The poster for the movie had four hip-looking Korean teenagers
with
the tag line: "Just when you wanted to laugh, here they come."
The
flyer, labeled, "Korean Fine Movie English Subtitle" had a photocopy of
the poster with
"Great Fun of Comedy, and Action
!!Beware of Your Belly Button!!"
printed across it. It also tells us this Korean fine movie is
brought to us by Fun & Happiness Film, which greatly reassured me.
Now, this flyer (of which I have a copy, if any of you want to see it) would have been reward enough for this venture into the unknown. But, surprise of surprises, the movie turned out to be pretty funny... I mean, intentionally funny. It's a good-natured film, sort of a cross between Quentin Tarantino and John Hughes, about a teenage gang that Attacks the Gas Station! because they're bored. But, having been robbed by them before, the manager has sent most of the day's income home with his wife, and when the hooligans make him call her, she's gone out and left no word where she is or when she'll be back. While they're waiting for the wife to return, the ruffians discover that, when people come to the gas station, they exchange gas for... money! The boys decide to work the gas pumps for extra cash while they wait. Meanwhile, their stock of hostages grows as the gas station employees are joined by rude customers and other young thugs.
It's all very funny and sweet-natured. When a bitchy princess hostage insults Bulldog, the tough guy standing guard (his jacket actually reads "COOLDOG"), he furiously sends all the other hostages out of the room as he glares at her. I was cringing at the thought of a rape scene... but instead he engages her in a word game (though admittedly, she has take off a piece of clothing for every round she loses). Each of the four gang members gets a little flashback to show us why he's turned against society: each was foiled in his dream of being a painter, baseball player, student, or rock star, respectively. (Speaking of rock stars, you also get treated to Korean rap and a sort of Seoul N'Sync group.)
Outside of New York or LA or some other city with a "Little Seoul" (no pun intended), I doubt you'll ever find this movie. But if you spot it by some miracle, by all means watch it. And every once in a while, just walk into some movie you've never even heard of, especially if it has a title ending in an exclamation point, is made by a company that proudly advertises Fun and Happiness in its name, or is solicitous of your belly button (I never did figure out if I was supposed to "beware my belly button" in terms of being afraid of it or trying to protect it. The movie advances neither interpretation). This theory, by the way, is also proved by Boom!
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