Fat Lies and Korean Comedies

I was completely fooled. I believed so wholeheartedly that I allowed the wool to be firmly pulled over mine eyes. As it often is the case when you put your innocent faith in something only to have that faith shatter and rain down its broken shards atop your bowed head, so was I thus deflated...

This was not the pasta sauce I was looking for. I don't care what it says on that there label. When I heated it up and poured it over my perfectly al dente bow tie pasta, expecting a tomato-y meat sauce, as it claims to be, I was instead met with something oily, protein-y and dog food-y. You know what should have tipped me off? Right above the fine print (also an indicator) where it says "Fresco Spaghetti Sauce" are the Korean words saying "10% beef and 7% pork." 

WHAT THE HELL IS THE OTHER 83%?!?!

It sure ain't spaghetti sauce, I'll tell you what. Y'all know how it sucks when you're expecting one taste but you get another? Well, this other taste wasn't even edible. I had to throw half of it away. 



Onto other news: So, I've gone to see two Korean movies since I've been here. They were both comedies. And since I've seen two, I feel I now have the right to make grand, sweeping generalizations about Korean movies, at least the comedy genre.

1.) There is always, ALWAYS one (typically fat and doofy looking) idiot in the cast of characters that is constantly bungling and serves to drive the plot along with, well, his bungling. 

case in point, this guy:

2.) The main plot revolves around a HUGE misunderstanding which perpetually becomes a bigger misunderstanding.
3.) The "funny" comes as a result of pratfalls and physical humor the likes of which was perfected over 30 years ago by one John Ritter during his stint in Three's Company.
4.) There's no shortage of awkward side characters that do and say weird things just to add random humor.
5.) High propensity toward fart jokes and/or actual farting, preferably right in someone's face.
6.) The antagonist is a prototypical "evil" guy (a bomber, bank robber, etc) that the main characters get mixed up with.
7.) Utter lack of actual wit or sarcasm in the writing.
8.) Always a cute/hot girl added into the mix for ogling. Most of the ogling is done by the surrounding male characters which often leads to more misunderstandings and/or pratfalls.


I won't paint so broadly in my generalization so as to include Korean tv sitcoms. As a matter of fact, I've actually seen a couple of sitcoms that had very witty characters. But, for some reason, the big screen comedies here seem to go for the lowest common denominator. Not that American comedies don't do that as well (I'm looking at you, "Dumb and Dumber," "Happy Gilmore," and "White Chicks"). I actually enjoyed the former but I knew going into it that there would be scatological humor up the butt -- pun intended. Sorry, Lisa (regarding "White Chicks").


On the flip side, have you guys seen the Korean action/drama "The Man From Nowhere" ("아저씨")? I have no idea why it was translated into "The Man From Nowhere" but whatever works. It's kinda like a cross between Denzel Washington's "Man on Fire" and "The Professional." I highly recommend it. It was released in the US last year and did relatively well so I know there's an English subtitled version out there. 


No fart jokes in that movie, though. Sorry.


Next installment...Technology and Harvest Moon Time