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My Sassy Girl: A Poorman’s Version of the Original
If you’re a fan of Korean movies and keep up with the latest releases, then you know about My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀). It’s the best movie ever made about two strangers who fall in love with each other after an unlikely encounter. That very same movie was remade for American audiences and eventually was released theaters then to a sudden DVD release that everyone may not see–and for good reasons.
My Sassy Girl - To the left: The Korean version; To the right: The US version
The original My Sassy Girl was released in 2001, starring Cha Tae-Hyun and Jeon Ji-Hyun, is about a who meets a drunk girl on the train. Before meeting the girl (who remains nameless throughout the movie), he was told by his mother that he should look for a life-long partner to make up for his slacker lifestyle.
My Sassy Girl is based on a true story that started with a man posting love letters on the internet, which was later turned into a book. (Sounds a lot like Densha Otoko, doesn’t it?) The movie sold 5 million tickets through South Korea, and was released throughout the rest of Asia. It even won several awards under the category for best romantic comedy, as well as the stars of the film.
The popularity of My Sassy Girl made way for an American remake. In 2008, the US adaption, starring Elisa Cuthbert and Jesse Bradford, was announced for a theatrical release nationwide. Unfortunately, the company who produced the film decided to make it DVD only in August.
Possible reasons why the company decided to make the film DVD only is because of the quality of the film. Evey Asian movie buff knows that [many] US adaptions of Asian movies simply do not work out. After watching the trailer, many who’ve seen the original movie will agree: It’s just not the same! For those who fell victim to the “From the People who Brought you “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” label, I highly recommend watching the Korean version. You’ll thank me later.
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tag(s): cha tae hyun, elisa cuthbert, jeon ji hyun, jesse bradford, korean, movies, my sassy girl
Website: http://centakume.info/
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Yeah My Sassy Girl is like a modern classic. For that reason, I’m not even gonna try to see the American remake
. I’d expected it to be pretty bad and the straight-to-DVD release makes it a certainty 
Great write up on the (good version of) My Sassy Girl.
Check out Shay´s recent blog post: BUDDHISTSON’s self-titled re-release
Website: http://centakume.info/
Thanks, Shay! It’s nice that people are aware of popular Asian movies, but they should really consider who to get to play their American counterpart… MSG is one of those movies that fits the character and can never be replaced with someone different, though they have the same name.
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I have seen the American version and that is an awesome movie. I shall like to watch Original Koren Version of the movie. I believe that re-makes are not the alternative of original movies.