A cute rom-com
I went into this with zero expectations, ready to drop it after 1 or 2 episodes but the calm and mature storyline held my attention.If you're looking for a passionate romantic tale with a lot of thrilling twists, this isn't for you.
It's a sweet and grounded neighborhood story carried by the cute interactions between the main leads. The relationship between the main leads gets built entirely on their mutual trust and trust gets deepened as they encounter various circumstances.
Usually I'm not a fan of dramas that suddenly change genres in the middle. But the change here was anything but sudden, it was a natural part of the storyline. To elaborate, the first half of the drama mainly revolves around the rom-com side while the second half has a interesting whodunit chase that ends with a shocking twist.
If this is one of your first kdramas you might be left a little disappointed by the kind of smooth storyline with not a lot of standout moments. But if you're an old kdrama fan like me then you'll definitely appreciate the freshness of the story. It's not a "2 people destined for each other" but has a more realistic relationship between the leads which develops naturally as they get to know each other.
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HECK YEAH THE TWIST!
Honestly, after finishing I was glad I held on. Who says what, for me the first half of the show felt watery and dragged, like where this is going. But around episode 8 to 14 things started to pick up and peaked finally with the main 'WHO did it' plotline. After looking back I admit there were places that looked unnatural or unnecessary, but many things still had their own sense, especially after watching the show completely many things fell into place to me.Unfortunately, due to the run time of full 16 episodes the storyline may look watered down, but the general direction of it is: introduction stage, the story of Do Ha and Sol Hee, the stage of 'WHO did it' and the story is wrapped up. At least it was framed up nicely at the end.
Characters and acting.
Sol Hee - I'll be honest, at times So Hyun felt unnatural in her role, but at other times the chemistry between the characters picked up, but these are my own impressions of her. While Sol Hee is a pretty straightforward character, to the point of bluntness / rudeness. Understandable, she grew up hearing lies and it was as if no one was sincere, thus her trust for others is null. But her involvement with Do Ha felt like she got enlightened, because he was of very few who never lied. Although it might sound strange that she's so old and can't distinguish which lie serves which purpose, but who was there to guide her? That's right, no one. Even the peaceful times with her ex ended with a break-up as a result of misunderstanding. But I was honestly happy by the ending and how the integration with the neighborhood served her to be more in the crowd unlike her childhood, yet funnily the one she took a step to be friends with is the one she worked with. Thus I wasn't mad at the filler characters of the neighborhood :D
Do Ha - I must applaude Min Hyun, he nailed it to me. Also his character had wider arc, because he went from the stage of being social phobia to slow integration, to finally getting rid of the shackles that bound him and faced the past. I finished the show for his sake. It's not because of redemption, but he was endearingly sweet and nice. Especially in their relationship. Although it felt a bit awkward at first, but later I even found them cute. It was also gratifying to see his character slowly opening up to life. He was riddled with guilt, but exactly this did not allow to see another direction in investigation from the beginning.
Kang Min - I don't understand why some ppl felt against him. He's actually quite good, he only had a moment of anger against Do Ha, but he was almost the only one who did not stop being a good cop. He never used 'murderer', but always used 'suspect' and he also did not give up to find out the truth, while it felt that others believed that Do Ha was the one. At least this makes him good. He truly loved Sol Hee, but not everyone chooses to go through hardships together, I know plenty of ppl who prefer going through it alone. Thus he let Sol Hee go, but in that time her heart no longer belonged to him.
Syaon - excuse me for my French, but initially she was like a selfish, stalking, toxic bitch. I understand that her characters was redeemed, but I just hated her for what she did in ep4. F u, girl. She was basically like a copypaste of Do Ha's ex, but at least she wasn't completely lost. And that was a big difference. But honestly to me sometimes her acting was a bit not up to par. And also that opened mouth reminded me of Stewart so much lol
Deuk Chan - I'll be honest I interpreted his character in different ways, while the story was being told. And you can't help it, because he is so protective :) The actor played really well I think.
Side-characters: Who said something that there are too many? At least the picture did not feel empty and many served their purpose. Sometimes not only the story drives characters to evolve, but also other characters. The neighborhood bunch was shortened down to few people, they served their purpose of two main characters integrating with others. Do Ha's ex played really well, hearing her story makes you feel less negative about her, but she developed into unbearable girlfriend and caused scenes a lot. The brother of Eom Ji also played well. BUT the biggest prize still goes to Jin Kyung, after seeing her stoic image in Attorney Woo it was such a big contrast to watch a mom who is a fraudster, also is afraid of her own daughter and has an awkward relationship, yet I found her really fun.
As for 'WHO did it' plotline. Usually in such stories it can be divided into: exposed culprit (Like The Hannibal TV series); half-exposed (when maybe it doesn't really matter who the culprit is or the movie-makers just want to tease viewers), but we watch them in intermissions showing only body parts (like hands) we don't see the full face; last are fully concealed (when creators don't explicitly show who the culprit is), so you can guess it by yourself.
Because we're watching romance and that means impossible for creators to be this crazy and make the male protag the culprit, meaning it's someone else. And also, it would be a huge flop if they assigned some random dude for the role. So after watching the drama for some time and touching upon the past you realize that it's the third, concealed one. But if you later put 2 and 2 together, you basically have your suspect list narrowed down. But it wasn't without a twist :) Tbh looking back I realize that some scenes have a different meaning now, but it was quite satisfying to see how it happened and more importantly why. Who knew~, who knew~.
At least with this plotline I was satisfied :D
In a conclusion, I was satisfied with the drama, how it played out. It wasn't the greatest beginning for me, but the second part made it better. The actors did a great job, Min Hyun deserves the praise, he made me hold on and actually in the end I was glad I did. And many others deserve compliments too.
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This review may contain spoilers
hm.
now, i knew i would like this to an extent from the get-go. it's why i wanted to watch it in the first place.— i originally planned to watch this drama last year, the moment it aired...but i forgot all about it. today, i feel extremely bad that i missed out on this gem when i could've been up to date with it. alas, i'm here now. && i dunno if my review is going to make any sense, fair warning.
— it's hooky, & the story is really promising from episode one. it doesn't take long for everything to turn upside down, & i'm a firm believer that the side arcs of this drama were as equally engaging as everything that was happening with our main characters. i liked the pacing, & i also liked how everything was revealed to the viewers, one by one. i don't think that the romance was written badly at all, but i do think that the chemistry, or lack thereof, between the two leads is what painted the final picture of the main dynamic for me...let me explain.
— it got overshadowed by the bat-shit crazy circumstances they found themselves in. there's plenty of scenes & opportunities (romantic per se) that could've been utilized to strengthen their bond, instead of dumping heavy layers of trauma on top of them at all times. there were moments where i just wanted something lighthearted for the main couple, but the universe just wouldn't freaking allow it. to add onto this, i felt extremely bad for kang-min. what could've been a path for his own individual story & finding his own happiness, he was used as a mere puppet for the bigger picture, & his character did nothing to deserve such treatment. he's an interesting character, & i hoped we'd get more of his individual arc...but oh well, not everything can be perfect.
— this drama doesn't get enough credit for completely giving into fan service & giving the most clear, satisfying ending for all of those people who like happy endings. everything was settled, & every single character was shown at the end. it's a breath of fresh air, being able to experience the climax in full. all in all, there were parts that could've been better, & i felt discouraged & disappointed somewhere around ep.13, but the last two episodes saved the entire drama for me.
A GEM.
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A lovely drama that has a great story line progression
It's a great story first of all. The plot is genuinely very unique and the plot twists are majorly unexpected (atleast on my part) and it's incredibly interesting too. I loved how the storyline progression was slow but still had a lot of info going on. The acting once again, was absolutely incredibly awesome. The cast have put together a great show that is very entertaining for sure. The music is not outstanding or anything but it is certainly good and very mysterious... Which suits the plot very very well. Personally I wouldn't rewatch but it's probably worth it. Overall, a lovely drama with an incredibly beautiful plot. 🤥💲👩🏻💼🏘️⚽🧑🏻💻🩸🩴Was this review helpful to you?
Good Enough
Korean Drama " My Lovely Liar " is a fantasy romance about a girl who can detect lies and a man who is done lying.The drama starts off strongly, with the main couple getting to know each other and a love story slowly brewing, with enough adorable moments to support the light atmosphere. The mystery of the male lead's past was another factor that kept things interesting for a while, confusing the viewer as to what was his true intentions.
However, towards the ending, things started getting messy. Sure, the romance was cute and the couple had chemistry, even though the love triangle was underdeveloped and unnecessary, but the mystery wasn't handled nicely and it got chaotic. The use of many cliche tropes as well as boring twists didn't aid at all to make things better. The final episode, in addition, felt like a filler rather than an actual conclusion.
Finally, the performances were enjoyable by everyone in the cast, and the fantasy element was managed nicely.
So, overall, six out of ten.
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EXPECTED SO MUCH BUT ENDED UP DISAPPOINTED.
- Visual Chemistry is okay. But when it comes to the "emotional poignant" scenes, the chemistry synergy becomes "awkward" to watch mainly because of the male lead's STIFF ACTING which has no sense of layers and intricacies. Tbh,, had to skip those parts because it was insufferable!- Considering this one as a "Charity project" for my girl Sohyun. Really felt that her great potential was caged into the ugly and MEH writing of the script which is not intriguing and pulling enough, and like what I mentioned before, the atrocious acting of the male lead here. Also, since this belongs to the senses category, I really thought this would give me the same charm as While You Were Sleeping, A Girl Who Sees Scents, and I Can Hear Your Voice. It didn't worked out well. Expected so much but ended up disappointed.
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This review may contain spoilers
"My Lovely Liar" follows a young woman named Sol Hee, that has an amazing ability, she can hear people's lies. She uses this gift to win money by pretending to be a fortune teller, but strangely her power doesn't work on one person and that's Do Ha, because he never lies. How she lives in a world surrounded by lies, Sol Hee is draw to him and eventually, the two fell in love.This year featured two dramas with the title "My Lovely" and it's funny how they are complete opposites. “My Lovely Boxer” is interesting, exciting and funny, while “My Lovely Liar” is a dull drama and even though there is a murder in the narrative, it lacks tension and depth. The two main actors have no chemistry on screen, so romance is out of the question, at least something that is good.
Kim So Hyun was such a good actress as a child and in her early teens, but it seems that her acting didn't mature after that, it's too difficult to get caught up in her dramas now and here the same thing happened, but the problem isn't it was just her, Hwang Min Hyun also failed to capture my attention.
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Lovely, unique, messy
I like the first a lot more.The story kinda of dragged a lot at the end. They didn't set up the viewers to be invested in the mystery part of the plot so I was only interested in the romance and the characters.
So the show should have ended 1 episode after they got together in my opinion and the killer should have been the father, that way the plot wouldn't be messy. ( too much )
Also I feel like they were trying to create a sense of community/ found family ( I don't know how to explain this well) like in those small town dramas
But I don't think it worked well here as we didn't know the stories of the individuals nor did we need to. So that's another thing that made the drama messy was too many unnecessary characters.
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Lie detector and Major Maserati sponsership
First of all it might seem very childish to mention it in the review but the cars used in this show were absolute beauties .. Maserati is my dream car and watching the various models running in this drama made me excited on different level ..HOPE SOMEDAY I CAN BUY MYSELF A MASERATI CAR.Moving forward to more detailed review .. the story was basically very straight forward a girl can detect lies ( not the real truth) so the supernatural element was very limited to play with. Of course ! When i started watching this show I was anticipating her to use her ability in crime solving and stuff on regular basis but perhaps the writer wanted something else so he made her into a private lie detector or lie hunter who works freelance for money. Okay! fair enough! But for majority of the plot her ability doesn't direct the plot in any impactful way made me think what really is the purpose of adding this element...either way in the end her ability saved the day for ML and everything came together. The Twist in the end was something unpredictable for me.
The characters written are light ... I mean no character is overpowering things are going in cycle .. there is no serious villain for that matter ..each character has its own story.
Cast is decent .. ML is good actor but he can really work on his physique he looks malnourished. The scenes where he had piggyback the FL were painful to watch .. he needs to increase his protein in take and hit the gym ASAP. The second in my opinion was far more handsome, adorable , manly and strong. FL is without a doubt a supercool actress .. I am in love with her since bring it on ghost ..she is such cutie yet acts so mature ( 2-in-1) side cast is equally amazing .. a big SHOUTOUT to the actresses playing Cassandra and FL's mother both are my personal favs . Chemistry between leads is fine ..more to the soft side than passionate.
BGM is just okay nothing fab.
Overall it was a delightful show ..worth one time watching ( I will not rewatch it )
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[heart] [heart]
It started off as bland but then when you started to understand why things happened the way they did, it started getting interesting. Especially the murder mystery embroiled between the characters and trust me, when the real murder was revealed it actually got me by surprise. cuz I NEVER saw that coming!! and the reason behind it is something no one could have guessed! That's why I said, things get interesting when you know why they did to why they did.And a [rose] for Kim So Hyun, my baby is getting better in her acting with each of her projects. [heart] [heart]
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This review may contain spoilers
If you don't have anything else to watch.... check this one ...
the premise of the story is interesting.... a girl that can hear lies and how can she cope with that.In a world where we are in constant "please others" mode... lying is a giving. So you can imagine what kind of life this girl has.
But as a smart woman... she had made a business out of it.
Here I thought.. GOOD FOR YOU! she is not a victim...
Of course, she meets the ML and there is something strange with him.. (typical.. he is the exception to the rule).
I liked that she behaved very normal with him... even though he is super famous and used to have everybody wanting something from him.
She does not need him... that is a big difference.
their romance started with a sort of friendship and moved quickly into something else... that was nice.
the story itself was OK.... It kept me interested until the end...
I took points out because the end was a bit blah....
SPOILER HERE
she decided not to profit from her gift and stop using it as a business... I do not understand why, instead of evolving with it, she quits it...
her romance with ML was cute / a bit childish too. Again one of the many k-couples that have never kissed anyone else, and behave like teenagers, even though they are 30 year old.
Overall.. it is an OK story... if you have nothing else to watch, it is OK.
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