The movie Wild Thing delivers a fresh shock, completely overwhelming the audience with its unconventional fashion and visuals that unfold on the screen when watched without any prior information or expectations. In particular, the setup where Kang Dong-won, considered one of South Korea's representative handsome actors, appears as a member of an idol group holding onto past glory is an unimaginable departure from the norm. Seeing Kang Dong-won, who has now entered middle age at forty-five, standing on stage in flashy idol costumes with visuals that seem to defy time, goes beyond a simple cinematic allowance and makes the audience feel the actor's immense challenge and passion. His bold transformation, which might have felt somewhat unfamiliar at first, creates deep immersion as it intertwines with the desperation of the character as the play progresses.
The passionate acting Kang Dong-won shows in the film does not stop at lightly imitating an idol but evokes deep admiration. In this work, rather than a vocal role showing off singing ability, he fully demonstrates his aspect as the main dancer dominating the stage, a so-called "dance machine." Seeing him pull off highly difficult idol choreography, it is hard to even guess how much blood-sweating practice he went through for the perfection of the movie, naturally evoking a sense of awe that he truly lives a fierce and hard-working life. In particular, the scene where he personally performs a headspin, a highly difficult move called the flower of old-school breakdancing, is more than enough to draw exclamations from the audience in the theater, making them applaud the hot drops of sweat that render his age meaningless.
Another figure who powerfully catches the audience's eye just as much as Kang Dong-won is actor Um Tae-goo, who took on the rapper position. The very fact that he, known as a tremendous introvert even in the entertainment industry, transformed into a rapper flawlessly spitting out rap on stage in front of a massive crowd is another huge viewing point of this movie. There is even a half-joking rumor circulating that his extremely introverted personality completely changed into an extrovert after filming this movie, showing how perfectly Um Tae-goo assimilated into his character. It is vividly conveyed through the screen how much unseen effort he must have put in to erase any awkwardness and exude the natural swag of a rapper.
The perfect acting transformation of actress Park Ji-hyun, the only female in the group, is also a core element that makes the movie Wild Thing richer and more colorful. Through various previous works, she mainly showed heavy, serious, or earnest acting, and although she sometimes played bright roles, this seems to be the first time she presents such a deliberately ruined, hyperactive character to the public. She slyly pulls off the role of a bouncy yet slightly cheeky, unhateable fool, reliably taking charge of the overall vitality of the play. Moreover, fitting the setup of a former top-tier idol group member, she shows off solid singing skills that exceed expectations, firmly engraving her charm as a versatile actress.
Thus, the legendary idol group 'Triangle' was born through the gathering of these three actors: Kang Dong-won, Um Tae-goo, and Park Ji-hyun, each with different charms and strong personalities. When the casting news was first announced, this unfamiliar combination didn't easily match up, but once it unfolds on the screen, they surprisingly suit each other perfectly, creating a fresh synergy. Watching their perfect chemistry, one even earnestly wishes to see them perform on an actual music broadcast stage rather than just as a fictional group in a movie. Usually, when a movie draws one million viewers, they hold special pledge events. Since the break-even point for this movie is said to be around two million people, it would be great to plan events like surprise stage greetings or special performances if they surpass the target audience number.
If they were to stand on a real stage as a box office pledge, even if they don't insist on a live performance requiring high-level vocal skills and instead put on a performance with sly lip-syncing like the stage in the movie, no one would complain, and everyone would cheerfully cheer. Perhaps thanks to the massive amount of practice the three actors underwent, their teamwork in group dances and movements meshes incredibly well. Above all, the soundtrack songs meticulously produced to fit the idol concept are all so good that it is astonishing. While watching the movie and listening to the exciting rhythm, one unconsciously falls deep into the melody, and owing to its strong addictiveness, it possesses the magic of making you spontaneously sing along.
In addition to the stellar performances of these brilliant lead actors, the presence of actor Oh Jung-se—who appears in the opening credit cast introduction simply as "And Oh Jung-se" without any grand modifiers or explanations—is truly overwhelming. He playfully shakes up and controls the development of the play; without a single exaggeration, he is the perfect scene-stealer and the best hidden card of this movie. In the scene where Oh Jung-se suddenly appears and sings seriously, one feels a mix of bewilderment and strange emotion, wondering, "Why on earth does he sing so well, and why is the song so good?" His acting ability to dominate the screen with his own unrivaled tempo even in absurd situations makes the audience grab their bellies in laughter.
The song Oh Jung-se sings with a desperate expression in the play, titled "I Like You," is strangely pleasant to listen to and lingers in the ears for a long time, despite not relying on flashy vocal skills squeezing out forced high notes. He sharply captured the sorrowful breathing and emotion unique to ballad singers in any awkward situation, cleverly building an irreplaceable comic character. Because of the surprising perfection of the song that contrasts with the comical situation, one experiences the bizarre phenomenon of unconsciously humming and singing along when leaving the theater. If the movie rides on word-of-mouth and becomes a slightly bigger hit, it is fully expected that the highly addictive soundtracks inserted in the play will create the anomaly of entering the charts of major music streaming sites.
Looking closely at the credits for the masterpiece songs in the movie, a reasonable suspicion arises about how much effort the production team put into the music, as if they sharpened their swords and produced it with great determination. Composer Shim Eun-ji, who has created numerous hit songs working with South Korea's top-tier artists like TWICE and IU, personally worked on the main song 'love is', elevating the quality to the highest level. In addition, the demonic song 'I Like You' passionately sung by Oh Jung-se was written and composed by Music Director Lee Jin-hee herself, perfectly reviving the emotion of the song. The story starts from the past where 'Triangle', the most popular idol group in the music industry in the early 2000s, and 'Choi Sung-gon', a tragic solo singer who had to hover in second place for dozens of weeks during that time, get entangled in an unsavory major incident and are forced to retire.
The core development of the movie is a chaotic comic farce that occurs when these individuals, who had been living harsh lives for a long twenty years since then, stumble upon a chance to stand on a performance stage again through an accidental opportunity. The uniquely sticky dialogue flowing throughout the play and the chemistry of the actors give off a strong vibe of Director Lee Byung-hun's comedy, but this work was actually directed by Son Jae-gon, who showed brilliant comedy directing through the movie Secret Zoo. Although there are points that feel somewhat predictable and childish, since the movie itself deliberately and cleverly put forward such sensibility as a weapon in the first place, it is enough if everyone can burst into laughter together inside the theater. It is an excellent entertainment movie that can be enjoyed very cheerfully with an open mind and eating popcorn without any complex thoughts.
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