The story is so good. The characters are really good. IU really have improved I lot, I've always loved her.
I can definitely vouch for the interesting storyline. Tho not bias since I also work for an engineering company, but the development of the leads are what's the word? Profound? I just love how the story developed and especially the resolution. The ending is satisfying. My top annoyance on potential very good dramas is one, the ending. Haha but this drama pulled it off so well.
<3
Was this review helpful to you?
Story- 10/10 I am giving 10 because main heart of the story was mid life crisis and all other mental problems faced by middle class adults of all ages. It was frighteningly real. I will not go into romance part bcoz I will not even consider it in actual story.
Writer - (7/10) Park Hae-Young wrote such a wonderful script but in order to write a romance she ended up ruining it. It could have been a perfect masterpiece but it felt short of it bcoz of Romance. Writer lost her sense of purpose in last 4 episodes. In first episode it has been clearly said that without romance drama couldn't be successful thats why they included woman in the drama and it actually felt like it, romance was the most unnecessary part of this drama and that's what ruined the last 4 episodes. They could have easily skipped the romance part and presented as normal healing relation bw boss and employee. I will deduct 3 points out of her work because I feel like she forcefully added romance to make it a hit, either she was forced or decided to earn money by sacrificing a great story. She is such a big writer she could have easily held her ground and would have decided against it but she didn't.
Camera work: (5/10 ) Camera work for such a great drama was not upto standard, felt like somebody has employed novice to the work. In the first five minutes of drama they chose shaky effect but it was so shaky that I felt dizzy and in later episodes it was quite lacking too. In one of the episodes where ML enrters in the restaurant to meet his ex director, just when he opens the door, his face is covered with foggy apearance and not clear bcoz of shitty camera work. Effect chosen for the Drama are of some1 who is new to effects.
Director- I didn't find much of reason to criticise the direction, director pretty much held the drama together.
OST- 10/10. I have not found a single drama where IU has acted and OST want good. Every IU drama makes me wanna search for OST.
Acting-7.5/10 Although Acting was decent on everybody's part but some stalwarts like Park Ho-san seriously failed to give his best, he is such a good actor but I felt like he never really felt like acting in the Drama hence he decided not to put his heart into it. This drama made good actors look bad. And dont let me start on actress Lee Ji-Ah, her acting never looked good in front of great actors. I dont get it who decided to emply her for the role.
Makeup artists, Costume designer- (4/10) in last 4 episodes it felt like even they have given up on drama. They dressed the ML so badly in last 4 episodes that it felt like ML has changed to some other actor. To make IU look too miserable, they chose a makeup that would look good on a person who has been forzen in ice, I mean what's up with too much red undereyes.
Apart from that a great story depicting the realistic lifestyle of Korean middle aged men, Hardships in life faced by both young people who didnt get to meet right persons in their childhood and Hardships faced by adults even after trying living their life the way society expects them to be.
Was this review helpful to you?
Indeed, if someone has a man like Park Dong Hoon in her life, will never be hopeless in life !
But I thought Kang Yoon Hee should will get a bad luck in her life cause of the treason... It's not justice to continues to life like nothing happens !
And about IU, this cute girl i've to say, she is perfect ! But i think she could use more feelings in her character as any person !
Overall, it's one of the most amazing dramas I've ever seen ! <3
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I don't know how to react to this drama. Surely, the cast is great. The acting is also superb. The story is very unique...but sometimes too unique.I don't like how unclear the ML feelings for FL, if there's any. Like I know he's just too decent and kind, but sometimes his actions lead me to believe he indeed fell for the FL. Other side characters also affirm to my thoughts but he never did put blatant actions to pursue her... and that ending too. It's fine if they didn't went to that romantic sides too but at least be clear.
It's nice to watch it but I won't probably rewatch it. It's just too painful that my soul is still feeling the pain.
Was this review helpful to you?
I've watched the main lead before in coffee prince and 'My wife is having an affair this week' and the female lead was an amazing actress despite her young age of just 25. She has received many criticisms for being an idol actress but her acting is far superior than many veterans I've seen. She managed to deliver her lines and portray the characters in her previous dramas: "The best lee soon shin", "The producers" and the best of them all: "Scarlet heart". She always managed to capture my attention regardless of whether she was the female lead or not. I was a bit hesitant when I heard she was playing a depressing, mature and witty role this time as I was so used to her cheerful characters in the above mentioned dramas, but she really proved herself to be a versatile actress in this drama, one I'm really looking forward to seeing in future dramas :)
Anyways, once i got to the middle of the episode, I was totally glued to my screen and unable to divert my attention elsewhere. The cinematography, the A-list actors, the story, the characters, everything made me fall in love with this drama. And before I knew it, i had already reached the end of the episode and was once again awestruck by IU's acting and found myself clicking the next episode, and the next, and the next, till I had already reached the end. The ending was also perfect for me.
The chemistry between the leads was also surprisingly good. I thought it would be difficult to show romance since ML is already married and FL is too young but man, their actions, expressions and their eyes when they look at each other were enough to tell me how they feel for each other. No words were needed. Now, this is what I call amazing acting skills!
A must watch for all K-drama lovers, regardless of whether you like this type of drama or not. Just watch at least until episode 2. If it still doesn't catch your interest, then just move on to another drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Though each character is pitiable in their turn they all have human faults and strengths. Each is relatable not because you can see yourself in them but because you can recognize their humanity. It was incredibly slow at first and difficult to commit to for that reason. It is also not a drama to be binge watched. Instead My Mister should be taken slowly so that it can seep into your skin and down to your heart. But if you can get passed that it is worth every minute of your time. You may ask what is so captivating about two brothers running a cleaning business, a poor girl harassed by debtors, a cheating wife, or a middle aged salaryman and I would answer that it is their humanity. This drama so perfectly captures the human condition that it at times frightened me with its understanding. I cried so many times over this drama. It moved me in a way only the best novels have ever done before.
Don't let your misconceptions about the age gap blind you. This is not a romance. It is simply about people. People struggling to live and being forced to keep going no matter how much it hurts. And it was beautiful.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Depressingly comforting - a real take on life’s ups and downs
StoryA story of mediocrity, suffering and human weakness - sure to tug at your deepest fears.
My Mister explores the layers of everyday people. The slow pace was deliberate and meticulous forcing you to feel the frustration and complexity of human decisions. It is uncomfortable in its real-ness where the viewer cannot simply draw the line between good, bad, admiration or abomination.
This drama explores themes such as:
1. An adverse childhood and how it shapes adult demeanour and decision-making
2. The hopelessness of a stale marriage and decisions it drives
3. Love and piety to family
4. Seeing yourself in another disguised as compassion for their suffering
5. Finding meaning in living and being content
6. A mother’s unconditional love and support
Acting:
I enjoyed Lee Sun-Kyun’s restrained portrayal of Park Dong Hoon. Best scene - confronting his wife with his bottled up anger and despair on full display.
Also intrigued by IU’s take on her character. The coldness and steeliness one would need to survive the harsh realities having nothing.
Reflections and learning:
In the greyest moments of your life, there is hope, solidarity and love. You only need to take a closer look.
Was this review helpful to you?
"You're Nice".
There was something profoundly heartfelt about My Mister. This is a drama - a true drama - about pitiful people for pitiful people. Our main characters are essentially losers, outcasts, jokes amongst their peers. However we learn vital lessons through their actions, we hear healing stories as well as heartbreaking ones.Park Dong Hoon is the man everyone wants to be while also being the man no one wants to be. No one is more genuine and honest than Dong Hoo, but that affects his life in a huge way. No set of brothers are so close to each other that when one is sad, they are all upset by proxy and feel guilt at any form of happiness. That bond is unbreakable. And thus, this affects his home life with his wife feeling isolated, lonely and, herself, an outcast. Of course, this leads to her being unfaithful with one of the few people Dong Hoon dislikes. But My Mister is so much more than a story about infidelity. It's about the hardships of life. Nothing is more evident than his relationship with a subordinate, Lee Ji-Ah. A broken person who is stuck in a life of debt, pain and frustration. Lee Ji-Ah spy's on Dong Hoon because of the affair under the orders of CEO Do Jun-Yeong, who is sleeping with Kang Yui-hi, Dong Hee’s wife however she develops love for Dong Hee in the process and begins to help him in this struggle. Is My Mister about romance? No, but there is a clear returned love between the two characters, as shown through dialogue and visual storytelling in Dong Hee’s case. But again, there is a maturity to the relationships as well. My Mister is so multi-layered in that regard. Outside of our main story of lust and politics, there is the comonardary with the brothers and the neighbours friends of Dong Hee. And the subsequent stories that are splintered off and are given just as much meaning and purpose to the story as Dong Hee’s climb to the top. There were so many characters, so many plots that were quite frankly perfectly executed and mapped out flawlessly.
Every episode felt like a movie in itself. There was a long run time with each episode which was risky because it can feel long winded. However the lengthy time run only made me feel more immersed in the story. It made me feel a part of everything. When it was sad, I felt it. When it was happy, I was happy. My Mister played with your emotions. And that was thanks to the immaculate performances from each character. IU and Lee Sun Kyun especially. Kim Young Min as Jun-Yeong as well. It's difficult to pick out certain people because this was truly a team effort.
My Mister was very sentimental, sad and euphoric at the same time.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
if you haven't watched this what are you doing with your life, exactly?
⚠️ this review contains vague spoilers in terms of plot and heavy spoilers in quotes and character dynamics. read at your own risk. ⚠️(those on my friends feed will know that i watched the last three episodes twice the day i finished it and cried like a bitch. i rewatched them this morning again, bc they contain some of the best moments in this show, and still cried like a bitch. i have no excuse)
i said i would take some time to collect my thoughts after finishing this, but i still don't know exactly how collected i am rn? @Shiro and @AnQuat put out their most recent editorial on screenwriter Park Hae Young (the mastermind behind this masterpiece) and i looked at my notes and decided that if i didn't post this i would be 1. missing out on the opportunity and 2. this might never see the light of day bc i just like to procrastinate
should probably preface the actual word dump by saying that i have a ptw list that is suffering atm and before this ran me over like a train wreck, last week Sunday i was THIS close to starting Stranger. was literally on Dramacool about to click on the first episode when i got a YouTube notification, went to check it, saw a FMV for this drama in my recommended, suddenly recalled that the Lee Sun Kyun was in it, and abandoned all plans with Cho Seung Woo and Bae Doo Na for the weekend. i will make it up to the both of you, somehow, after i explain how my heart was ripped out of my chest with this
Lee Sun Kyun. (i watched Coffee Prince recently and was slapped with the SLS so hard i think something broke inside of me—this show aired almost exactly nine years after that and the fact that his voice is still as,,,,,, how should i put this without sounding jealous of his wife,,,,,,,, f*ckable as it was back then? is illegal, should be illegal, constitutes grounds for a legal suit—this is why they call him The Voice ™ in Korea and that is entirely valid, imo, so why tf do on-screen women keep cheating on him 😔 no one in this cinematic universe appreciates the blessing that is having this man as a committed life partner with a stable job and that's a crime) IU. (i have yet to watch Scarlet Heart which, in the drama community, is akin to murder so idk about her previous skills but here? she acted her ass off with this role and we have no choice but to stan. immediately added to the list of artists/idols who actually know wtf they're doing when they crossover to the film industry) Park Ho San. Song Sae Byuk. Lee Ji Ah. Kim Young Min. (kind of an assh*le here but he's hot! and apparently older than LSK which sent me for a f*cking loop bc he does not look like it) i was going to wait until Viki stopped being homophobic and gave me back my QC benefits to support my fellow subbers but the call of 750p and no ads was too strong—watch me rewatching this in December in HD just to see how different the subs are so i can get away with a trip to therapy
“some girl told me the other day that she's 30,000 years old. she says that if she counts up all the times she's been reincarnated and all the birthdays she's had, it will probably add up to that. and she says she doesn't know why she keeps being born. but i know. it's because this world, here, isn't her home, but she keeps making a mistake and thinking it is. so she keeps coming back. and then she keeps thinking of how to return to her home, and just keeps being reborn.”
no one in this show had the right to be this talented. no one, not the screenwriter, not the director, not Lee Sun Kyun, not IU, not the supporting cast, i'm going to lay that out on the table rn. the delivery of the lines in here have destroyed my storage bc i kept pausing every five minutes to write it down,,,,,, and the body language? (every time a man's hands shake i simultaneously gain and lose fifteen years off of my life. when they throw up i tack five more years onto that total. Dong Hoon did both in the last episode and idk what to do with myself after this) the way things are said without being said, partially utilized in the impeccable addition of sign language? the parallels? the subtle references to previous scenes, previous dynamics, previous dramas, even?
it's “she's here. the girl with the pretty face.” / “he's here.” and “just say sorry. say ‘i was wrong’ ten times. say it. hurry up and say it.” / “i was wrong. i was wrong. i was wrong.” and “you think it's because of my willpower that i haven't had anything happen? ani. there's been no temptation. there's nothing to be wary of, so i'm not sure if i have any willpower at all.” / “don't do it. don't do it, are you listening to me?” (ft. the Coffee Prince vibes almost immediately after This Scene ™, bc Park Dong Hoon brushing back his hair from his forehead looking like he's just fought a war is the 2010s equivalent of “i was just shaken, that's all. i don't feel anything for her, truly, i don't—” “how would you know? you've never been shaken before. i have.”) and (Dong Hoon to Ji Ahn) “live by the name that you were given” / (Gyum Deok to Dong Hoon) “be selfish and take care of yourself. be happy. you're allowed to do that” = “i do not want you to suffer bc of the things you have had to do to survive,” along with my personal favorite, which is so good it needs its own line in this block of text despite the fact that Ji Ahn is blatantly lying in the first half,
“... why do you like him? tell me. i'm curious.” “i don't like him. i want to ruin him.” ... “you must have come to this neighborhood just to save me. i was on the verge of dying, but you were the one who saved me.” = “my savior Han Joo Won, who came to destroy my life.” = “the savior who came to destroy me. my Tamako. my Sookee.” (ignore the fact that i have not watched The Handmaiden. focus on the vibes) *screeches*
on that point (and building off of the Handmaiden quote) i have seen some people say that Dong Hoon and Ji Ann's relationship is purely platonic and i'm sorry but i have to disagree, i really do, bc i literally saw a comment on Dramacool that said “imagine loving someone so much you love to hear him breathe” in reference to this quote (“i liked hearing all of the sounds you made, ahjeossi. and all of your words, and thoughts, and the sound of your footsteps… all of it. it felt as if i saw what a human being was for the first time.”) and this,,,,,,, coupled with the way she knows him better than his own wife,,,,,,, with the way she eventually leaves bc she does not want him to have to understand that,,,,,, with the way he still goes looking for her, bc it is too late for him not to understand (“if you get to know a person… nothing they do bothers you. and i know you.”) ,,,,,,, all of this,,,,,,,, i cannot NOT see this as a love story
and bc of that, My Mister is very forgettable but then it isn't, in a way? there's a specifically rewatchable aspect to it that allows for the opportunity to never get tired of the plot and that imo is its strength, but i can guarantee that three months from now i will be minding my own business and then my brain will choose to pull the almost-kiss scene side-by-side with thoughts like “how far can you go before love is not just love but ferality, all teeth, all claws, all hunger, all untouchable with longing, an i-did-not-expect-you-but-you-are-here-and-i-am-learning-to-understand-that type ache” and “he is a deer caught in the headlights and still he tries to understand why he will not move in the face of it, why there is so much death he is willing to court for one girl” and “they are human, they are human, they are human, and they starve,” bc they do, they do—
in a nutshell this show is basically just *motions* a bunch of literary excerpts and feelings! i can quote so many from both in show (like i have already) and outside, like that one excerpt from Ilya Kaminsky's poem "After Bombardment, Sonya" that goes “you can f*ck anyone / but with whom can you sit in the water?” but without the actual, physical f*ckery, and Mary Shelley and Mary Oliver (and the latter's lesbian soul) coming out here and saying that they would invent the foundation of the second half of this show on the basis that every good plot needs some kind of genuine sorrow and despair bc “you must not permit sorrow to destroy you” and “you do not have to be good. / you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. / you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. / tell me about despair, yours, and i will tell you mine. / meanwhile the world goes on,” and Hanif Abdurraqib going off on the one-sided Kwang Il/Ji Ahn dynamic and saying “there is intimacy in the moment where the eyes of two enemies meet. there is a tenderness in knowing what desire ties you to a person, even if you spent your dreaming hours cutting them a casket from the tree in their mother's front yard. it is a blessing to know someone wants a funeral for you,” and—
*inhales* it was consistently “six feet under the f*cking floorboards” time for the entirety of this series but it's a 10/10, pry that good sh*t out of my cold dead hands
(something that another person in the Dramacool comments pointed out in the last episode and that eventually wrecked me as a result of being more good sh*t is that the meaning of the hanja for “Ji,” “之” (or alternately “至”), is to “arrive, to reach, to get.” the meaning of the hanja for “Ahn,” “安,” is to “comfort, to live comfortably, to be at peace.” Dong Hoon's last line, then, is this—“have you reached comfort, Ji Ahn?”)
but all of this—all of this—would not have been possible without the OST, and the OST will live rent-free with me for the rest of my life. what i initially thought was Sun Kyun's voice as a surprise (and possibly unreleased?) OST in the middle of episode 8—but what eventually turned out to be One Million Roses sung by Ko Woo Rim of Forestella (who was only 22 at the time [!!!] and is also getting married to figure skating legend Kim Yuna this year in October)—is a blessing to my eardrums either way while managing to sound almost exactly like Sun Kyun in terms of enunciation and i need more of it. Adults by Sondia puts me on the operating table, flatlines me and sends me to the autopsy department.
this sh*t has obtained “Pavlovs me into crying every f*cking time the OST comes on” status and the only other things i can think of that rank the same are Goblin, The Red Sleeve, a very specific section of The Devil Judge, Goodbye, My Princess, The Untamed and Sado. Love Me by Nafla is also the unofficial theme song for Dong Hoon and Yoon Hee and Hello, Stranger by KAI is the theme song for Dong Hoon and Ji Ahn, am not taking questions at this time
the length of this review is scaring me but TL;DR: get your ass over to Netflix, Viki, Dramacool, whatever tf people use to watch dramas these days, and if you're like me and are 4 years late to the phenomenon, watch this. watch it, and cry, and then suffer through a drama slump for the foreseeable future bc there is nothing—nothing—in this particular genre that can top this.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
the feelings conveyed in this drama deeply touched my heart. we all have different experiences but we share similar feelings of and understand too well the emotions of human suffering, pain, loneliness.. this was a very comforting drama. i loved many scenes but one scene that comes to mind at the moment is the ending...when the waters calm and the storm clears. i also hope to reach that place where the sea sleeps.love, empathy, vulnerability, resilience..
FL is an outstanding character; her resiliency is inspiring. i really appreciate ML's presence and the comfort he brought. their relationship remains very dear to my heart. i loved the way it developed and changed and grew. and tho the relationship wasn't necessarily a romantic kind of love, i personally accepted the hint of romance at the end.
also, i grew to...not love..but feel a bit affectionately towards the character that collected her debt (I'm bad with names lol). if only the adults around younger FL and him were kinder and more understanding, things could've been different. none of his actions were excusable and I'm not trying to romanticize his character but i feel sad that a lot of this could've been prevented. I'm glad the writers gave his heart some peace at the end.
thanks to the old cleaning guy and the grandma.....thanks for showing FL kindness and love. thanks to ML's friend who owns the bar, and thanks to the support system surrounding ML (tho i didn't quite like the whole aggressive masculine thing going on with the men..lol sigh)
i said i wouldn't write a lot but here i am lolll anyway,,, thank you to IU and Lee SunKyun for bringing their characters to life. their performance with the story gave me some comfort and kept me company. tbh I'm left speechless bc I'm so touched haha
*i would've given this drama 10 stars if not for the glorification of the drinking culture and i also didn't appreciate several aspects of the family/gender dynamics depicted. usually i can overlook these things but they hit closer to home so i couldn’t bear to give it the remaining 0.5 oops
**also, while I'm at it, here's a few things from the top of my head that i want to mention (these aren't reflected in my rating bc i can overlook all this in dramaland lol). i wish we were given more backstory to FL's "best friend". i wanted to like him more, i really did, but i couldn't bc i didn't know enough about him. i also wanted the writers to show more empathy towards ML's wife. i don't justify her cheating on him but i do empathize with the pain and loneliness she felt. honestly i skipped some of the scenes with the monk friend and i skipped most of the scenes with the celebrity friend and the ex-assistant director brother.
Was this review helpful to you?
Everything is the End of the World (until it isn't)
I had absolutely no expectations for My Mister. I went in pretty blind, just wanting another 'healing' show after finishing Hospital Playlist 2. The binge-watcher in me usually tends to struggle with slow burns, especially ones which deal with heavy topics. But, oh my god, did My Mister turn out to be the sweetest surprise of my life.This show is perfect. There are no two ways about it. I'm not a very confrontational person, but I'm going to say it: if you disagree, you weren't paying attention. The writing is perfect. The acting is perfect. The OST, the cinematography, the pacing, the ending, the relationship between the main two. Everything adds something to the plot, to the characters; no second of screen time is wasted.
Watching this drama reminded me of the closing lines of one of my favourite poems, Night Walk by Franz Wright. It goes: "Walking home for a moment / you almost believe you could start again. / And an intense love rushes to your heart, / and hope. It's unendurable, unendurable."
You know that feeling when you're so happy, or in love, or whatever positive emotion you can imagine, that your heart literally hurts? Like it's momentarily caving under the sheer weight of the beauty of the moment? That's what this show feels like to me. I can imagine Ji Ahn and Dong Hoon walking home in the dark, with their coats and scarves and Ji Ahn's poor frost-bitten ankles, side by side, each thinking of these lines. It's unendurable. Unendurable.
Life is so goddamn unendurable sometimes, isn't it? It's painful and unfair; sometimes it's like the odds are completely stacked against you. Oh well, that's life, deal with it, right? But that's not true. Because sometimes life can show us these beautiful moments, these moments of love and hope that warm your heart so much it may feel like its on fire, that make you think, okay. Maybe there's a light at the end of this tunnel, somewhere. Maybe I can stop lamenting my unendurable life and start counting my unendurably beautiful moments and maybe, just maybe, life will turn out beautiful. And it does. It does for Dong Hoon. It does for Ji Ahn. And it will for you, too.
Thank you, My Mister, for showing us how painful and beautiful life can be, and how to endure it either way.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
