A man who has suffered a brain injury discovers one day that he has a sick daughter. And together they embark on a brief adventure.
I’ve always liked Cha Seung-won as an actor. And in Cheer Up, Mr. Lee, he delivers one of the best role interpretations in his career. One can almost call Cheer Up, Mr. Lee for Forrest Gump 2, only that the protagonist is struggling with a more serious brain injury after an event that changed his entire life.
He wasn’t born with a brain injury. He was an ordinary man who had a job and a wife. And along the way, we get to see what happened in his past. And what we see is emotionally moving, even though it may feel a little unreal. We know that South Korean drama movies love to torment the protagonist. And Cheer Up, Mr. Lee is yet another movie that rarely gives the protagonist peace. What an evil movie this is!!
But even though the movie never surprises, it has a warm heart that beats and it has some funny scenes. I love the scenes when the protagonist tightens his biceps when he shows them off. I also love his facial expression when he tightens his biceps. What a wonderful and charming character!
But, it’s not nice to think about what happened to him as he’s a good and kind man who has a sick daughter whom he has never had contact with. He didn’t deserve this life at all.
The characters in this universe are all nice. Even gangsters try to help, and that should say something about what kind of movie this is. There are several holes in the story. But this isn’t a movie where you are thinking about the plot holes. You join the protagonist’s journey, and you feel a warmth in this universe where everyone is helpful and kind.
Cheer Up, Mr. Lee isn’t a deep movie. But it’s far from as cheesy as many other South Korean movies are in this genre.