Love Reset Review: Kang Ha-neul, Jung So-min Can Only Do So Much

Plot Overview

No Jeong-yeol and Hong Na-ra’s fairytale romance lost its steam soon after she ran away from her wedding and married him, then his ex-boyfriend. Now, 2 years later, unfortunately, their relationship has hit rock bottom and the day they leave the courthouse with a 30-day divorce settlement period, they encounter a horrible accident that makes them both suffer from amnesia.

This problem, however, ends in them falling in love with each other again as the two families try to make them go through with the divorce by trying to make them recall their memories.

Love Reset Review

If there’s a movie that will make you want to never get married, but also want to get married, then Love Reset should be your weekend watch this week. The movie doesn’t take itself seriously at all and mostly references dramas that are fraught with cliches of the rom-com genre. The first half of the movie showcases a couple obsessively fighting with each other after getting married based solely on love.

However, as we know, love isn’t all that one might need to live well and there’s more to life than love and lust. Of course, Jeong-yeol and Na-ra don’t think about that when they marry each other but the problems start the moment the wedding takes place. The situation between the two is shown in a funny light and their stories about each other meant to bring out laughs. But honestly, you feel bad for them as you see them so out of sync with each other.

The real romance starts after they get to know each other once more and fall in love again. I must say that the movie really undersells the romance in the first half and we are left confused as to why these two people should live together at all isnce they seem to have very little chemistry and understanding of each other as a couple. The things that they fight over are everyday things that every couple goes through and their immaturity shines.

And while people might point out that that’s a given for a rom-com, it’s just that you need to see glimpses of their love for each other for you to be genuinely pulled to their story in the long run. The movie, in a bid to make it a comedy, really makes its characters out to be immature brats who are mean and cruel for no reason.

There’s also the fact that the things that the leads go through in order to illicit laughs out of the audience is also extremely over-the-top and cliched. The storyline is generic and you know exactly where it is going, so much so you’d be able to tell what will happen next in every scene. The laughs, personally, came from the extended cast and I found Yoon Kyung-ho as Ki-bae as the funniest of the lot, in spite of his small role.

Love Reset als tends to repeat itslef quite a lot. There are moments that the movie tends to constantly repeat in order to get a reaction out of the audience, but it really doesn’t land most of the time and gets a bit irritating after a while. Although the leads make for a very attractive couple, we really miss out on their love and attraction towards each other in the name of silly comedy that gets really old really fast.

That being said, it’s the moments that they spend knowing each other that really resonate. No one is screaming constantly, everyone is trying their best, and there’s a general air of maturity and understanding that we haven’t seen yet from the two of them. It’s cute watching them fall for each other once more and heartening to think of the “meant for each other” trope.

I think meddling parents is also a very interesting showcase of the movie that will be relatable to many. The movie’s third half is oddly emotional and I wish the movie had leaned more towards this side rather than the mindless comedy part. There are themes that the movie could’ve explored, but it feels a little half-baked, espeically because of the forced and frankly annoying first half.

Love Reset Review: Conclusion

It’s the supporting cast that truly wins hearts in this messy film about love that hardly showcases much of romance for the sake of comedy. The comedy doesn’t land either, so that’s a bummer. Either way, it’s entertaining, quite infuriating and a little boring. At least it’s somewhat self aware.

Thus, if you need a mindless comedy to make you forget everything, this one should be on your weekend binge list.

Also Read: A Shop For Killers Review: Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun Series Does its Best