Movie Review: The Last Godfather

This past weekend, director/comedian Shim Hyung Rae's "The Last Godfather" opened in theaters across the U.S. On April 1st, Shim Hyung Rae made an appearance at the CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles for a special meet-and-greet screening. Prior to the screening, director Shim Hyung Rae (also known for "Dragon Wars: D-War") shared that he had felt somewhat lonely while working on the film but felt comforted to see such a great turnout at the event. He assured his fans that he would continue to work hard to bring more Korean movies to the States. "The Last Godfather" is a comedic spin-off of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" trilogy. Set in the rugged 1950's streets of New York, mafia boss 'Don Carini ' (Harvey Keitel)�announces that his son, 'Younggu' (Shim Hyung Rae), will be�succeeding�him as the next Don Carini. Younggu is Don Carini's secret Korean lovechild whom he brought to the States to be trained to take over his gang. He assigns two of his best men, 'Tony V' (Michael Rispoli) and 'Macho' (John Pinette), to take over the training process, however they have trouble understanding how this seemingly-slow middle aged man could possibly be their boss' son. During Younggu's training, he ends up falling for 'Nancy Bonfante'�(Jocelin Donahue), the daughter of Don Carini's rival mafia boss, 'Don Bonfante' (Jon Polito), which stirs much trouble between the two rival families. While Shim Hyung Rae's slapstick comedy was top-notch, the movie as a whole was a flop. First off, the storyline was all too familiar. Yes, a mafia boss having a hidden Korean lovechild is original, but rival families and the need to "save the girl" in light of family opposition is way overdone. Secondly, the script was rather stale. Seeing that most of Shim Hyung Rae's comedy is very physical, the script itself was somewhat lackluster. Lastly, for all you K-pop fans out there, the Wonder Girls cameo was NOT in the film! Last November, we reported on the Wonder Girls' cameo in the film's trailer, but it seems that their scene had slyly been removed from the U.S. trailer. Although we do not know if their cameo was also cut from the Korean release, the Wonder Girls' cameo did not appear at all in the U.S. release of the film. Unless you are able to solely focus on the comedic aspects of this film, I recommend that you save your money and pass on this film. Shim Hyung Rae may be an respected director and comedian in Korea, but this film does not do his reputation justice. In the meantime, check out some movie stills and movie trailer below. [gallery columns="4"] Official US Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-_mkjMrPDI For more information on theater locations, visit "The Last Godfather"'s�official website.