The Nice Guy

Nice guy in a not very nice drama

I believe the reason i didn't really like this drama is because it promises something and gave us another thing, or at least that's not what I expected before starting it.

It's a romance, family, drama, but all we got were gangs war.
Romance was very little to non in the beginning, it's all about the two gang leaders and the animosity between the them, of course Seok Cheol is caught in the crossfire.
The family parts is only about the mess the older sister made and the hopeless dating case of the younger, Seok Cheol had little influence on both, he's just there trying to pick up the broken pieces.

I saw someone comparing this drama to "call it love" because it has the same vibes and I agree, it has the same atmosphere but heavily focused on other things aside from the romance.

I believe if they just cut the romance and advertise it as a gangster drama it would have been much better.

Another thing is the slow boring pace, and I mean in general, it's not a calm healing drama, though it has all the aspects of being so, it is about struggling with things you have no influence on, which makes your heart heavy unnecessarily, I'm of course talking about Seok Cheol in this case and I can't not focus on him because he is the ML.

The FL is lovely and adorable but I don't know what they wanted her character to be, in the very beginning we meet this introverted character with a traumatic past that made her life miserable and had a hard time maintaining a job related to her passion for music, she feels better performing in front of a camera than a few people (her words not mine) then suddenly she is performing on the streets, in bars and in front of the whole republic of Korea.

I think the drama is generally good it's just need some polishing here and there, so if you like family dramas and gangs this one is for you, if you are watching for the romance drama part, I don't think you will be satisfied much ~

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A Noir Wanna-Be Tripping Over Its Own Shoelaces in a Muddled, Yawn-Inducing Mess

OVERVIEW:

Oh you shiny promise of gangster noir, family melodrama, and swoony romance... how spectacularly you faceplant! Meet Park Seok-cheol, the poet with a heart of gold stuck in his family’s mob mess, trying to juggle grit, love, and legacy. Sounds like a wild ride, right? Nope. This 14-episode snoozefest serves up pacing slower than a sloth on sedatives, writing so clunky it could sink a ship, and tonal whiplash that’ll have you begging for a neck brace. It’s a jumbled mess of repetitive dialogue and recycled fights, with middle episodes so stagnant you’ll wonder if the plot took a vacation. Seok-cheol’s the only guy you’ll halfway root for, but even his arc gets stuck in the mud. His romance with wannabe singer Kang Mi-yeong is about as spicy as plain oatmeal, checking a box rather than sparking any feels. The family drama is same old loyalty-and-betrayal reruns, no fresh spins. Subplots like Seok-kyung’s gambling debts, Tae-hoon’s love triangle, the doctor’s shady vibes pop up with a wink, then fizzle out or dangle like forgotten laundry, cluttering an already overstuffed story.

Tonally, it’s like the show’s playing genre roulette: a pinch of noir grit, then a hard pivot to soapy melodrama, leaving you dizzy. The gangster bits are so tame they’re practically vegetarian, with zero-stakes standoffs that scream “budget cuts.” Action is rare and duller than a butter knife. By the finale, it sprints through resolutions like it’s late for a bus, leaving loose ends flapping and a bitter aftertaste of “what was the point?” Ambitious? Sure. Memorable? Only if you count wasted hours.


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COMMENTARY:

I dove into The Nice Guy expecting a poet-turned-gangster epic, hyped for Lee Dong-wook as Seok-cheol and Lee Sung-kyung as Mi-yeong in a 14-episode saga of crime, love, and family. What I got was a masterclass in squandered potential, a show so confused it doesn’t know if it’s noir, soap opera, or a rejected rom-com script. It kicks off with Seok-cheol stabbed at a bus stop (ooh, drama!) then promptly trips over its own feet into a genre-blending mess. Seok-cheol, our poetic hero, is trapped in a three-generation gangster dynasty with his grumpy grandpa, wayward dad, and gambling-addict sister Seok-kyung. Cool setup, right? Wrong. It’s a slog of recycled family spats: Seok-kyung’s debts, dad’s crime comeback, Seok-hee’s fling with a sketchy doctor, that loop like a bad playlist. The noir? More like nope. Rival gangs and some shadowy Chairman Kim get name-dropped, but the “threats” are as scary as a puppy. Action scenes are so flat you’ll miss them while blinking.

The romance is a total dud. Seok-cheol and Mi-yeong, childhood buddies, are sold as soulmates via a flashback of him saving her from bullies, which supposedly derailed his life. But their grown-up love story? It’s like watching paint dry, rushing to “I love you” with zero chemistry or buildup. Their big date scene feels like it was scribbled in five minutes. Mi-yeong’s singer dreams are a snooze, her auditions pointless filler that don’t tie to anything. Then there’s Tae-hoon, the cop buddy turned manipulative jerk, leaking gang secrets for… plot reasons? His love triangle is so forced I forgot why it existed. I didn’t care if they ended up together or not. Spoiler: I still don’t.

Pacing is the real crime here. The show drags like a Monday morning, stuffed with filler like Seok-kyung’s endless debts or Seok-cheol’s quest for the family home’s deed. Subplots like Seok-kyung’s kid, Seok-hee’s breakup with cheating Ki-hong, Tae-hoon’s cop shenanigans, pop up, do nothing, then vanish. The writing’s the culprit, with dialogue so heavy-handed it could bench press. Seok-cheol’s family-duty rants and Mi-yeong’s shallow “tragic” backstory are spoon-fed with zero nuance. The tone lurches from gritty to soapy faster than you can say “pick a lane.” It wants to avoid glamorizing crime but ends up with a gangster world so sterile it could be a dentist’s office.

The finale is a slap in the face. The “big” gang showdown is a chaotic yawn, wrapped up with convenient allies and off-screen fixes. That opening stabbing is a high school kid’s revenge for some old gang nonsense, because that’s worth 14 episodes of buildup. Mi-yeong’s career and Seok-kyung’s debts get quick Band-Aids, while her son’s story is ghosted. Seok-cheol’s poetic reflection tries for deep but flops, because the show never built the emotional guts to earn it. It’s a hollow, rushed mess that leaves you annoyed you stuck around.


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FINAL THOUGHTS:

The Nice Guy is the poster child for “great idea, godawful execution.” I wanted to cheer for Seok-cheol, the poet drowning in mob life, but the show’s glacial pace, lazy writing, and tonal chaos make it impossible. The romance with Mi-yeong is deader than disco, with no spark or depth. Tae-hoon’s love triangle? Pointless drama vomit. Subplots like Seok-kyung’s debts or Seok-hee’s fling are repetitive filler, bloating 14 episodes into a slog. The gangster world, meant to be noir’s gritty soul, is toothless, with stakes lower than a limbo stick. The finale rushes resolutions while leaving threads dangling, making you wonder why you bothered. It’s not the worst show ever, but it’s so bland and directionless it’s somehow worse. Skip this one unless you love disappointment. You’re welcome.

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