The March of Fools: Undergraduates Underachieving

How any discerning filmgoer can rank Ha Gil-jong's lighthearted (and lightweight) college romp The March of Fools right up there with Kim Ki-young's giddily perverse The Housemaid or Yoo Hyun-mok's neorealist Stray Bullet utterly baffles me! And it's not like I have a bias against comedies. I loved the culinary craziness of Le Grand Chef and the rebellious slapstick of Attack the Gas Station 2. Maybe it's simply that director Ha's 1975 social satire hasn't aged that well, especially in regards to its leading lady Yeong-ja (Lee Yeong-ok) — a ditzy, vivacious major in French literature who uses her looks to get free beers, Camus essays, and bit parts on the stage. (While I appreciated her self-defense moves to fend off unwanted sexual advances, her eternally sunshiny disposition somewhat tired me.)

So be it because ultimately The March of Fools is about the men: particularly, the carefree academic Byeong-tae (Yoon Moon-seop) and the test-failing cyclist Yeong-cheol (Ha Jae-young), two longtime friends who go on a series of adventures including blind dates, billiard games, streaking (with clothes), military screenings, tub soaking, beer-guzzling, and an extended escape from the police. Both actors are incredibly charismatic and you really do wish the best for them. So what is the best? Winning a drinking contest, getting kissed by a girl, scoring some money from dad... Yeong-cheol dreams of whale-hunting and inventing an umbrella for cigarettes. Byeong-tae dreams of getting married. Anyone who believes dreams like this might come true has another thing coming. I'd add, these men know better too. How can they not? They're philosophy students.

The takeaway: "Eheu fugaces labuntur anni!" ("Alas, the fleeting years slip by!")