For the longest time the life of an actor whether in America or South Korea was viewed as the Pinnacle of human desires.
It’s not hard to understand the temptation that goes along with that lifestyle. Being one of the most famous people in the world has its upsides. The riches, the women, and the ability to write your own ticket in life.
However, the fantasy of fame has been shaken by the reality of the cost. It is easy to fool someone into thinking that the life of Dan Bilzerian is the ideal path for any man. Take away the women, the money, and the expensive things you realize that you are stripped away from the fantasy and I’ve collected nothing that truly matters. This brings us to the South Korean film entitled ‘Switch’.
The film stars Park Gang (Kwon Sang-woo) as a bad boy big-time actor who lives a life of luxury and little care for anyone around him. Cleaning up his messes is his long-time friend and manager Jo Yoon (Oh Jung-se) who is a failed actor in his own right.
Park Gang enjoys bachelorhood while his diva attitude makes him very few friends within the industry. After winning the best actor award, the duo goes for a night out drinking when Park Gang enters a cab and wakes up to find himself in an alternate universe where instead of being a playboy actor, he is now a father of two kids with his ex-girlfriend Soo-hyun (Lee Min-jung) and discovers that Jo Yoon is now the megastar he used to be.
‘Switch’ is one of the biggest surprises hits to come out in the year 2023. A film that mixes the concepts of ‘Freaky Friday’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ finds itself being one of the most positive and heartwarming films of the year. The art of comedy has really tanked over the last couple of decades in the American cinema industry.
Hollywood has adopted the idea that vulgar means funny, when mixed with the Progressive woke ideology that killed the concept of funny under the fake guise of being offensive, the genre has fell into a soulless mockery that has lost all concept of the word fun.
‘Switch’ takes the opposite route by having a story with a heart that makes it more authentic to the audience by taking jabs at the caricatures of our protagonist. The film blends the story with what actually matters making it stick in the memory of its audience.
The message of this film is family over fame. Park Gang lives the life of a vapid actor who has nothing to show for his life outside of material things. The plot strips him away from his status and forces him to focus on things in life that are actually important, the things in life that he has lived away from for most of his life.
At first, he rebels against the idea of being a stay-at-home dad and dealing with young kids and learning how to be a husband. But he realizes that this is the one piece of his life that he has taken for granted and grows to appreciate it so much more.
On the flip side, it shows the life of his best friend whose taken his place but he has decided to live his life true to himself it turns out he is living part Gang’s life better than he could. What separates ‘Switch’ from other comedy films is there was a true effort and desire to present a meaningful story from everyone involved.
The writing is stellar, the acting is strong, and you could tell that the actors had far more fun than they’ve had in other movies. Park Gang evolves his character from a child Playboy actor to the patriarch of his family which shows him that without family, all the material things in the world don’t matter.
Some might try to dismiss this film as cheesy giving his content but it goes to show just how nihilistic society has become that they look down on films with a positive message. It’s not too late to run towards the things that are important rather than soaking in perception that nothing matters.
‘Switch’ is a feel-good traditional comedy that stands out as one of the best films to come out this year. A well-paced movie that leaves audiences with a positive outlook of life which is a luxury in modern Cinema, so take it when you can get it.
4.5/5
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