexual harassment were bad things. What's more, it was during my early twenties that sadist comedies became popular. So I'm not completely sure how to process a movie that seems to expect its viewer to emphathize with and laugh at the antics of an obvious sex offender.

The political elements of "Rules of Dating" are honestly really hard to ignore. Even though Yoo-rim's boyfriend and Hong's girlfriend don't really factor as characters, we're frequently reminded of their existence. I was never completely sure whether the movie is actually pro-adultery, or whether director Han Jae-rim simply considers it unjust that some people face negative social consequences upon committing adultery.

What makes the sexual politics especially puzzling is that once Yoo-rim and Hong have finally gotten together thanks to Hong's usual disturbing persistence, the script throws us a plot twist that seems to make horny promiscuous men the bad guy. In a more self-aware movie this would involve character development on Hong's part. Then we get to the ending and it's just...what's even going on here? Was the point of the Sexual Revolution to give women the social capital act just as sexually despicable as dirtbag men? Is that what feminism was fighting for? If so I can see why the movement has had difficulty hitting the mainstream.

But let's ignore all that for a moment. If I pretend like the presentation of gender issues in "Rules of Dating" are hunky-dory, how does the movie work as a romantic comedy? I guess...passable. The script isn't terrible. Most of the jokes can in fact be easily identified as jokes. The question you have to ask yourself is, am I the kind of person who finds rape jokes funny while also wanting the rapist to find a happy ending?

"Rules of Dating" is kind of a Zen experiment in genre bending. Is a sadist comedy funny if we're supposed to sympathize with the sadists? It's not the kind of question anyone would ask in a modern context, which is as good a hint as any that "Rules of Dating" is a film from a bygone era. It's exactly the kind of weird experiment that made Korean films such a hot topic in the first place. Unfortunately it's also exactly the kind of weird experiment that reminds me why most films have some sort of standard for character likability- so no recommendation here.

Review by William Schwartz

"Rules of Dating" is directed by Han Jae-rim and features Park Hae-il and Kang Hye-jung.

 

Available on DVD from YESASIA

DVD (TW - English Subtitled)
DVD (TW - English Subtitled)

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