Inspector Ryoo (played by Lee Dong-wook) is a reasonably competent and ambitious cop working for internal affairs. Detective Ryoo seems to take his job seriously, brutally questioning fellow Officer Kim (played by Lee Hwa-ryong) who claims to have murdered the man who murdered his partner, Officer Tak (played by Lee Joo-hyun). Conveniently, there are now no other witnesses to the alleged first murder.
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Then Inspector Ryoo gets dragged into the case of the overzealous rookie Patrolman Oh (played by Cha Hak-yeon), who’s investigating the disappearance of Yoon-ah (played by Lee Seo-an), a mother with a shady record. Detective Doh (played by Lee Sang-hong) is in charge of the case and is obviously trying to cover something up. Nevertheless, Inspector Ryoo looks the other way despite explicitly stating that Detective Doh is too incompetent to even manage a coverup correctly.
There’s not really much of a story there. During the climax, a violent confrontation between Patrolman Oh and Detective Doh, we even briefly pan over to Inspector Ryoo, who’s not even thinking of attempting a rescue operation. And that’s where we get to the crazy part of “Bad and Crazy” with K (played by Wi Ha-joon), a man typically clad in a motorcycle helmet who keeps beating Inspector Ryoo up. The implication is that K is a figment of Inspector Ryoo’s imagination, and possibly his conscience.
The gimmick of “Bad and Crazy” is fairly straightforward- yet far more amusing than it has any right to be. It helps that Cha Hak-yeon is so earnest and determined as a young cop in over his head, completely desperate to find the mom of a sad, adorable little girl. Inspector Ryoo isn’t really an awful cop except when contrasted with Patrolman Oh, who actually believes in making the world a better place and acts as a much more straightforwardly heroic protagonist.
Then there’s Lee Dong-wook himself, who has a surprisingly nuanced performance as a man who’s sort of but not excessively unpleasant. Inpsector Ryoo is just really impatient, despite not really having any interest in actually doing anything. K’s presence as Inspector Ryoo’s surrogate conscience is deeply funny in part because K isn’t trying to make Inspector Ryoo be a good person as he is trying to make Inspector Ryoo into a total badass. Inspector Ryoo resists because he’s fundamentally lazy- a bad cop in the tradition of “Public Enemy” which is very good as that’s my favorite version of the archetype.
Review by William Schwartz
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“Bad and Crazy” is directed by Yoo Seon-dong, written by Kim Sae-bom, and features Lee Dong-wook, Wi Ha-joon, Han Ji-eun, Cha Hak-yeon, Kang Ae-shim, Kim Dae-gon. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/12/17~Now airing, Fri, Sat 22:40 on tvN.
William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema’s travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea’s public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
[HanCinema’s Drama Review] “Bad and Crazy” Episode 1 (2021/12/19)
Source: Laban Lang Philippines
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