Love and Leashes (2021)

Quick Take: Love and Leashes (2021) (movie), starring Lee Jun-young and So Jun-hyun (Seohyun).  8.8/10. 118 min.

Synopsis:   Office co-workers begin a tentative relationship.  Jung Ji-hoo is into BDSM; he is a submissive ISO a dominatrix.  Jung Ji-woo is clueless but willing to experiment.  After being accidentally outed, they give an eloquent defense of their lifestyle choice in front of the company discipline committee.

Review: Love and Leashes presents a sweet and sanitized version of BDSM, but it makes a good case for open-mindedness about the sexual preferences of consenting adults.  The stars are cute, the comedy is cute, and most people will learn something.  (What I learned:  A dom/sub pair aren’t usually romantic partners, although some couples make it work.)

Both the stars come to acting from careers in Kpop.

Rewatchable - 3, Compelling - 3, Plot/ Story/Writing - 9,  Acting/Casting - 10, Production - 8,  Bonus - 5.  Bonus points for educational value.

Notes:

Lee Jun-young

was a bright spot (not very bright, but somewhat bright) in the otherwise lamentable drama series Imitation (2021).  He made his idol debut with UKISS in 2014, and has been acting since 2017. He has also released singles in Korean and Japanese.

Seo Ju-hun

is known professionally as Seohyun. She debuted as a member of Girls Generation in 2007. She has appeared in film, television dramas, and musical theater since 2010.