r/Ijustwatched • u/filmgamegeek • 5d ago

IJW: Love Untangled (2025)

Source: https://www.reeladvice.net/2025/09/love-untangled-2025-movie-review.html

Netflix has been on a nostalgic streak lately, releasing films like The Last Goodbye and One Hit Wonder that harken back to the childhoods of Millennials and even Gen Z. Love Untangled falls right into that trend, this time offering a romance-comedy set in 1998 Busan.Ironically, at least for us as non-Koreans, Love Untangled was the most relatable of this recent releases. The film works best in our opinion when it leans heavily into the innocence, naivety, and silliness of high school life.

The story follows Se-ri (Shin Eun-soo), a high schooler struggling with curly hair and the insecurities that come with it. Too shy to confess her feeling to her long-time crush Kim Hyun (Cha Woo-min), who is also the most popular boy in school, she finds unexpected support in Yun-seok (Gong Myung) who is a transfer student from Seoul. Their friendship blossoms as he helps her pursue Kim Hyun only for feelings to slowly grow between them instead.

Love Untangled keeps things simple in terms of its narrative. The film relying heavily on the charm and chemistry of its cast. This approach largely pays off, as the film captures the universal nostalgia of high school life - first crushes, self-doubt, and the looming pressure of college entrance exams. The performances are a highlight and Shin Eun-soo and Gong Myung take the lead bringing warmth and authenticity to their roles. The supporting cast adds flavor with distinct and memorable takes on their characters.

Eventually that same simplicity becomes the film’s biggest weakness. The last act rushes to resolve conflicts in a neat and simple sweep. This heavily sacrifices emotional depth in favor of keeping things light. It avoids tackling harder-hitting themes from its various side plots that, in our opinion, could have elevated the story and added more nuance to its characters. Still, Love Untangled succeeds in being an easy, feel-good watch that will charm its way into audiences’ hearts. For those craving a nostalgic trip back to youthful innocence, it’s one of the best options on Netflix right now.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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u/5o7bot 1d ago

Love Untangled (2025) PG

Straighten my hair, straight to your heart!

A lovestruck teen plans to win the school heartthrob by going from curly to straight hair — until a new transfer student changes everything.

Romance | Drama | Comedy
Director: Namkoong Sun
Actors: Shin Eun-soo, Gong Myoung, Cha Woo-min, Youn Sang-hyun, Kang Mi-na
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 84% with 47 votes
Runtime: 121 min
TMDB

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