Stream Classics to Latest K-Movies & Shows at OnDemandKorea

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Welcome to Waikiki" Episode 12

In what has to be the weirdest gimmick yet, "Welcome to Waikiki" presents us with the character of Chang-ho (played by Kim Byung-se) whose main trait is that he gives endlessly complicated and pointless rambling answers to mundane questions. Does that really count as a joke? Boring the audience to death with nonsense? That sounds like the exact opposite of a joke. Which I'll admit, on a conceptual level, is an interesting if obviously stupid idea.

Advertisement

The emerging romance between Joon-ki and Seo-jin suffers from a similar issue. Joon-ki thinking of Seo-jin too much as a little sister is a decent enough idea. But visualizing this by having Seo-jin's normal actress suddenly be replaced by a child version who creepily speaks in the adult version's voice...well, just like how Chang-ho's boringness simply causes me to be bored, Seo-jin's creepiness simply causes me to be creeped out.

Elsewhere Doo-sik tries to help Soo-ah study on exam questions so she can get qualifications for a normal job. What we're supposed to get from these scenes is that Soo-ah is a terrible student. What I ended up thinking was that none of the stuff Doo-sik is quizzing Soo-ah on is at all relevant to her possible career goals. Which I think is more a commentary on modern educational systems than Soo-ah necessarily being a bad student. Recall that Soo-ah had plenty of money before a series of horrible accidents caused her to lose it all.

Why can't Soo-ah just get back into modeling again? Also why did she trust her money with the random new boyfriend instead of investing in Dong-goo? Well, the second question is fairly easily answered. Because Dong-doo is an idiot, who is motivated over the worst possible reasons. Dong-goo now has a job in his preferred career path, yet keeps obsessing over Joon. The big Gonggi battle, in addition to being childishly motivated, also suffers from poor editing- at one point the game goes backwards in time. Also the rules aren't explained.

Anyway, are we supposed to dislike Joon? Because he seems really nice, which is an indisputable improvement over Dong-goo's borderline psychotic jealousy. The guy even brings the guest house some business, which they badly need. Maybe? "Welcome to Waikiki" has been so inconsistent about the financial problems of the main cast I have a lot of trouble keeping track. It would help if the main cast members themselves expressed much concern about their fiscal well-being.

Review by William Schwartz

"Welcome to Waikiki" is directed by Lee Chang-min-I, written by Kim Ki-ho, and features Kim Jung-hyun, Lee Yi-kyung, Son Seung-won, and Jung In-sun.

Note : Due to licensing, videos may not be available in your country

❎ Try Ad-free