‘Sweet Savage Family’ Is Funny, Sweet And Occasionally Savage

"Sweet Savage Family" is a comedy about family, one seemingly ordinary family with two kids, and the larger gang family they belong to.

Yoon Tae Soo, played by Jung Joon Ho, is a gangster. He manages some shady businesses and has no compunction about delivering savage beatings. But he's not all bad. The reason he joined a gang was to support his mom. And he's not tough with everyone. He worships his wife, played by Kim Eun Ok, and gets very upset when she nags him. But he is used to it as his never-satisfied mother nagged him before that.

And while Kim Eun Ok's character has made her peace with the fact that her husband is a gangster, she is no pushover either. When it comes to defending her children or her husband, she is ready to take on anyone, from fellow parents at her children's school to the head of the crime syndicate.

She's the member of a women's organization that consists of the gangsters' wives. They engage in genteel activities like drinking tea together and practicing music, but their favorite activity is one-upmanship.

Yoon Tae Soo was doing well in his crime syndicate,. The crime boss, played by Kim Eung Soo, considered him a son, although this made the boss's son jealous. That son is played by the actor Jung Woong In, who has played wonderful villains in "I Hear Your Voice," "Empress Ki" and "Yong Pal." He decides to sabotage Yoon Tae Soo's plans to grow the gang's empire.

Yoon Tae Soo convinces the boss to invest in a film, only to discover that the filmmaker is a con artist and has absconded with his money. Then the filmmaker turns up dead in the trunk of his car.

Complications ensue and some of them are pretty funny.

While this crime caper offers a far from an original plot, the characters are so complex and the plot twists so fresh, that it's fun to watch.

And there is some eye candy for k-pop fans in the form of Yoon Tae Seo's son, played by BtoB's Lee Eun Hyuk. Girl's Day member Bang Min Ah plays the girl who crushes on him and their relationship has the potential to set a Romeo-Juliet type feud in play. Her dad is the crime boss's son.

The drama opened with an impressive 9.1 percent in the nationwide ratings. Ratings dipped slightly to 8.2 percent by the fourth episode.