Long before this film hit the theaters, I Wish I Had a Wife Too drew interest for its pairing of two of Korea's most respected stars: Sol Kyung-ku (Peppermint Candy) and Jeon Do-yeon (Peppermint Candy). In their first crack at romantic comedy, Sol and Jeon take on parts which, although lacking the emotional extremes of their previous roles, are nonetheless the very heart of this film.
Sol plays a lovesick bank teller who can't get marriage off his mind. He records videos for his future wife, telling her how curious he is to find out who she will turn out to be. When he meets a former classmate (played by Jin Hee-kyung), he thinks he's finally found his match. Jeon, meanwhile, plays a teacher who works across the street from his bank. After a few accidental meetings, she works up the courage to ask him out, but is rudely rebuffed.
This is the debut work of director Park Heung-shik, who apart from making short films also worked as assistant director to Hur Jin-ho for Christmas in August (1998). The influence of the latter film can be seen in I Wish I Had a Wife Too: in its visual style, its grounding in everyday life, and also in a subtle reworking of Christmas's famous umbrella scene.
At times the film's music recalls a Sleepless in Seattle or When Harry Met Sally, but I Wish I Had a Wife Too is a much different kind of movie. Content to revel in the ordinary, it lingers on unimportant details and its heroes' various quirks. Although at times this comes at the expense of plot, it imparts to the film a sense of honesty, as well as an unhurried pleasure. By the latter half of the film we begin to feel quite intimate with the characters.
Darcy Paquet