This review may contain spoilers
DO NOT PUT YOUR GLASSES LENS-DOWN ON THE PAVEMENT YOU MONSTERS!
TBH, I skipped over this one many many times before I decided to watch it. The plot sounded weird and I wasn't sure what sort of drama it would be. After having watched it...the plot is definitely weird and sparse and it probably would have been a really bad drama, but the actors and the director for sure took this thin weak plot and turned it into something entertaining. The dialog is written pretty well at various points, so that helped. The music was well timed and themed to the drama's events, which is always nice.By far, the best written and acted role was Yi Do's secretary (played by Kim Ki Doo). That little dude, I liked him so much. He was never judgy or overbearing, he listened when he needed to listen and always asked the right questions or made the right comments with genuine concern. Usually these side roles in dramas end up being overbearing and annoying because they are designed to keep the leads from accomplishing their goals to create...well...drama. But that little dude was 100% of the time the friend all of us wish we had. He didn't get much of his own character development or back story, but somehow every scene he was in was outstanding.
The other actors/actresses were good as well. They did a great job with their emotional responses and chemistry with each other. The villain was appropriately evil, that dude always plays a great villain. He's got a sort of wobble in his voice that just makes him sound so greedy and spiteful and mean. Most of the fashion in the show was decent as well...except...why the literal crap did they keep dressing the main lead like he was the child of Herman Munster?? Like...ok, dude has massive cheekbones and always looks a little gaunt anyhow, and he's beastly massive, so your plan is to dress him in obscenely oversized clothes with chin to waist ruffles?? TWICE...he wore that god awful ruffle shirt TWICE. Or harsh lined weird full box box clothes?? When he wasn't cosplaying as an Amazon box painted black, he was cosplaying as a vampire from the 1500s. It was SUCH a weird choice. Like...imagine a cute anime goth boy with an oversized hoodie that has arms so long they drag the floor...but then stick that outfit on an 8 foot living gargoyle...that's what his outfits were like. Dude is super hot, it's like they went out of their way to make him look freakish.
The film effects were a little weird. Like intentional shaking and unsteady camera at times that seemed a little extreme for the scene, or these massive screen spreading lens flares. Initially I thought, oh the weird diffused light and lens flares are comedy for whenever the idol dude comes on the screen, and so I was fine with them. Like lol it's the hot guy again. But then they started doing them all the time and it got a little painful to watch. Not like painful-ugly but like actually physically painful from having bright lights glaring at you while you're trying to watch the actors speak.
Aside from those few small complaints, the one thing that really rubbed me the wrong way in this drama...like made me cringe and want to just shut the whole thing off... was the scene that played a few times where the child version of the lead dude falls onto the ground, takes his glasses of, PUTS THEM LENS DOWN ON THE FLIPPING CEMENT, and cries. Look. I'ma be honest with you here. I've been wearing glasses my whole life, and at no point in my life ever have I not cringed when accidentally setting them lens down. The pure unbridled rage I feel watching those lenses, which are for sure scratched to hell now, being set roughly onto pavement almost ruined the entire drama for me. Mr. Director, do you have ANY idea how ANNOYING it is to look through scratched lenses? People who wear glasses take GREAT CARE, even while having a tantrum on the ground, to not scratch their MF GD lenses. That alone should have put this drama in the horror category.
I should also say, I thought they did a decent job dealing with the whole fat person vs thin person social issues. Sure, they could have done better, but they could have done a lot worse too. Mostly they came out on the winning side of the equation though. They handled things respectfully but realistically without trying to stuff social justice down your throat or fat shaming the characters.
All in all, it was a much better drama than I anticipated. I wouldn't watch it again because it's a one-and-done sort of drama, but I do not regret watching it.
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It's not all about fat shaming. Give it a try!
This drama is a little deceptive, in that it starts out seeming that it’s going to just be a funny romp, but turns into an emotional ride with a lot going on. At the beginning it was a little too slapstick for me, and I pondered giving it up, but decided to stick with it, and I’m glad I did. I went from possibly quitting to “just let me watch one more episode before I go to bed”.The writing: the writers did a good job with the comedy, but really shone with the emotional scenes. You really get a feel for what each of the characters is going through. This didn’t seem so much about fat shaming, but more about the consequences of the person that gets shamed for being fat. It also speaks a lot to living your dreams and not letting anyone stand in your way. I’ll tackle the actors/characters to address this more fully.
Actors: I felt that all of the actors were good in their parts. I’m only going to address the ones that stood out to me. Shin Sung Rok as Seo Yi Do was brilliant in this part. Here is a man that has the world at his feet, who made his dreams come true because of his first love; however, he was a complete mess. He had a list of phobias and allergies longer than your arm. He was arrogant, cocky, immature, rude and completely emotionally closed off. It doesn’t take long for the viewer to see slow but sure changes in his behavior. The first time he attempts a smile, it looks like he’s afraid his face will crack. As he begins to develop feelings for Ye Rin, Sung Rok does an excellent job of showing that wall around him starting to crack. Sung Rok is gifted with the ability to do physical comedy, and that comes in a lot in this show. But I was really impressed with the emotional scenes. My heart just about broke watching that one tear fall from the corner of his eye. Go Won Hee as Min Ye Rin was very good. She was terrific at acting like a 40-year-old, giving advice to her juniors (which always confused them!). Some of the things she did and said didn’t quite make sense sometimes, until you remember that she’s supposed to be 40 years old. In some ways, it was watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly – her self-esteem was so non-existent and she just wanted to be invisible. Her body language was good in that respect. STANDOUT PERFORMANCE for me was Ha Jae Sook as Min Jae Hee. She played this part perfectly. Even in the scenes that were supposed to be funny, she was able to convey her overwhelming heartache, just with her facial expressions. The character of Jae Hee was one that was totally beaten down by life – cheated on by her husband, emotional abuse, giving up all her dreams, mean daughter, just to name a few of her issues. My heart went out to her in any scene that she was in – her feelings of defeat and her vulnerability were almost palpable. A brief shout out to Kim Ki Doo, who played Yi Do’s secretary – he normally plays kind of goofy characters. In this he was very likeable and I really appreciated the way the writers wrote his character and how he got the inside track on what was happening before everyone else. Another shout out to Jo Han Chul, who played Jae Hee’s husband – this is another actor that normally played kind of loud, quirky characters. In this show he was chilling. He progressed from just a self-absorbed man to a psycho. It was scary to watch.
The OST was lovely and the music really lended itself to increasing the emotional impact of the scenes.
Chemistry between the leads was lovely and there were a few really nice kisses.
I have to admit I was a little confused by the ending, and disappointed that it was so abrupt, but watching Yi Do living his life in faith, believing that he’d see Jae Hee again, was lovely.
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Degrading fatphobic garbage
This series, like many others, resorts to the stereotype of making humor at the expense of overweight people. They laugh at them and not with them, by making their existence a joke and posing that they are all unhappy, dirty, lonely, bitter and that they only exist either to contemplate their own death or to want to lose a lot of weight, adapt to beauty standards and fall in love with someone attractive.And I'm not talking about the “being fat is unhealthy” debate, because in any case, being extremely thin isn't either. But it is despicable to see a series bent on the idea that a woman can only be happy if she becomes socially accepted for her beauty. There is never any genuine or interesting reflection on how society pressures women to follow unattainable standards of beauty, never is the necessary message sent that all people deserve dignity and happiness no matter what body they have.
Instead we get stupid humor, exaggerated characters and ridiculous fantasy about the origin of the mystical perfume that makes you lose weight. I also didn't need to see the protagonist's abusive husband for so long.
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Really Funny
I laughed all the way through this drama. I think part of my amusement came from seeing Shin Sung Rok get his butt kicked by love because he was such a villain in "My Love From the Stars" and "The Last Empress". The story is very unique and the characters are even more unique making this a joy to watch . You can't really guess anything that will happen in any episode.Add to that the glamour of modeling and fashion design with very beautiful people and the whole thing really is quite riveting. The ending was a little off but still good and tied up the whole entire series quite comfortably.
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Not a perfect drama but is still good nonetheless
It is the type of drama you would watch for relaxation or after a day of pure tiredness, the comedy is not over the top like how some other dramas are and actually lifted my mood up. They realistically highlighted how easily our self-esteem can be damaged by the current standardised beauty expectations in the media and how it is not a piece of cake to just learn to love yourself. I love the actors and actresses in this drama, especially Shin Sung-rok with the way he portrayed a shy yet straightforward man that had a bunch of phobias. The character is iconic and is a whole mood. I really don't know how else I would expect a character like that to be portrayed in the drama, and there was not really a cast member that dragged the drama behind in terms of acting skills. There are some times where I cringed at Min Kyu's parts but I don't know if it's because of his character or acting, I'll need to watch more of his projects to know. The wholesome chemistry between the ml and fl kept me watching this drama and I would love to continue following their future projects!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I think this is one of the underrated kdramas. It was actually very interesting and entertaining. The story was well-written. It is a fantasy, but I never found it corny or boring - really no boring episodes.It is a great idea that Shin Sung-rok would play this kind of role. He is really a great actor - either a villain or a comedian. I think it was in "The Last Empress" kdrama where I realized that he can also be a comedian, and it's great that months after the end of "The Last Empress", this drama was released. And it was really good.
Kim Min-kyu is so cute and funny. I find him very entertaining. Also, I love how he and Shin Sung-rok fight over Go Won Hee.
The story is really great, and very mature. I love how things ended.
#perfumekdrama
#perfume
#kdrama
#mustwatchkdrama
#mustwatchkdrama2019
#funnykdrama
#shinsungrok
#kdramahookedbylady28
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This review may contain spoilers
“Perfume” is an excellent production! The drama, although not perfect, is fun, heart wrenching, heartwarming, innovative, surprising, and a real treat to all the senses. The cast was phenomenal bringing their characters to life. Even though Go Won Hee performed very well as Min Ye Rin, the character that rounded the drama and gave depth to the story is really Min Jae Hee, portrayed by the amazing Ha Jae Sook, which is a very talented actress and she gave a stellar performance. Last but not least, Shin Sung Rok. His portrayal of Seo Yi Do as a quirky, sometimes childish and other times a profound and intense man brought the drama to a full circle. The drama is not about fat shaming but it shows the pain and frustration that can potentially leads a person to his/her doom when the people that you love is ashamed of you simply because you’re overweight, and also the inner struggles of this particular person about not been able to come out of the shell that she created for herself to escape the harsh reality of been shunned by your love ones and society. The drama is really romantic but it lacks passion among Seo Yi Do and Min Ye Rin on their romantic scenes. It is all much better when Seo Yi Deo is with Min Jae Hee; there is a sparkle on his eyes and so much tenderness, if only they would have share a kiss, the drama would’ve been perfectly finished showing the real love between Seo Yi Do and Min Jae Hee. Still, a great drama, enjoy it! Was this review helpful to you?
A drama that still has the comforting essence and of k-dramas from back then.
A very lovely drama as lovely as the poster.
Go Won Hee was so lovely and Shin Sung Rok as Seo Yi Do was such a tough looking sweetheart.
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This review may contain spoilers
BEST ROMANCE - Perfect! Except...
I have a hard time suspending disbelief with rom-coms, and the CEO character is now boring for me as a 21 year old. There were so many overused tropes, and the work had such a predictable story-line. It was amazing. What an amazing watch. Exhilarating. I believe this work encapsulated the love I wanted to see.If this was simply "a masterpiece", like how viewers on IMDB rate The Dark Knight, Casablanca, and The Godfather, I might have just added it onto my list, "completed", 5 stars. Maybe a comment. This work goes beyond it. It deserves a "proper" review.
If I had dropped this series, say, episode 10, or 11 (I wouldn't, though, the story is just too charming), I wouldn't see the most important piece of the puzzle, episode 18. Our hero, Ego (E do), stands at the end of a pier, looking over the lake where he grew up and almost drowned in. He's thinking about the past, he's thinking about his love, and he looks up, and our heroine, in her original, natural form is there, looking back at him. He reprimands her for pushing him away, he says he wished to be with her, at any point in the journey. He would be with her. She doesn't remember him. He lets her go. He walks back to the house, and continues his romantic journey with our heroine's "red shoes" appearance.
He is so fickle and vain, how can he love her, even as she was old, and obese? obese in a way that is usually always played for laughs, for a joke? so fat she isn't human? How can he still love her as she is married?
Usually this stupid "i met you when you were five, and i fell in love" trope kind of pisses me off, like, we could do without it right? I remember in Skip Beat (many other issues...), I thought "oh here we go, so annoying", and then the author just kept bringing it up and up and up again and eventually its been beaten into you so hard you just have to accept it...
Here, I don't think I could imagine the story being half as good as it is if it didn't include that previous first love trope. And look, this scene, maybe it would be boring, cliche, uhh, other synonym for drab and stupid or something, but before it, he sees her. Natural her. Like, not some drama hallucination of her, he really bumps into her as she is FIGHTING her NO GOOD shit EATING BITCHASS EX-husband (nearly ex...) for HITTING HER DAUGHTER. The punk pushes her off him, she trips backwards, ego catches her, "are you okay?", the whole schebang, and when she leaves he goes outside, and he smiles softly. I think "huh, whats the matter with that? does he know the "red shoes" version is magic? does the natural version remind him of her, and he just loves her that much that hell smile over a random stranger? wtf?", and the episode continues as usual.
He recognized her, he saw her living strongly, fighting, and later on, on the pier, he released himself to go (right back to her EEEE :)).
It's the pacing. The pacing creates a real feeling to the story, it makes the happenings seem true, it's not forced, it's not rushed, and even though it's not a 12 episode drama where everything happens in the span of the pilot and you just have to watch the rest to figure out how all the tropes laid out for the viewers will be tackled. I never found myself bored watching for 32 episodes.
That is,,, except...... uh. The secretary. The brother. Aiaiaiaiiiii god.... fuck me... that shit. I can't. I can't. It's so unnecessary. It's SOOOOO UNNECESSARYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. I wish they handled it more like "Touch Your Heart", where the ex is not so PAINFULLY controlling, where the brother is not... god. that part. that part is so bad. The brother has no reason to act like this. Let them be, please just stop. You're the side couple, stick to your side of the story. fucking, oh my god, so ANNOYINGGGGGG. THIS. THIS IS THE REASON YOU DON'T GET 10/10. FUCK. FUCK. just erase itttttt fuck me that shit had me nearly yelling at the screen (it did make me yell multiple times, but im lying for the sake of appearance) SO unnecessary.
And the music, was not bad... it was music, it fit the drama. It didn't get in the way, it wasn't distracting. I dont claim to be a music expert. Tell me, though, why, before that beautiful episode, the release, the acknowledgement that our psycho CEO is human, more human than most the cast, his love is realistic, even with how unrealistic this story is, and especially given how unrealistic his standards are, he is the most human.
Tell me why before that incredible moment, you had him doing some shitty russian jig to the fucking PAPYRUS THEME MUSIC??? i fell out of my chair with that. LITERALLY, i moved in a sigh of "wtf" and fell out my chair.
Anyways this is the best love you can find in a drama, that I remember... right next to "Touch Your Heart", "Padam Padam", and "I am Not A Robot". But maybe that just shows my taste :')
Maybe I'm too young, maybe I haven't seen enough soap operas, but all those overused tropes seemed fine to me, the predictable story was enough to keep it going, and the CEO male lead wasn't as aggressive and overbearing as they usually are (completely contradictory statement to Ego's character on paper).
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