Dasepo Naughty Girls

Introduction

Third Window Films' June slate is already upon us, and they continue to bring the quirky and unexpected from the Far East. This month they are concentrating solely on Korean cinema. I have already reviewed Kick The Moon, and now it's time for the intriguingly titled Dasepo Naughty Girls, an adaptation of a Korean webcomic, brought to Technicolor and musical life.


The multi-religion private school, the No Use High School is a rather eclectic academy, and Class Atheist is a rather unconventional group of students. When the English teacher calls in sick one day with an STD, it prompts the whole class to leave early to book appointments with their own doctors. That's all except Poor Girl who has to leave early to service a client, and Cyclops, the class's sole virgin, who can't get laid because of his monocular visage. That should give you an idea of where this film is coming from, and what follows are a series of character studies and vignettes, complete with musical interludes, that follow the fortunes of this single minded class, whether it's the masochistic teacher demanding discipline from his students, the guy who looks forward to 12 midnight so he can go online for little sex chat, pretending to be a young inexperienced girl, and much, much more.


There are a couple of main threads keeping this comic patchwork held together. Poor Girl is one, who is so stricken that she actually has Poverty as her constant companion, and has to go on the game to earn money to put her kid brother through school, as her mother is too embroiled with a literal pyramid scheme. Poor Girl has her eye on exchange student Anthony, a rather arrogant rich kid whose heterosexual asshole-ness is tested one day at a restaurant with his friends. They are surprised to see Cyclops in such an exclusive establishment, but when his sister Two Eyes shows up, ridicule turns to lust. Anthony is smitten by Two Eyes, she's beautiful, kind, decent, and absolutely unlike any of the girls he dates. The only problem is that she pees standing up. Meanwhile something strange is afoot in the school building; previously sex mad teens are suddenly becoming model students. The scandal!

Picture

The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is as adequate as you would expect, given an NTSC-PAL standards conversion. The image is clear enough throughout, and print damage on such a recent movie isn't an issue. The set and costume design is certainly noteworthy, with a comic book ethic applied to the piece which results in some painfully vivid colours.

Sound

Just the standard DD 2.0 Korean stereo here, with optional English subtitles. The dialogue is clear throughout and there are some catchy tunes to hold the attention. You can partake of the karaoke during the songs, if you can read Korean script.

Extras

The film gets an attractive and well-designed set of animated menus, while on the disc you'll find the Dasepo Naughty Girls trailer that lasts 3 minutes. There are trailers for 12 other Third Window films to scan through.

The main extra is the making of, which lasts 29 minutes, and has interviews with the cast and crew, as well as a look behind the scenes, with ample footage of a choreographer at work. It's presented in 4:3, but the subtitles are truncated at the edge of the picture, losing a couple of words in the process. The poor director is pixellated through the featurette as well.

Finally there is an 8-minute slideshow gallery, although it misses a trick by being silent throughout. They could have put a couple of the film's songs in the background.

Conclusion

Dasepo Naughty Girls was certainly not what I was expecting, which generally is a positive thing for me. I like having my preconceptions challenged, and I wasn't expecting much more from Dasepo Naughty Girls than a Korean version of Porky's. The title suggests that, the trailer promises that, and the opening sequence, where the students, learning of their teacher's problems with STDs, all quickly making their excuses and leaving the classroom, pretty much confirms it. Except that Dasepo Naughty Girls is a sex comedy that is pretty light on sex. People certainly talk about it, they allude to it, they expect it, and even come to the brink, only for the situation to develop in a completely unexpected direction, usually utterly comical.


Poor Girl is a case in point, forced to go on the game to support herself and her family. Life as a teenage prostitute isn't easy, she's always dreading just what her overweight and aged clients will want from her, and every encounter you can just see the terror in her eyes, only for her clients to demand harmless perversions that involve her remaining clothed. One man wants to play video games with her, while later on, she meets a cross-dressing loan shark who just wants a girlfriend to gossip with. Pretty much the only overt sex comes from a heavily pixellated adult video that Cyclops plays for his 'sister', to remind her that however much she wants to be a sweet young girl, there are some things that can't be forgotten.


You can't get away from the comic book origins though. While there are a couple of narrative threads running through the film, Dasepo Naughty Girls plays more like a series of sketches, some loosely linked, some completely random, but all deliciously funny. Whether it is the masochistic teacher demanding punishment from his class, Anthony singing about his confused love for Two Eyes, complete with yodelling accompaniment, Poor Girl's mother literally selling pyramids in a pyramid scheme, or the Realm of Eros demanding a peculiar virgin sacrifice, there is always something to appreciate about this film.


In many ways, Dasepo Naughty Girls is a contradiction. It's a sex comedy that is devoid of sex and nudity. It manages to be rude and crude without being overtly obnoxious, and I find that I have been entertained by a musical, complete with dance numbers. That hasn't happened in decades. It's laugh-out-loud funny, but its characters are also surprisingly engaging and well rounded, with some excellent performances from a predominantly young cast. Best of all, it's like nothing else I have ever seen. If you have an interest in Korean cinema, then you simply must make time to watch Dasepo Naughty Girls. It's delightful!