Cinderella at 2 AM

Somewhat funny, somewhat bitter, somewhat... something

I am puzzled.... not sure what to make of this one.....
There were a lot of opinions about the FL acting... most of them negative. And I kind of agree....

Story is not bad..... Yun Seo agrees to break up with Jun Won because of their different backgrounds and expectations.
Only... it is easier said and done... Particularly because Jun Won is the most amazing boyfriend you could imagine.... and he decides not to let her go.

So far I have come across a few dramas where the ML is just unrealistically nice...
This is one of them....

Ju Won is rich, handsome, caring, funny, loyal... the whole deal.... only min point, a bit young but I forgive him for that...
Actor Moon Sang Min plays him wonderfully... he is simply adorable. In his suffering because his girlfriend left him, he is super cute... in his resolution not to accept the break up... he is a champion. I was rooting for him all the time.

Now, FL is a different story. The character was written to be plain.... which was delivered accordingly.
This is a woman that suffered child abuse horribly by both parents, to the point she had to run away in her early teens, with her little brother, in order to survive.... Because of that, she became a practical, realistic individual...

that is fair and relatable.
BUT
The way she was portraited... it delivered no emotion in me. The scenes of the child abuse are terrible, those one made me cry, but for the rest... she is very bah... which is a shame.
She agrees to break up with Jun Won, and later on realizes that she loves him and can not be without him...
really? I would not believe it.. she looked pretty normal to me.

Now... the 2nd couple was AMAZING and lifted the whole show ....
Seo Si Won (Yoon Park) is one of the most versatile actors I have seen so far... he is just adorable, cute, like a teddy bear. One moment he plays ruthless CEO, the other he is confused man about his wife and how to deal with her...
His interactions with his contracted wife Mi Jin (Park So Jin) are hilarious... so adorable... they made my time watching the show worth it.

same effect as in Business Proposal... and I would love for them to get their own season.

This is a fluffy story, good to pass the time.... the big lesson is that your mind can say but the heart rules.

Would I watch it again? Nope

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Thank goodness it was only 10 episodes

Standard Disclaimer - This is only my personal opinion.

It has been quite a while since I've had such a visceral reaction to a rom com. I binge watched this just to finish it, and yet I felt like I was watching it for a month. For me, this is time I'll never get back. I don't usually go into a rom com expecting something outstanding and fresh, I'm pretty patient with tropes, I can usually ignore age gaps and unrealistic people as teenagers, but this show was bad on so many levels, over and over again. I felt like I was watching Groundhog Day. I could have started a drinking game with the number of times the ML and the FL talked about breaking up. "We're breaking up", "we already broke up", "we should break up". MULTIPLE times in episodes 1-9 followed by them looking longingly at each other, or having lunch dates even though they broke up, or spending the day together as their "last day". These things are nothing new, but everything was just so repetitive.

It wasn't all bad for me, though. Episode 10 redeemed it enough to raise my score.
Things I liked:
1) Secondary couple. I love Yoon Park and Park So Jin, and they were the cutest arranged marriage couple! I would have been happy to have more of them and none of the main couple.
2) The cutest scenes were in episode 10 when the boys kidnapped their mother. I was laughing out loud, and seeing the boys interact with a mother that they really didn't seem to know anything about was funny. I have always liked the actress that played the mother, and when she finally got the stick out of her butt, I loved her.
3) Beautiful architecture, especially the wedding venue in the last episode.
4) The music was good.
5) The last episode.

Things that just didn't sit right with me:
1) The main couple. Don't get me wrong, they were really cute when they were together, but that was MAYBE an hour out of the whole show. She was obviously older than him, which I don't have a problem with per se, but often she seemed more like his mom, partially because he was so immature.
2) Too much immaturity in the ML. He spent a lot of time pouting.
3) Too much drinking, and every time they drank there were consequences that they had to apologize for or pretend didn't happen. You'd think they'd learn. Another reason I had a problem with the drinking was the FL had an extremely abusive drunken father. I would have thought that she'd stay away from it.
4) Kim Tae Jung as the FL's high school brother. I like him as an actor, he was way too old for this role. Not to mention, in real life he's older than the ML.
5) The reasoning for the mother buying off the FL. That was never adequately explained.
6) The FL taking the money and breaking up with the ML. If you can do that, you aren't in love with him. PLUS, you took the money, broke up with him, and then walked around in misery for the entire show. She was depressing to watch.
7) Hair and makeup. This sounds mean, but whoever did the FL's hair needed to get a clue. She has ears that protrude away from her head and all the hairstyles that had her in just drew attention to her ears. As far as makeup, the men had more lipstick on than the women.

I would never, ever, EVER recommend this show to anyone, except maybe to suggest skip episodes 1-9 and just watch episode 10. You'll still get the gist of what is going on, but you won't have to slog through the rest of it.

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Rom-Com or Rom-Don't?

After watching this quirky rom-com, it’s clear that it heavily relies on familiar clichés. If you’re not into the genre, you might want to pass—think of it as the fast-food version of romantic comedies, missing the depth of a well-crafted drama.

The plot is straightforward, featuring the classic tale of a working-class girl meeting her Prince Charming in a modern setting. However, the dialogue falls flat, and the love rivalry between the male lead and the supporting character, who has a one-sided crush, lacks excitement. Plus, those two coworkers can get pretty annoying—how does someone so self-centered and gossipy fit into a PR team at a big company?

The breakup between the leads drags on longer than necessary, and while the female lead starts off as smart and independent, she quickly becomes rather dull. As a viewer, I found myself caring less and less.

Interestingly, the most compelling character is the male lead's brother, who genuinely cares for his sibling and navigates his arranged marriage with a heart of gold. The mother also adds a unique touch; she’s not your typical “evil step-mom” or “evil mother-in-law.” Instead, she's a realistic woman balancing the roles of mom, dad, and a company chair.

With the right expectations, this drama can be an okay watch, even if it’s not one you’ll feel compelled to revisit.

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Missed its mark.

It had potential but ultimately didn't reach it. I never thought it would be a drama that would hit it out of the park, but I thought it might have some hidden depths. The drama started out good, they explored some issues in the beginning and I liked how understanding the ML was. He is clearly a green flag. But the story was very subtle and didn't leave much of an impression. The ML's brother and his wife were more interesting to watch as a couple.

Every week I tuned it expecting that something would happen that would break the linear path it was on, but it never got to it. So, I am a bit disappointed. But it did have the power to make me complete it so there is something there.

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Better than the other Cinderella kdrama but I wish for more depth

I needed something light & romantic to watch after finishing Again My Life. Moon Sang Min's face was heavily promoted on Viu so I chose this drama. Cinderella at 2 AM is light touch romance drama with moments of seriousness.

What I liked:
1) Moon Sang Min - He has this sweet, kind face. This is my first time watching his work and I enjoyed it. For a leading man with this characteristic, he's alright.
2) Yun Seo chracterisation - It's great that her past was shown to the audience because then I understand why she is the way she is - fiercely independent woman who is focused on raising her younger brother. I cried when scenes of her childhood was revealed - I did not expect that at all.
3) Si Won characterisation - I also enjoyed knowing Si Won outside of work. Such a quirky but sensitive character.
4) Seong Min - At first I find his character creepy but later on he turned out to be a great guy. I wish he formed a tighter friendship with Yun Seo because they have a lot in common.
5) Yi Rae & her Uncle - Great support system for Yun Seo and Ji Seok. Plus I love that they brew their own maekgeolli.
6) Music - I love most of the songs featured in this drama, which is quite rare for me. Love the 80s vibe of the OST. Standout songs are Sweet Drama and Boyfriend.

What I disliked:
1) Romance - The romance between Yun Seo and Ju Won was sweet but I wasn't convinced at the end and I sided with Ju Won. I don't know why they needed a wedding when Yun Seo doesn't seem to be ready. I also wanted more of Si Won and Mi Jin's romance. They were so adorable but only got together in episode 7 if I am not mistaken.
2) Si Won and Ju Won's mother - She is selfish because she acts more like a chairwoman than a mother. I still don't understand why she opposed Ju Won's relationship with Yun Seo. Overall I find her character poorly written.

Favourite scene
Yun Seo's childhood because I see the love she has for her brother.

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The most incredibly forgetful "Cinderella" story

I'm absolutely amazed the actors chose to participate in this project. The writing is just so juvenile and cringeworthy, as if they hired someone straight out of junior high. Even a high schooler could write something at least more compelling. There's also zero chemistry between the leads, and again, zero chemistry among their fictional characters. When they finally get together and she calls him "honey", I cringed at the name. They acted and seemed more like brother and sister than an actual couple. Only in the flashbacks do they seem normal and sane. I understand the ML is young, but I'm just astonished he's getting lead roles when his acting skills are still in their infancy. I will say this, though, he is damn tall and handsome. But that's about it.

To be fair, though, out of all the dramas I've watched, ironically, this one has the best two lines put together. "Gosh, I thought I was a prince. Turns out, I'm the fairy." I legit cracked up at that delivery. I also loved the upbringing storyline, but they never explored that further. How did she manage to raise her brother alone when she was barely 13 or so when she escaped her father? How did she legally escape? None of these things are answered. Her little brother also had the best character growth, but we never again saw the consequences of his fight at school. It's like the writers shelved coherence for nonsequential plots. I honestly have no idea why the ML had an older brother. I admit his acting was miles better than the ML, but his character and his wife's character really weren't needed at all.

So is this the worst Cinderella drama? No, the story really just has the Cinderealla name in the title and nothing more. The drama plays it safe, far too safe, and requires zero input. At best, it's background noise or a drama where you can just shut your brain off with little to no expectations. Watch if you have absolutely nothing else to watch, if you must.

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Thinking of this drama? DON'T

I am telling you to don't watch because the story is just too bland and some things are repeating again and again. I just don't know why i didn't like it, i mean it was just too bland comedy was a little bit. Now let's review it.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

There is this boy , who is rich and son of chairwoman his brother is a company's vice chairman. He is working under that company as a employee and hiding his real identity. There is this girl who works at that company as manager of AL team and that boy is working with her in that team. They started to fall in love and came into a relationship. Until now it was very interesting but this happened till episode 1 or two like after episode 1 i didn't have any interest left. But i was still watching.

When they were in relationship he didn't tell her his real identity that he was the son of chairwoman. But after some time his mother called her and she didn't knew that she is his mom. His mom told her the whole truth. She was shocked and decided to break up with him because she was feeling pressurised by his family and accepts their offer to break up. after this he also found that that he mom told her his real identity. For some days he didn't come to office she was thinking he moved to spain because earlier he was talking about this to her. But then the next day it is announced that he became the director of that company. Everyone was shocked at the office but she was not that much.

After that he was chasing her and she still likes him but she don't want to stay with him anymore. When he was chasing her around and trying to get her attention it was a little bit cringe and there was no comedy or something. So it was boring between all these scenes. There was a second lead too he was helping them to get back together and sometimes he was trying to steal her away. The second lead was good like yeah we can say that. In the end they started too fall in love again and it was just a slow burn but it was just TOOOOOOOOOO slow i got bored the comedy was like noo i don't think there was?

WHY DID I CUT MARKS IN WHICH THINGS?
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.

1. STORY: I just told you YOU CAN READ IT ABOVE AGAIN If you want story was 2.5/10.

2, ACTING/CASTING: Acting was really good the actors but the FL acting it was just not giving the vibe like it was looking like she was acting but in some scenes her acting was just too bland and simple. The casting was really good , get to know about some more actors and actresses no doubt they were great. Acting/casting is 8.5/10.

3. OST: I don't really write that much about OSTs because i just skip them and move on but as lyrics i have listened to , so t is 5.5/10 for me.

4. REWATCH VALUE: It was really boring according to me so i will never rewatch it and waste my time but i gave it some thought and given it 1/10.

It is completely on you if you have to watch it or not according to me don't waste your time watching this.

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Cinderella in shining armor for a few seconds

It's a trend nowadays where the age difference is downplayed by either the younger actor playing a lot older or the older actor playing a lot younger so the gap is actually so close it's negligible. The difference here is focused on job status, with the female lead as the team leader and the male lead as initially an intern. It was actually pretty cool to see from his memories how she guided him as the responsible boss, the Cinderella in shining armor. It would have been great to see more of that. Their dating days were also cute and I really liked how the first two episodes had subversions like Yun Seo learning from Ju Won's brother that he didn't like horror movies, but went for her and learned to like something new. It would have also been nice if the rest of the show had them learning more about each other, but it quickly slipped into bog standard romcom cliches with the most odious being the faux love triangle with Ju Won always having a jealousy stand off with the painter guy Seong Min, who almost committed suicide, but then his mental health was magically fine afterwards. Yun Seo's storyline with escaping her abusive household and not buckling to her mother's pressure to take on her father's debts was really powerful. Sometimes the people you need to cut out of your life are your blood relatives and to keep them far away for your own well being. I feel it's especially important for Asian audiences to see that it's okay to do so. I like how Yun Seo wanted to break off the relationship because she knows that Seong Min's family would not be accepting of him. I feel like the show could have better connected the fact that it would be yet another parental figure treating her terribly. Yun Seo and Mi Jin's short friendship at the end was really short, I rather they have started their sisterhood sooner and less of Mi Jin and her husband's shenanigans. Yun Seo deserves more supportive friends and family. It would have been nice for Yun Seo to have one more scene with her mother in law, finally in acceptance and support of her, one big happy family.

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Two cute couples for the price of 1!

Perhaps this show is not for everyone but I loved the concept. The couple was already established but now the FL is being asked to break up with her boyfriend. It was funny from the first episode. I was very curious how they will work through their issues. The FL has a strong head on her shoulders due to her background and can overrationalise things at times but she is a kind and caring person. The ML can be clingy but he is sweet and kind and who wouldn't love that. I also loved the second leads in the story. Maybe slightly more than the leads because their relationship didn't deal with too much workplace distractions.

Though thers ard a few serious moments, the show also makes you laugh and smile. And both couples have cute moments together. Though I wish there were more romance, a little less angst, and if the comedy was even better then I would have rated it a 9 at least.

In a way I am glad the writers didn't drag the background storylines too much. They were not ths point of the story. It was about the couples and some of the problems they dealt with are quife realistic. Even the nicest people have trouble in relationships because you aren't completely sure how to handle the situation.

The one good thing about the breakup trope was also that they didn't show both living separate lives. They continued to work together as they dealt with their emotions. I don't like when they completely remove the leads from each other's lives. So that was a plus for me.

The OST is also quite calming. I hope everyone gives the series a chance.

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