Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    One Piece But Why Tho 5

    Fathers of ‘One Piece’: Powerful Bonds, Legacy, and Found Family

    06/13/2025
    Elena Street Fighter 6 But Why Tho

    Elena Brings Style And Versatility To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    06/06/2025
    Lune and Sciel from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Lune, Sciel, And The Romance Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Fails To Realize

    06/05/2025
    Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro

    Everything To Know About Eve Macarro In ‘Ballerina’

    06/05/2025
    Marvel Rivals Ultron

    Ultron Brings Aggression To ‘Marvel Rivals’ Support Class

    05/31/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Sweet & Sour’ Is An Embarassing Rom-Com

REVIEW: ‘Sweet & Sour’ Is An Embarassing Rom-Com

Ricardo GallegosBy Ricardo Gallegos06/05/20214 Mins ReadUpdated:10/10/2022
Sweet & Sour
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Sweet & Sour

Lee Gye-byeok’s romantic comedy Sweet & Sour, which just arrived on Netflix, isn’t deep, impactful, or even half as smart as it thinks it is. It’s a movie about the complexities of relationships whose embarrassing misogynistic tones make it borderline unwatchable.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Sweet & Sour starts as young dumb Hyeok is admitted into the hospital due to hepatitis, where he quickly falls in love with his lovely nurse Da-eun (Chae Soo-bin). Hyeok does everything to catch the eye of Da-eun, and soon starts to behave like a creep by following her around the hospital, dropping her flirty messages, and trying to smoke to look cool. The problem is that director Gye-byeok tries to sell this conduct as being sweet and romantic. 

After a bunch of flirting and some weird interactions, a visibly sad Da-eun invites awkward Hyeok home to keep her company. The first thing he does is touch her breasts. Yet, he’s rewarded with a kiss the next morning (which he tries to turn into a french kiss), and eventually a relationship. Once again, the director tries to portray these acts as innocent comedic bits. You see, Hyeok is plump which, according to the screenplay, automatically makes him inept at interacting with women and therefore, should be excused for his alarming actions. It’s distressing the little awareness the script has of these misogynistic issues.

When Hyeok promises to lose weight, things get shaken up and the film starts to explore the relationship between Da-eun and a slim and very handsome Hyeok (Jang Ki-yong). This is when Sweet & Sour settles into a standard rom-com in which two characters try to keep the love going despite the difficult circumstances surrounding them.

Hyeok accepts a new job in Seoul, forcing him to travel a lengthy distance every day to get to the office. Meanwhile, Da-eun’s shifts become quite grueling. The lack of time together transforms their courtship into a long-distance challenge that rapidly takes its toll on their personal feelings for each other. 

Despite the physical difference in the Hyeok character, the unpleasant behavior is still there. He is selfish, doesn’t listen to Da-eun, and blames her for his own faults; it’s a parade of microaggressions and blatant verbal violence. To complicate the situation, Hyeok starts to fall in love with his new coworker Bo-yeong (Krystal Jung), but not before we are subjected to a series of scenes in which she is painted as a rude, clumsy, and dirty woman trying to get all the attention to herself, only to be humiliated and eventually rescued by the man, Hyeok. 

The movie does a solid job of portraying the difficulties of maintaining a long-distance relationship and the ways a rigorous job can hurt your personal life. There’s authenticity in certain scenarios that show how bad it is to put work before your emotions. Unfortunately, Sweet & Sour goes too far by trying to justify the casual misogyny of the main character with his heavy workload.

The cast is not at fault for the weak script. Chae Soo-bin and Jang Ki-yong deliver good performances through which we feel the exhaustion of the everyday grind that their characters experience. Krystal Jung is funny and charming, but her character ends up being just a weak excuse.

There’s a big twist right in the third act followed by a big exposition dump that might surprise you — or make your eyes roll. Either way, this spark of creativity is not enough to save Sweet & Sour from its many faults which, besides the sexism, include highly unlikeable characters, comedy that doesn’t land, a forgettable score, and a by-the-numbers script.

Sweet & Sour is available streaming exclusively on Netflix.

 

Sweet & Sour
  • 3/10
    Rating - 3/10
3/10

TL;DR

There’s a big twist right in the third act followed by a big exposition dump that might surprise you — or make your eyes roll. Either way, this spark of creativity is not enough to save Sweet & Sour from its many faults which, besides the sexism, include highly unlikeable characters, comedy that doesn’t land, a forgettable score, and a by-the-numbers script.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’ is Good for the Warrens But No One Else
Next Article REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia,’ Episode 99 – “Our Brawl”
Ricardo Gallegos

Ricardo is a Mexico City-based bilingual writer, Certified Rotten Tomatoes film critic and Digital Animation graduate. He loves cats, Mass Effect, Paddington and is the founder of the film website “La Estatuilla.

Related Posts

Our Times But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘Our Times’ Wastes A Good Premise On A Bad Plot

06/14/2025
Red Blood Cell and White Cell in Cells at Work
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Cells at Work’ Does A Beloved Anime Justice

06/13/2025
Camila Morrone and Willem Dafoe in Gonzo Girl
6.5

REVIEW: ‘Gonzo Girl’ Is A Careful Character Study About Main Characters

06/12/2025
Dakota Johnson in Materialists
8.5

REVIEW: ‘Materialists’ Proves Celine Song Understands Love Better Than Most Of Us

06/11/2025
Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon
5.0

REVIEW: ‘How To Train Your Dragon (2025)’ Is Aggravatingly Dark

06/09/2025
A still from Predator Killer of Killers
8.5

REVIEW: ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Finds Humanity In The Hunt

06/06/2025
TRENDING POSTS
Yoo Su-bin, Kim Shin-rok, Go Min-si, and Kang Ha-neul in Tastefully Yours
6.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘Tastefully Yours’ Is A Half-Baked Romantic Venture

By Sarah Musnicky06/11/2025

For all its emphasis on flavor, execution, and satisfying a customer, Tastefully Yours ultimately proves to be underwhelming.

Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night with the Duke Episodes 1-2
8.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 1-2

By Sarah Musnicky06/12/2025

The bar is set pretty high with The First Night With The Duke Episodes 1-2. While exposition-heavy, it is a delightfully silly watch.

Y'shtola in the FFXIV Commander Deck - Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy Interviews

Magic Designer Explains The Challenge Of Picking A Face For The FFXIV Commander Deck

By Kate Sánchez06/11/2025Updated:06/11/2025

FFXIV Commander Deck pulls highlights core characters and mechanics, with Y’shtola as its Commander. But building the deck, wasn’t easy.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here