Parasite

"Do I fit in here?" I didn't write a long review the last time I watched this, I just had the pleasure of seeing it again in IMAX, and I've seen some decent-at-best movies recently so buckle up; this is gonna be a long one. I forgot just how funny this movie is. That first hour has so many hilarious bits in it. There's the immediate scene of watching the family fold pizza boxes while being fumigated followed up immediately with them being scolded by their boss because they did a sloppy job. They have a dinner celebration for finding wifi, the jingle Ki-Jung and Ki-Woo make to memorize their lines, seeing the family act out how to get the housekeeper fired--in which they perfectly predict the mother's lines. It's comedy gold. Last time I watched this I pointed out the birthday scene, but the old housekeeper's return is the real turning point. It cuts through the comedic "protective shield" worn by the Kim family and exposes them for who they truly are. Looking at the things that I and others who watch this movie laugh at, you'd think that we're all assholes. We watch them scourge for wifi, get fumigated, and struggle through a life of poverty. But we almost get a pass because this is a uniquely crafted socioeconomic satire in which we root for and against the underdog simultaneously. When the Kims are all at the Park's house during the camping trip, we get this exchange between the parents: "They’re rich but still nice. They’re nice because they’re rich" Yes, money is often corrupting, but the Parks are simply an unassuming family exposed to capitalistic tendencies pushed to their very extremes. The reason it's okay to laugh at the Kims is because they're assholes. But multiple things can be true at once, the Kims can be assholes, and still, they shouldn't be subjected to the literal and metaphorical gulf in living standards we see in the movie. Hell, they’re only that way because they’re extremely desperate. I've got so much more to say, but I'll just end it here. It's a masterpiece, but we all know that. Go see it in IMAX while you can.