Sex is Zero

Released by: Panik House
Released on: 3/28/2006
Director: Yun Je-gyun
Cast: Ha Ji-won, Jin Jae-yeong, Choi Seong-guk, Yu Chae-yeong
Year: 2002


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The Movie:

Eun Sik is a twenty-eight year old freshman who has just started his university career and soon finds himself distracte by Eun Hyo, one of the prettiest girls on the campus. Eun Sik has his hopes up pretty high, but everytime she walks by she inevitably catches him doing something completely repulsive in her eyes, like walking the dog solo or licking a pin up of a naked lady. This type of behaviour rarely gets a guy the girl he wants, and Eun Sik learns that the hard way.

Soon enough his dwindling hopes are completely smashed when Eun Hyo starts dating one of the more popular guys in the school. The two hit it off as well as would be expected but Eun Hyo gets a taste of reality when one of their romantic encounters results in a completely unexpected and equally unwanted pregnancy. She decides to have an abortion, and during this time her hunky boyfriend is nowhere to be seen, leaving only the geeky and awkward Eun Sik there for moral support during what has got to be a pretty rough time in any woman's life regardless of circumstance.

Once she's made it through the ordeal and starts getting her life back on track, Eun Sik figures she's going to ditch him like she did the first time, either to go back to the more popular guy despite the fact that he treated her like she was nothing during the time that she needed it most, or find some other more attractive and more popular boy to date, but Eun Hyo starts to see Eun Sik in a different light once he proves to her that he really does care about her.

Anyone who has seen Porkys or The Last American Virgin, or more recent fare like the American Pie films, will know exactly where this one is heading even before it happens. The jokes are very predictable, completely crass, and totally stupid. The characters are clichés, and the plot surprisingly moralist by the time the end credits hit. Even with all of that working against it, however, Sex Is Zero turns out to be a pretty funny time killer. Only time will tell how well it ages (obviously some teen sex comedies age better than others) and there's very little here to identify it as a slice of Korean cinema rather than a knock off of some of Hollywood's more popular exports, but it's a funny movie none the less.

The completely expected crass jokes come flying at you fast and furious for the first part of the film, introducing little bits and pieces of character development as we go to ensure that you at least care somewhat about the two leads for when the heavier moments come into play - and it works. While you're not going to feel like anyone here is a friend or an acquaintance, you won't hate anyone you're not supposed to hate (though at times Eun Hyo comes across as kind of cruel) and you'll like the ones you are supposed to like. It's enough to make the movie work. Some of the gross out gags are completely over the top (the fried egg scene, for one) and utterly stupid but it's hard not to laugh at them even if you know it's juvenille and stupid. The end result is that no matter how juvenille or stupid it all gets at times, it is funny and it's easy to let yourself go and just giggle along like the twelve year old that still lives inside you whether you want to or not.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Panik House's 1.85.1 widescreen transfer is quite nice despite the fact that it isn't enhanced for anamorphic sets. There aren't any problems with compression artifacts, the image is strong and clean from start to finish, and print damage is not an issue either. Some mild edge enhancement is noticeable as is some line shimmering along the edges of the buildings in the movie from time to time but other than that, this is quite a solid presentation. Skin tones look lifelike and natural, color reproduction is very good, black levels are strong and stable. There's a pretty strong level of both foreground and background detail in the picture and generally, aside from a little bit of grain, the image is very clean and quite crisp.

Panik House has provided two audio tracks for this release - a Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix and a Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround mix with optional subtitles available in English and in Spanish. The 5.1 track is far superior to the 2.0 mix but both tracks sound pretty good, with the 5.1 getting the edge for nice surround usage in a few key spots. There are some nice instances where the channel separation kicks in and spices things up a bit and bass response is both tight and lively. No problems with hiss or distortion, and the levels seem to be properly balanced.


First up amoungst the wealth of extra features is a commentary track with the infamous Mr. Skin, who discusses the nudity in the film with plenty of enthusiasm and far more knowledge than you'd expect anyone to want to own - it's this dedication to his craft that makes him an interesting subject and he and his cohorts, primarily Mike McPadden, discuss other appearances that some of the ladies have made as well as similar movies that contain similar quantities of said naked ladies. It's a light hearted and completely enjoyable discussion that, while not the most educational commentary track ever recorded, keeps the movie in its exploitative context and provides a few laughs along the way.

A second Spanish language commentary track is provided courtesy of Jesus 'El Palos' Olvera, the editor of Al Borde. It's conducted completely in Spanish without any English language dubbing or subtitle options, so I've no idea what it's about or if its any good.

Panik House have also included a making of documentary that runs for roughly forty minutes in length. This is comprised mainly of behind the scenes footage shot on set while the movie was in production. There are quite a few impromptu on set interviews conducted with various people involved in a few different fawcets of the filmmaking process and while at times it lacks context there's some cool bits and pieces in here if you want to look for them.

Memories Of Sex Is Zero is a decent selection of interviews with the director of the movie and most of the principal cast members. Everyone interviewed here seems to have had a really good time making the film and the mood is definitely light hearted and none too serious. That being said, they get some good information across and talk about some of the raunchier scenes and how they were pulled off. Once you make it through the commentary and the making of documentary you'd think that you'd know all you needed to know but there's surprisingly little information duplication here, which is a nice touch.

Next up are the deleted scenes, of which there are eight in total, as well as a blooper reel comprised of seven humorous slip ups. The deleted scenes don't add much of anything to the movie and were likely cut for pacing reasons but there are a few laughs to be had by cruising through and checking them out. The same can be said for the blooper reel - it's not going to change your life but it might make you giggle.

Rounding out the extra features are some amusing liner notes that give us a quick rundown of the teen sex comedy film and where Sex Is Zero comes into that genre, a few trailers for the film, a music video promo spot, en electronic press kit, production notes on the film, biographies for the key cast and crew members, and finally, a rather decent still gallery. The menus are completely bilingual and are available in both English and Spanish.

The Final Word:

Sex Is Zero is pretty damn funny even if it strives for the lowst common denominator, and those who have dug American efforts such as American Pie, or The Last American Virgin would do well to give this one a look as it is very much in the same vein and equally amusing. Despite the lack of anamorphic enhancement Panik House's release earns high marks all around and includes a wealth of great supplements that add a lot of value to this release.