Dancing Queen (2012 film)

Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
	Promotional poster for Dancing Queen
Korean name
Hangul	댄싱퀸
Revised Romanization	Daensing Kwin
McCune–Reischauer	Taensing K'win
Directed by	Lee Seok-hoon
Written by	Lee Seok-hoon; Yoon Je-kyoon; Park Su-jin; Kim Hwi
Produced by	Kim Nam-soo; Yoon Je-kyoon
Starring	Hwang Jung-min; Uhm Jung-hwa
Cinematography	Choi Jin-woong
Edited by	Jin Lee
Music by	Hwang Sang-jun
Production; company	JK Film
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	18 January 2012;
Running time	124 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$26.4 million

Dancing Queen (Korean: 댄싱퀸) is a 2012 South Korean romantic comedy film starring Uhm Jung-hwa and Hwang Jung-min. The film tells a story of a married couple, who in the midst of their mundane lives decide to pursue their lost dreams. The husband finds himself accidentally running for Mayor of Seoul and his wife decides to become a pop singer. It was produced by JK Film and distributed by CJ Entertainment, and released on January 18, 2012.^[2]

Plot

Uhm Jung-Hwa dreamed about becoming a singer when she was young but had to put her dream aside when she married Hwang Jung-min. Although Hwang is a lawyer, he is always worrying about paying the rent.

One day, Hwang rescues a drunk man who falls off of a subway platform and becomes an instant hero. His heroic act pushes him into the political arena and he decides to run for Seoul mayor. Things go along just fine until Uhm receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sign with an entertainment agency, forcing her to choose between her dream and his. It's not long before she realizes that she can't give up her dream and she decides to pursue both.

The film demonstrates that age is just a number and that dreams can come true.^[3]

Cast

Uhm Jung-hwa – Herself
Hwang Jung-min – Himself
Jung Sung-hwa – Jong-chan
Lee Han-wi – Han-wi
Ra Mi-ran – Myung-ae
Oh Na-ra – Ra-ri
Choi Woo-ri – Rinda
Ah-Rong – Eve
Lee Dae-yeon – Pil-je
Jeong Gyu-su – Myung-goo
Seo Dong-won – Jung-chul
Park Sa-rang – Yeon-woo
Lee A-rin – Dorothy
Yeo Moo-young – Political party leader
Seong Byeong-suk – Jung-hwa's mother
Song Jae-ho – Jung-hwa's father
Chun Bo-geun – young Jung-min
Kim Young-sun – Jung-min's mother (flashback)
Ma Dong-seok – Gay couple (cameo)
Jo Dal-hwan – Manager (cameo)
Lee Hyori – Judge of Superstar K (cameo)
Son Hee-soon – Jung-hwa's Aunt
Tae In-ho - Assistant director

Production

This is the third collaboration of singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa and actor Hwang Jung-min. They burned up the screen in the 2005 hit All for Love, with Uhm playing a stuck-up divorced doctor and Hwang playing a foul-mouthed detective; the chemistry between the two boosted ticket sales back then. They again starred together in Five Senses of Eros.^[3]

Reception

The film is lauded for reflecting social issues,^[4] as The Korea Times in its review said "What makes the film interesting is that it opts to examine the psychology behind the precarious situation, when a couple’s individual interest is at odds with the other".^[5] While The Hollywood Reporter said "Dancing Queen is polished entertainment with a subtle message, anchored by an engaging (if physically awkward) performance by Uhm...and a suitably pulsating empowerment anthem".^[6]

According to data provided by Korean Film Council (KOFIC) it was the second most-watched film in South Korea in the first quarter of 2012, with a total of 4 million admissions.^[7] It ranked first and grossed ₩9.3 billion in its first week of release^[8] and grossed a total of ₩30 billion after seven weeks of screening.^[9]