Cons: NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE WEBTOON, infuriating exes, questionable motives, cliche galore, repetetive... yea this one can go on for a bit.
In summary, if you read the webtoon (or the summary above for that matter), get ready to be dissapointed because them getting aqainted to try out food was like 2% of the whole story, the beginning half was one coincidence on top of another mixed in with a cliche here and there. The progression in their relationship was patchy and gosh darn those frustrating exes which never existed in the original webtoon. It would be a stretch to call this jumbled mess of a plot an 'adaptaptation' of the webtoon, which was far more subtle and thorough.
It's a cute series to watch with your fastforward button handy, cause none of the scenes without the leads are really important or worth watching. Except the homeless guy maybe.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is such a light heart warming drama!!! I'm so glad I decided to start watching this!!!The two main leads are so adorable together!!! The story is not too overly cute that you'll get fed up, it was not too mature that you'll easily get bored. It was a right mix of everything. The concept of a "dinner mate" was so simple but somehow it was a unique concept.
The script writing, directing, casting, acting was orchestrated well!
I really loved the idea of "not staying with a person who is uncomfortable to eat with", because though this is common sense to some, I know a lot of us still tend to push this idea aside. But yeah, as a food lover and a kdrama lover I really loved this drama.
Song Seungheon and Seo Jihye Fighting!!!! Congratulations to the whole team behind this drama!!!
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1This review may contain spoilers
I can't speak words, gor how feel good this show is.
This show won't be the deepest or most intricate you have ever seen or will ever see, it's just a feel good show for when you are down. The cast have great chemistry, a little lacking in that there are some plot holes, but feel good enough to watch more than once.A major aspect of the romance between Do hee and Ha Kyung is the dinners they share and how simple yet fulfilling a meal can be when you are with a person you can speak your mind to, and this facete of the show makes it unique. The supporting cast were also a pleasure to watch although the end scene between Young Dong and No-eul was expected yet still weird to watch.
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A good drama, to see especially for the performance of the actors
Series where the talent of the actors more or less compensates for the inconsistencies of the story.Plot: A dynamic FL leaves for Jeju Island (as a surprise for her fiance) and finds out that he is cheating on her. A visiting psychiatrist helps her. They meet regularly in Seoul as anonymous "dinner mates", which allows them to confide in each other without a mask.
This Dinner Mate series should have been called the oblivious, selfish exes.
I know that the return of the ex years later and who wants to retrieve their lover, is a usual cliche of the dramas, but there, we have 2 exes who return at the same time, that's too much!
Moreover, in real life, it is UNREALISTIC! An ex who comes back to bother me 5 years later, I kick him out and that's it! The screenwriters should show a little more creativity and realism, seriously... Not to mention the boss who encourages the ex in his reconquest of FL when she knows what pain the FL had to overcome during the breakup. Is she really a friend?
The "psychological" side of this drama is not credible, neither coherent. It is a good things to approach this type of subject, but it takes research and a good domain's knowledge to write correctly about mental illnesses and therapies.
That being said, the actors are EXCELLENT, the 2 leads are mature, intelligent, interpreted by brilliant actors who keep us hooked to the screen despite the inconsistencies of the story. The secondary couple brings a note of humor, freshness; they are very cute.
The OSTs are great!!
The realization is dynamic (without length), with neat framing and very beautiful images.
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Série où le talent des acteurs compense à peu près les inconsistances de la story.
Plot : 1 FL dynaique part à Jeju Island et s'aperçoit que son boyfriend la trompe. Un psychiatre de passage l'aide. Ils se retrouvent régulièrement à Séoul comme "dinner mate" anonymes, ce qui leur permet de se confier sans masque.
Cette série Dinner Mate aurait dû s'appeler les exes inconscients et égoïstes.
Je sais que le retour de l'ex des années plus tard et qui veut récupérer sa/son lover, est un cliché habituel des dramas, mais là, on a 2 exes qui reviennent au même moment, ça fait trop !
De plus, dans la vraie vie, c'est IRRÉALISTE ! Un ex qui revient m'ennuyer 5 ans plus tard, je le mets dehors et basta ! Les screenwriters devraient faire preuve d'un peu plus de créativité et de réalisme, sérieusement... Sans compter la boss qui encourage l'ex dès son come-back dans sa reconquête de la FL alors qu'elle sait quelle peine a du surmonter son amie lors de la rupture. C'est vraiment une amie ?
Le côté "mental ou psychique" de ce drama n'est pas crédible, par cohérent. C'est bien de vouloir aborder ce type de sujet, mais il faut des recherches et une bonne connaissance du sujet pour aborder les thérapies.
Ceci dit, les acteurs sont EXCELLENTS, les 2 leads sont matures, intelligents, interprétés par des acteurs géniaux qui nous tiennent accrochés à l'écran malgré les incohérences de l'histoire. Le couple 2aire apporte une note d'humour, de fraicheur, très cute.
Les OST sont super !!
La réalisation est dynamique (sans longueur), avec des cadrages soignés et de très belles images.
=> Un bon drama, à voir surtout pour la performance des acteurs.
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It's not something new, at the same time, it's sophisticated
I came to this drama because of Seo Ji Hye, and I made the right choice. This drama is something I need to refresh my mind in the midst of stress.I've watched almost all Korean RomCom dramas from 2014-present, and let me tell you, the story itself is not something new. There is a sense of familiarity between Dinner Mate and dramas like Another Miss Oh, or other dramas that involves shameless exes trying to get back together. However, at the same time, this drama has a fresh feeling to it. It's the perfect drama for people who loves watching typical RomCom without feeling bored.
As for the actors/actresses performances, they did a great job. I particularly enjoyed the 2 ML's acting. Song Seung-Heon's acting is as detailed as expected. Usually when doing an act of uneasy feeling, actors can come off as flat, or even awkward, however, Song Seung-Heon did a great job portraying it. Lee Ji-Hoon too, he did an excellent job portraying a man with obsession disorder who has a painful and pitiful backstory. I just wish he got offered more interesting roles as a main male lead.
I rarely state anything about music in drama reviews, however, one of the most impressive element on this drama is its soundtracks. This drama has one of the best soundtracks in my opinion and I've saved multiple of their songs on my playlist.
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Warning: Stay away from this, it is not suitable for your mental state, time and data
There was a lot of pulling drama. The whole story which should have been completed in 8-10 episodes was forcibly made into 16 episodes. The ex-boyfriend-girlfriend shit was beyond limits. The first half of the story is interesting and the second half is uninteresting. There are also some irrational flaws in the story, like Keanu could have told everything to the protagonist in the first meeting but he kept things to himself. If I look at the entire episodes, I will give 1-2 ratings. Because I liked the first half, I give it a 5 rating. Many people say that it is a heart touching drama, but nowhere didn't it feel like an emotional journey for me. The characters had confused and complicated emotions. Because of which, watching this drama, I did not feel love or relief, but felt tension.I have mixed feelings, but I'm less happy, more annoyed with this drama because of the way it's pulled off really irritate me .
Sometimes high rating/famous dramas are not good, I also watched this after getting influenced by ratings and people, now feel like I wasted my time. When this drama was released, my heart felt that it would not be good, and I ignored it. and my instincts were right
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This was soo painful to watch
This probably went from becoming one of my favoutite shows to one that i despise.PROS
- ML is kind and extremely caring
-Fl is played by Seo Ji Hye
-Acting is good......... Yep That's all.
CONS
The FL was suffering from heartbreak from her previous relationships. Meets the ML. Decide to become friends. After a series of events likes him. He noticed the hints and confessed. They date. She dumps him for no reason. She pities herself even tho she dumps him. ML has to be the bigger person and always runs back to her. they date again. she dumps again. she pities herself again. Ml has to go and comfort her again. This happens at least 2 more times. Till ep 14 which is pretty much most of the show she still sides with her ex sometimes and the ML has to act like he fine She also lied to him and never really opened up to him up till ep 15 whereas ML gave his all to their relation ship. It felt so one sided i found it hard to watch. Just because the EX has mental disorders doesn't mean he can do anything he wants and doesn't mean she have to do anything for him, especially since he was extremely shit to her,
I truly felt she didn't like the ML up till ep 15 (he had to get in an accident for the stupid biatch to realize). As for the ML's ex she was just a bother in the beginning but layed off soon only.
You can even check the ep ratings and how they dropped from 8.3-8.8 all the way to 7.2-7.8
Anyways enough of my ranting but i would not recommend this show for how infuriating it was even though it started so well.
PS: WHAT MADE ME LOOSE MY SHIT WAS SHE LIED TO ML SAYING HER MOM WAS OVER WHEN IN REALITY HER EX WAS AT HER HOME. EVEN WHEN SHE FOUND OUT THE ML KNEW SHE JUST KEPT QUIET. ISTG I WANTED TO PUNCHED MY MONITOR AT LEASSST 20 TIMES WATCHING THIS SHOW. UGHHH SO INFURIATING.
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Watch it 8_10ep before giving up.
●I took my time for the show to grow on me, so it was 8 ep (or say 4ep of 1hour) that clenched me to watch it until end. I was literally slow watching 1ep a day and wanted to give up but health-care is my profession so didn’t want to drop it. Good drama, enjoyable but failed to impress on psychiatry and the treatment basis. I liked all the deep and meaningful conversations happening throughout not just the leads but everyone. They were touching and meaningful.●Story- everyone read the synopsis and two people meet on jeju islands and coincidently keeps on meeting. So they decide to be DINNER MATE, then there is return of the Ex's. then the story is slow and there is one more couple of a homeless man and a Female CEO, who also bond over food. This drama is more of love of food.
●Acting- everyone was amazing. My favourite is
▪︎Park-ho-san as Keanu, the homeless man. He nailed the character of homeless man. His makeup, hair, clothes, were bang on which actually made me sympathize with him.Well his laughter reminds of JANG HYUK.
▪︎Seo-ji-hye as woo do hee was amazing, I actually enjoyed her eating food scenes, as if thats the most delicious meal. She was confident and determined and knew what she wants. She always spoke her mind.
▪︎Song-seung-heon as kim hae kyung was good. I liked his character as a person but not as a psychiatrist. As the writer did poor job in researching and treating the patients. It wasn’t his fault but that aspect affected the character a lot.
●Music- each OST was exceptional. Lyrics and music perfect.
Ovan-ost1 and Yummy-ost2, its lyrics was amazing. It felt so good when I read the translation. The hunger and invitation of dinner in the lyrics was WOW. An applause to the song-writers.
Midnight Cinderella-ost5 was like a dream song. It felt as if its written for me.
Dear my star-ost3 and more than words-ost4 were also worth listening.
●Rewatch- I would watch it but not anytime soon, this drama also has lot of plot-holes, maybe I get to understand while re-watching it.
● Appreciation- I loved the proposal scene, while having food, it goes well with concept of dinner mate. Not usual like Ring and going knees.It was Simple and lovely.
●Criticism- writers should have put more effort on the clinical aspect of food, as the ML was treating them with food, he felt as nutritionist more than psychiatrist.
As this drama was also a bonding over food, I wished if they showed more good shots of food.
I was confused with the character of jae-hyuk, yes I understood him during his few scenes that he is a stalker but were the writers trying to make him into culprit or a sympathizing character.
Keanu past wasn’t written properly. He is homeless man, then he wears suit and comes to meet ML, then he again starts on his career as psychiatrist.
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A REFRESHING FEEL GOOD DRAMA WITH A GOOD STORY
I didn't have high expectations from this drama, but I enjoyed it a lot more and I thought I would. The story progresses at a steady pace, and it surprisingly has a good amount of substance and depth in the story. The acting was great and the chemistry between the leads was strong. The female lead certainly deserves more main roles in K-dramas. The whole experience was great, and the ending was good as well. Highly recommended if you wanna watch something lighthearted, but different and wanna feel satisfied with the end.Was this review helpful to you?
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Letting Go of What Was and Accepting What Is
This show is not perfect, and at times, it can be a little slow but regardless, it is an enjoyable watch. It did a good job showcasing the romance between two people who have become jaded about love after suffering painful heartbreaks while delivering on good character development for all involved. The series balanced light and fun moments with witty and sophisticated dialogue. It also showed depth in dealing with heavier themes like mental illness and the pain of loss, and the struggles of moving on. Another plus point was the OST, and the show almost always hit the right dramatic notes during heartbreaking scenes while transitioning smoothly to more light-hearted scenes. I liked the tracks, all of them, including the instrumental pieces.I loved the references to 'Crash Landing On You", and I had a faint hope that maybe Seo Ji Hye and Kim Jung Hyun may reunite in 'Dinner Mate' with a happier ending for them. Of course, that was not to be. Instead, we have Seo Ji Hye paired with Song Seung Heon resulting in a lovely, heart-warming story of a man and a woman who found love and comfort in each other's company as they share their lives through having meals together. I love that the our lead couple's story started with them crossing paths on Jeju Island, and through a string of coincidences led to them choosing to be dinner mates with certain ground rules like not sharing personal information about each other. That kicked off a comfortable relationship that allowed them glimpses of each other's brokenness, and eventually to them letting go of their past and starting anew with their own sweet romance.
Seo Ji Hye shined as the unpredictable, cool, and energetic Woo Doo Hee. She played such a different character in CLOY, and I did not expect to like her so much as PD Woo. She was charming, natural, funny, and the role of a strong, sassy FL who held her ground fitted her perfectly. In my book, Seo Ji He has proven to be a note-worthy leading lady. Song Seung Hoon's chemistry with her was magnetic, and as the charismatic psychiatrist Dr. Kim Hae Kyung, his acting was on point. I find it refreshing to have a leading man who is a true dramaland Oppa; mature, good-looking, suave, sexy, and most importantly, caring. From the very beginning, he was kind and considerate to Doo Hee, looking after her and keeping her company on the day of her breakup despite them being practically strangers. Throughout the show, we can see the dashing doctor going out of his way to help others. Honestly, Song Seung Hoon made my heart fluttered so much that I am on a mission to watch more of his shows.
The supporting lead stars were equally and effectively great in portraying their roles. Lee Ji Hoon left a lasting impression on me as Jung Jae Hyuk, Woo Do Hee's ex-boyfriend, who had to deal with his own family troubles and the resulting trauma. He was so good at emoting, switching easily to tearful, heartbreaking scenes that made me cry along with him. We can understand why Jae Hyuk left Doo Hee so suddenly, and I think one can also relate to his desperation to winning her back. For a while, I was rooting for him; that's how good Lee Ji Hoon played his role. On the other hand, I felt more hate than love towards Jin No Eul, Hae Kyung's ex-girlfriend, who wanted him back after realizing that he was still the best catch for her. Son Na Eun did a good job as the possessive, self-absorbed social influencer who eventually came to accept her past mistakes that led her to lose Hae Kyung. Additionally, Ye Ji Won and Park Ho San as Nam Ah Young and Keanu, respectively, provided lots of hilarity during their quirky romance.
I thought this show was under-rated on MDL, and I noticed quite a few negative comments were about how the show focused too much on the exes. I disagree - I found that the exes provide the right amount of tension, and it's the kind of conflict that I have come to appreciate about K-Dramas.
Overall, I recommend this heart-warming show about second chances and acceptance, accepting that some things are not meant to be and that it is never too late to look for happiness.
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Dinner Mate is one of the best romantic drama of 2020! why?
The OST is super fascinating and it perfectly fit the drama, the cast did very well in their acting especially Song Seung-Heon and Seo Ji-Hye plus their chemistry as well as the plot; (Would you lIke to Have a Dinner with Me) for me is a strong and imaginative title for it seems to value family, friends and or relatives enjoying their everyday meal in their every day life and it proves in the drama by means of different kinds of experiencing food to eat not being lonely but being with our loved ones! INDEED A GOOD HEART-WARMING ROMANTIC DRAMA THIS 2020, KUDOS TO THE PRODUCTION TEAM, CASTING TEAM AND TO THE WRITER AND DIRECTOR WHO MAKE THIS DRAMA WONDERFUL! WELL DESERVED.Was this review helpful to you?
