Main Cast: Lee Jong-Suk, Im Yoon-Ah, Kim Joo-Hun
Summary
Big Mouth is a South Korean thriller following the story of Park Chang-Ho (played by Lee Jong-Suk), who is an unsuccessful lawyer. Chang-Ho is infamously known as “Big Mouth” by his clients, peers, and friends due to his constant promises of grand results despite his inability to deliver and keep his promises. Despite his embarrassingly low success rate and incompetency, Mayor Choi Do-Ha (played by Kim Joo-Hun) hires Chang-Ho as the defense attorney of the Gucheon Hospital Murder Case where a doctor was found dead in a car trunk.
Although the outcome of the case has already been predetermined to find the 3 perpetrators as “not guilty”, Mayor Do-Ha compares this case to David vs. Goliath that will help launch Chang-Ho into fame and guarantee a steady stream of clients since he will appear on national TV. However the mayor requests that Chang-Ho act as a “double agent” and share any key details and “dirt” he finds on the 3 perpetrators and their ring leader Gong Ji-Hoon.
Chang-Ho successfully acts as the 3 perpetrators’ defense attorney however, he is suddenly framed as “Big Mouse”, a mysterious criminal who is notorious for drug distribution, illegal gambling, and other nefarious activities to scam Korea’s wealthy elite. He is quickly imprisoned at a prison that is reserved for the country’s worst criminals. Desperate to save her husband, Go Mi-Ho (played by Im Yoon-Ah) dedicates herself to proving her husband’s innocence as she infiltrates Gucheon Hospital to learn more about the murder. During his time in prison, Chang-Ho leverages that he was framed as Big Mouse to prove his innocence and protect himself and his beloved wife and father-in-law since Gong Ji-Hoon refuses to hurt him until he receives his 100 billion won. As Chang-Ho impersonates Big Mouse he successfully gains support of the entire prison as he advocates for better treatment of the inmates and eventually bribes the warden. However the longer he continues to pretend to be Big Mouse, people become increasingly skeptical if Chang-Ho is actually innocent.
Thoughts
Big Mouth is definitely a dynamic drama; it’s entertaining to watch the story go back and forth between Chang-Ho’s past life and his current life as a prison leader. Unlike the majority of the criminals in the prison, Chang-Ho is well-educated and leverages his knowledge of the law and intellect to win over his fellow prisoners as he attempts to protect himself and identify who wrongfully imprisoned him.
Ironically Chang-Ho’s law career is considered unsuccessful due to his lack of wealth and connections, however once he is framed as Big Mouse, he suddenly finds himself holding an immense amount of power and influence in the prison world. Lee Jong-Suk does a great job at portraying Chang-Ho’s evolution from a scared and defenseless lawyer to a cold-blooded, ruthless criminal. The sudden switch from acting as Chang-Ho to Big Mouse is seamless and it’s captivating to watch as you can’t help but wonder if the line between these 2 characters will eventually blur together. It also begs the question of wondering who is the real Big Mouse and how has he managed to remain anonymous for so long?
