Parents' Guide to Mission: Cross

Some viewers will be offended by the concept of "house husband" this film heavily relies on for its main source of humor. Because of this and other immature perspectives, Mission: Cross ends up a silly, unfunny movie. There are some genuinely funny moments that don't rely on sexism or fat shaming, but most of the jokes and gags rely on distasteful ideas about what roles men and women "should" have in their marriages, families, and jobs. From the beginning, Mi-seon is presented as "masculine": short haircut, gruff, tough, and quick to put down her husband. An entire sequence is devoted to her scolding her subordinates, and the humor in these scenes is derived from the fact that a woman detective is scolding three male cops. The other big source of humor is Kang-moo, who at first often wears an apron, cares for other cops in Mi-seon's team when they visit, cooks, cleans, and organizes all the laundry expertly. Again, many viewers won't be amused by the idea that a man in a relationship fulfilling most of the domestic household roles is by itself hilarious.

So when Mi-seon finds out that Kang-moo is actually this ex-super cop who just made one bad mistake in his past, it renders the premise more offensive in the sense that Kang-moo was just playing "house husband." In reality, he's this super-masculine, great-at-fighting, violent force of nature who knows national secrets. What would this story look like if the roles were reversed? Kang-moo, instead, is the top detective and his wife is the "housewife"/secret super cop. Is this any better? Even if it is, this film is an example of how thinking about gender in an extremely binary fashion leads to limited representation of how people can be, how they live and love in reality. Either way, Kang-moo and Mi-seon are forced gender archetypes and stereotypes. Mi-seon as the exact opposite of a conventionally "feminine" woman is also a stereotype in this film by the way she is merely the opposite of what she "should be." The two main characters also show no actual love or affection for one another, and there is zero chemistry. Even though the film is a comedy, the main characters should still feel like they actually fell in love once. Here, it's as if they are each just playing a role.