Cinematic collaborations between two countries are usually billed as prestige projects: a worthy, weighty symbol of improving relationships between the states in question. AV Idol, a co-production between Japan and South Korea, doesn’t quite fit in that category. In fact, it showcases an industry that’s usually left out of political debate and polite conversation: the adult video (AV) – i.e., ‘porn’ – business. AV Idol is pretty much what its poster makes it out to be: a sweet, sexy if ultimately unsatisfying comedy (emphasis on ‘sex’-y) about a girl who inadvertently blunders her way into filming an AV movie.
The girl in question is Yoon-ah (Yeo Min-jeong), a bespectacled nerd who runs her grandmother’s kimchi business but really just wants to become the next huge pop idol in Japan. Her life changes when she meets Ryoko (Yui Tatsumi), an AV actress who’s on location in Korea due to her slightly barmy director’s decision to recruit willing actors on the streets of Seoul for his newest AV. Mistaking Ryoko for a genuine pop idol, Yoon-ah agrees to co-star in Ryoko’s movie without realising just quite what she’s letting herself in for…
Anyone looking to be titillated by AV Idol would be better advised to look elsewhere. There are a couple of very raunchy scenes in AV Idol, filmed in true AV style, but they really aren’t the point of the film. Rather, it focuses more on the two girls as they come to terms with their own lots in life. Yoon-ah gets to experience the joy and thrill of being on a movie set, even as she remembers the childhood sweetheart who pines after the kimchi only she can make for him. Ryoko, meanwhile, struggles mightily to keep Yoon-ah from making her movie debut as an AV actress.
As a result, there’s more character development here than anyone would rightly expect from a movie with this title and premise. The film benefits too from the brave, committed performances turned in by its lead actresses. Tatsumi – herself a former race-car driver turned AV idol – clearly relishes the opportunity to act more than simulate (or actually have) sex onscreen. Yeo plays her far sweeter, more innocent role very well, and the two share a nice, credible chemistry as friends and unexpected co-workers.
Overall, however, the film suffers from a plot that’s poorly thought-out and quite thoroughly riddled with loopholes. AV Idol mines some laughs and awkward moments from the director’s misbegotten recruitment process, but there’s really no earthly reason to believe that he can succeed the way he does. By its frankly ludicrous ending, the film has also tossed gangsters and a send-up of popular Korean television drama Winter Sonata into the mix. This might be goofily endearing to some, but will likely prove frustrating and silly to most.
Basically: Unexpectedly, we get an AV Idol with a heart and a brain, but sadly, she isn’t backed up by much of a plot.
shawneofthedead 