Celeb Five: Behind the Curtain Review: Make Way for Korean Comedy

Celeb Five: Behind the Curtain (셀럽은 회의 중) is the latest addition to South Korean original content on Netflix. It was released on April 1, 2022, starring veteran comedians – Song Eun-i, An Young-mi, Shin Bong-seon and Kim Shin-young. They aim to show Korean comedy to the global audience through this Netflix special mockumentary. It has a runtime of approximately 55 minutes with Korean audio & English subtitles.

The film is directed by Kim Joo-Hyung, producer of Netflix’s original show Busted!, as well as producer Go Min-seok. With the popularity of Korean content like K-pop, Squid Game etc. Netflix is now bringing K-comedy into the limelight as well with various comedy standups.

Netflix has described this special as:

Jokes and improv take center stage as comedian girl group Celeb Five brainstorms material for a comedy special in this behind-the-scenes mockumentary.

-Celeb Five: Behind the Curtain Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers-

Celeb Five: Who are they?

Celeb Five is a four-member girl group that debuted in 2018 and is composed of experienced comedians in the Korean industry. The group originally consisted of Kim Shin-young, Song Eun-i, Shin Bong-seon, An Young-mi and Kim Young-hee. But Young-hee later departed from the group in 2018 itself. They usually present fun & creative concepts through their songs which resonate with ‘the 80s-’90s glamourous vibe.

Korean comedy: What goes on behind the curtain?

Celeb Five: Behind the curtain is a Netflix mockumentary that follows the four prominent comedians cum singers while they are trying to prepare for their comedy special. It feels more like a reality show instead of, as seen before standup shows. It shows the process of how the comedians come up with the material they are going to talk about during the show. The film opens with Celeb Five members standing behind the curtain (no pun intended), right before they get on stage.

As seen in the trailer itself, the members received the news of their Netflix special from Song Eun-i, the leader of the group. Like any leader in the Korean scene, Eun-i is the pillar that brings all the members together while trying to stop the younger members from indulging in unruly & adulterated behaviour.

Being a veteran in their fields, every member has distinctive jokes that have built their comical persona. Kim Shin-young is the one to watch out for with her anecdotes about her countryside grandmother, living a thug life. Any simple interaction with her can be made into joke material. Her camaraderie with An Young-mi is impeccable while displaying differences between Netflix explicit content & Korean homely content.

Meanwhile, Shin Bong-seon comes in with her element of black comedy & funeral jokes which are actual real-life interactions that will tickle all your sensitive bones. The leader Eun-i, for the most part, is worried that they don’t have enough material or will it be funny for the foreigners, but her sneaky observations about rather unnoticed things are as hilarious as An Young-mi’s provocative gestures.

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Final Thoughts: Stream it or Skip it?

Netflix’s Celeb Five: Behind the Curtain (셀럽은 회의 중), gives us a peek behind the preparation for any standup show. The members of Celeb Five try to show us that their casual meet-ups & discussions itself is a comedy show. It feels like you are hanging out with your group of friends, which can talk about almost anything & have a good time.

Their content is based upon real-life interactions and the peculiar characteristics of Asian uncles & aunties. Coming from the somewhat same culture, their jokes made me nod my head in agreement while laughing & thinking about my own experience. Although many nuances of the original Korean language may get lost in translation, overall it doesn’t stray from the original meaning & keep it pretty accurate.

In the words of Celeb Five, they are not here to break the Squid Game records but to connect with the global audience & give a peek into Korean comedy.

Celeb Five: Behind the Curtain is streaming on Netflix.

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