Review: "Sad Movie" delivers a soundtrack any romantic and drama-enthusiast would wish for. There are many quiet, appealing ballads - some of them may be a little bit too cheesy, though, but that's not really a problem as it is most unlikely that a hardcore-metal fan will somehow end up holding this score in his hands. This OST surely doesn't run the risk to aim for the wrong audience, since the movie's title already says it all. If you can't get enough of love ballads, than this one is for you.
Cha Tae-hyeon, who is contributing two tracks for the CD, is a perfect example if you want to illustrate that it's actually not a big step from a dreamy to a cheesy song. Cha's ballads were just too much for me, and even if you can listen to them when they are playing in the background, you are still tempted to just hit the skip-button. Luckily, the score makes up for this with some excellent songs by Jang Pil-sun, who is to be found on the CD with not less than four tracks. Her songs have something wonderfully dreamy about them and are filled with a cozy warmth.

Cha Tae-hyeon makes the start with a piece that begins with gentle acoustic guitar sounds, but soon features some stereotypical female chorus in the background and a cheesy melody sung by Cha. It may be somewhat entertaining in the way that you won't switch stations when you were to hear it on the radio, but also just if you are too lazy to lift a finger.
The second track is kitschy in a similar way, even though the song might be somewhat appealing with its slow samba-like melody, which is making it typical Korean in a sense.
"Goodbye" by Jang Pil-sun has a nice theme, which is accompanied by a piano that underscores Jang's wonderful voice pretty good. Furthermore, the song has a great beat, is getting faster and slower every now and then and proves to be quite diverse. Nonetheless, it's easy to make out a re-occuring motif after a while.

Track 4 by Lee Ju-weon features the same stereotypical love ballad material we all love or either hate. It's accompanied by some strings and an electrical guitar which is made modest use of. It's nothing special and quality-wise at the same level as Cha's songs. Well, it's just not my cup of tea...
The next piece is again from Jang Pil-sun, even though it is her worst. Still, this doesn't mean that it's actually bad. Even this song of hers is by far superior to the tracks of the other artists to be found on the soundtrack. This one's a little bit more fast-paced and upbeat, yet it's still a ballad. Moreover Jang alters her voice by some kind of telephone filter for this song.
And on we go with Cha Tae-hyeon, who once again delivers one of his contrived tearjerker ballads. Maybe some pubertal girls find this to be heart-wrenching, I for my part, however, can't listen to stuff like that. Finally, Jang Pil-sun saves us again with a very nice song, that is rather tranquil at the beginning and is underlined by a steady rhythm, yet sometimes gets interrupted by a still dreamy, but more joyful melody. I also listened to a slightly different version of this track somewhere else, which I found to be a little bit more appealing, as it was even more cheerful. Still both versions have their upsides.

Pyeong Boem-han's ballad can be quite enjoyable with the peaceful piano sounds at the beginning, but at the latest when he loses himself in typical tearjerker themes underlined by his sudden high-pitched voice, I hit the skip-button.
The last track is by Jang Pil-sun and by far the best. Her dreamy and gentle singing, as well as the piano and guitar that accompany her along with reserved drums will absolutely enchant you and make this balled an ear worm, that will soon force you to sing along. A highlight that surely deserves its place at the end of the CD.
As a bonus we get a second CD, which for most part comes with tracks we already know, but this time played instrumental only. Some of them feature some nice interpretations of the songs we already are familiar with. Most of them are ballads by Jang Pil-sun, which is why we sometimes miss her beautiful voice on these tracks every now and then. However, there are also some new pieces: Track 4, for instance, is a nice guitar work, that is very appealing thanks to its warm and cozy sounds. Title 9 also proves to be quite attractive, because of some tranquil piano work, despite its short running time. Track 11 has a bit more upbeat character, but still feels rather melancholic and is underlined by a good deal of "Lalala"-singing. The CD has yet another version of "Goodbye", which is introduced by some etherial acapella-singing and is fading out with some soft piano play.

"Sad Movie" has a soundtrack, that should be quite appealing to romantic/drama fans. Some of the tracks are a little bit too cheesy for my taste, as already mentioned, but the great songs by Jang Pil-sun can make up for this. I even liked her songs that much that I got my hands on other CDs of her. Her first CDs might feauture a bit too much folk-style music, but her other works are at the same high quality level as her songs here.
The bonus CD offers the already familiar tracks by Jang, who seems to have contributed the main work for this soundtrack, and does so in different alternations, which is quite nice, but wouldn't have been necessary. All in all the romantic tearjerker pieces drag down the OSTs quality a bit, which is why there have to be some deductions in the final rating. Still, the soundtrack to "Sad Movie" is recommendable to any romantic. Actually the songs of Jang Pil-sun are reason enough to think about buying this OST.