100 Days with Mr. Arrogant is my first introduction to Korean actress Ha Ji-won and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. She was freaking hilarious in this movie and if she overacted in some cases it worked for the film. Released in South Korea in 2004, 100 days with Mr. Arrogant is a romantic comedy that follows the zaney, sweet, and oftentimes, disgusting antics of high schooler Ha-Young and college student Hyung-Jun (played by Kim Jae-won).
The film opens with Ha-Young having a dream in class in which she’s played by Snow White and is kissed by a pretty gruesome looking Prince. Things pretty much spiral out of control from there. Ha-Young is a pretty pitiful person starting out. Not only does her teacher stuff his boogers in her mouth and her boyfriend break up with her the day before their anniversary, but when she gets angry at the overall state of her existence and kicks a can while walking down the street she hits the driver of a Lexus causing him to crash.
You would think that would be considered bad luck for him but considering that the driver, Hyung-Joon, demands 3 grand to pay for the scratch on his car and turns her into his slave when she can’t pay it…well you see who the real victim is here. Especially when it comes out that that scratch costs no more than $10 to fix in the first place. Hyung-Joon is the definition of ‘asshole’ and he wears the title proudly.
Not only does he force Ha-Young clean his house, carry his bags, wash his beloved lexus, and eat fortune cookies all the time, he also makes her perform a sailor moon skit just to get into his house, kidnaps her from class just to entertain him for the day, and basically terrorizes her with the threat of death at the least sign of resistance. So basically what they have is the start of any typical anime/manga love affair right? Correct.
Despite the constant abuse and put downs Ha-Young falls in love with Hyung-Joon and he falls in love with her. However, never think that just because she’s a slave Ha-Young can’t hold her own. After finding out about the actual cost of his car she spray paints the windows black to ‘protect Master’s face from the harsh sun’ and then goes around with bullhorn, sign, flyers, and fake baby, telling everyone she meets how the father of her baby (Hyung-Joon) knocked her up and left her and their child to starve. She escapes him and after chasing her around the city for hours and realizing that his booze heavy college body will never survive the strain, he decides to get to hit Ha-Young where she’s weak. Her brain. That’s right, he becomes her tutor and then has free reign of her time whenever he wants it.
Ha-Young has fallen hard for Hyung-Joon but when she confesses her feelings the renowned playboy walks away leaving her to wonder if he had ever really changed or if the boy she had fallen in love with had never existed in the first place.
Despite the disturbing amount of bodily function themed comedy present in this film, 100 Days With Mr. Arrogant is one of the most original love stories I’ve ever seen while still managing to be the most cliché. The dynamics between Hyung-Joon and Ha-Young are believeable and a credit to their actors abilities. This is the type of movie I wouldn’t mind watching over and over again.
100 Days With Mr. Arrogant Directed by Shinn Dong-yeop
