Sex Is Zero (2002)
5/10
It's AllProtein
19 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Eun-shik seems like a decent, if a bit odd, sort of guy. A 28-year-old freshman, Eun-shik had to delay his entrance into college because of the obligatory military service that all Korean males have to serve and other difficulties. However, with his younger roommates, Eun-shik is able to enjoy the pleasures of college which in this film seem to be limited to smacking the head of the martial arts club with various implements, gawking at pretty girls, and masturbating to his and his roommates large stash of pornography.

Similar to Jason Biggs character in American Pie, Eun-shik is a bit hapless when it comes to striking up conversations with members of the opposite sex. Yet it must be said that he does not aid his cause very well because he tends to find himself in some awkward situations such as standing on a windowsill in his tighty whities, after drinking a medicine that will supposedly give one an erection for three days, with a couple of perverts who seem to enjoy molesting girls on subways and jerking off at any given opportunity, while hiding in closets watching people have sex and at gymnastic events.

The main object of Eun-shik's affection, or lust, is the gorgeous Lee Eunhyo, played by Ha Ji-won, who seems to acquire a bit of affection for Eun-shik after she kicks him in the balls and sends him to the hospital. This incident also leads to Eun-shik's martial arts club being able to share a room with the gymnastics club where the sultry Kim Ji-won rules the roost. Eventually Eun-shik and three of his friends take out Eunhyo and three of her friends, but while his three friends make "progress" with their dates, Eun-shik seems to be losing Eunhyo to Sung-OK, the university's big man on campus and Ji-won's boyfriend. However, for Eunhyo, even though Eun-shik leaves a lot to be desired, maybe in the long run he would have been the better choice.

Similar to Jung Cho-sin's Wet Dreams 1 and 2, Sex is Zero is filled with some very low brow humor, such as the consumption of semen in soup and fried form and a very sloppy kiss that starts before a drunk girl has finished emptying the contents of her stomach, but unlike the two films above there is quite a bit more skin. With the exception of Ha Ji-won each supporting actress bares her breasts with the actress showing a bit more. While some of these bits can be quite humorous such as when one girl gets stuck in "the wrong hole" there is one scene in which the guy unbuttons the top of a passed out drunk girl feels her up amongst other things. While meant to be humorous this scene was a bit uncomfortable especially after the girl wakes up and the guy blames her for coming on to him. They stopped at a hotel because she had a bad headache from drinking too much.

In addition to the scatological humor which is so gross at points that it is not amusing, Sex is Zero falls into the trap of many other comedies and tries to take itself too seriously in the last third of the film. If it had been left as a sex comedy the film might have been more tolerable, but the last third of the film divulges too much from its beginning to be taken seriously.

If one is looking for eye candy one will find it in abundance in this film, but if one is looking solely for a light, if a bit raunchy, comedy then there are better ones to be found.
6 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed