Nan-gil (played by Kim Yeong-kwang) is a restauranteur who is also Na-ri's...father? That can't be right. He's younger than she is. And also Na-ri has never met Nan-gil even though he claims to have been married to Na-ri's mother. Even more perplexing, Nan-gil is somehow privy to multiple in-jokes only known to Na-ri and her mother, which leaves the baffled Na-ri wondering whether Nan-gil is who he says he is or if this isn't just some sort of elaborate scam.
It's actually kind of impressive how as ridiculous as this situation is Na-ri consistently comes off as the craziest person in the room simply through the force of her unfettered personality. The sheer obvious illogic of Nan-hil's claims coupled with how all the circumstantials of the situation favor his side of the story is enough to drive Na-ri completely nuts. Yet no matter how close Na-ri is provoked to breakdown, she never manages to get all the way there, remaining sane enough to fight for another day.
While basically just a situation comedy "The Man In My House" is just barely eccentric enough that the proceedings come off as fairly fresh. Soo-ae and Kim Yeong-kwang are extremely well cast as the lead characters. It's fascinating how Nan-gil manages to somehow come off as impetuous and condescending simultaneously. Na-ri's belligerent behavior almost, almost comes off as justified simply because Nan-gil seems specifically designed as a character to rub Na-ri the wrong way.
The cast is rounded out by Deok-bong, played by Lee Soo-hyeok who as usual is doomed to not get his romance even though he's the sexiest man in the cast. Sigh. Anyway, as a man from a wealth family Deok-bong is sort of awkwardly wedged into the story of "The Man In My House". His role in the story is to confirm for Na-ri that Nan-gil is in fact really objectively suspicious, and thus unintentionally spur her to engage in increasingly goofier behavior.
While "The Man In My House" has a lot going for it in terms of charm, I must confess that as of yet a particularly obvious point does not appear to have presented itself. For all their chemistry Na-ri and Nan-gil are a dubious lead couple because of, you know, the whole technical incest thing. Regardless, "The Man In My House" is still funny enough on its own merits that larger plot notwithstanding, I think I can feel pretty satisfied just watching these characters bounce off one another.
Source:HanCinema
