You probably have experienced it before: the point at which nothing seems to work in your life, and you feel as if you are on the verge of going insane. The protagonists featured in this feel-good comedy find just the right cure for their problems through a trip to Romantic Island.

Romantic Island is perhaps the perfect promotion film for Boracay island in the Philippines where all the leading characters of the film are headed for various reasons. Fittingly, the film also starts with exuberant Soo Jin (Lee Soo Kyung), standing in front of a holiday advertisement for the tropical island resort. Later it becomes obvious that in spite of Soo Jin's joyous nature, she feels the need to escape from her surroundings, most of all her current job in which she has to face a boss who makes work rather unpleasant for her. Jae Hyuk (Lee Seon Gyun) on the other hand is a well-to-do high-level businessman who dedicates his life to work, seemingly unable to pay attention to anything else. All of that changes after he is summoned by his half-sister to the Philippines where an urgent family matter forces him to come to terms with his personal life. The two very different characters initially meet in a hotel lobby as strangers, but through the course of the film, Soo Jin's charming nature eventually brings about a much needed change in Jae Hyuk's life attitude.

Parallel to this story we are introduced to famous singer Ga Young (Eugene) who decides that it's time for something different after she undergoes an emotional breakdown. While she takes a spontaneous trip to shake off her stress, she runs into Jung Hwan (Lee Min Ki) who needs to cool down for a while after he is dumped by his girlfriend and remains unsuccessful in his attempts to find a job. Initially regarding Jung Hwan more as some kind of bodyguard than a promising new acquaintance, Ga Young, surrounded by the spellbinding beauty of Boracay island, develops a growing interest in him.

Finally, there is Joong Shik (Lee Moon Sik) who suffers from a tumor and sees no other way out but to commit suicide to ensure that his family can benefit from his life insurance deal. Considering a holiday as the perfect cover-up to end it all, but met with difficulties in taking his own life, he hires a killer, but finally decides to stay alive for the sake of his wife Yoon Suk (Lee Il Hwa) and daughter. Unfortunately, the assassin remains uninformed of the changed agreement, and is already closing in to relieve Joon Shik from his misery once and for all.

Whereas the final part of the story may pass on the impression that this movie is a bleak affair, the total opposite is true. Engaging performances by the leading cast, well-timed humor, tropical beach settings, and a background score of summer sounds filled with emotional mandolin solos all contribute to turn Romantic Island into a likeable happy-go-lucky film. Mainly offering a look at life through rose-tinted spectacles, Romantic Island got me in a holiday mood, and makes for a refreshing view after a hard day's work. If you don't have your plane tickets to a faraway island yet, you may want to try this life-confirming comedy for a mental boost.