Don't miss out on this excellently written, acted and paced slice-of-life Family Drama!!
If you love “The Bond”, you will love “Romance in the Alley”. Both dramas are directed by the same person, and you can see a lot of similarities between the two. The drama title is a little misleading as romance is just a very teeny tiny part of this drama. Family is what it’s about. This is a well-written, well-acted, well-paced slice-of-life family drama that even someone like me who prefers plot-driven dramas, falls in love with “Romance in the Alley”. It reminds me of a hybrid of “The Bond” + “Go Ahead”. In fact, it’s actually a little easier to watch than “The Bond” as it doesn’t have characters that make my blood boil.Family
This drama focuses on two families who live next to each other in the same alley. If you ever want a BFF or a good neighbor, look no further than the Zhuang and Lin families. We follow the lives of the adults, working hard to provide for their children. All they want is for their children to go to a good school, graduate and find a good job, have their own family and buy their own houses. A stable and happy life is what they want. However, you will find that each family takes a very different approach in supporting (or not supporting) their children. Their approach puts pressure on their children in not disappointing their parents and shouldering the responsibility of taking care of their siblings, parents or any family member. As I follow the lives of these children and watch them grow up to have their own families, I feel like a proud parent myself watching them from the 1st episode to the 40th episode.
Neighbors & Friends
Friendship in the alley is complicated. I bet many Chinese viewers resonate with all the complicated dynamics and relationships in this drama. One day, you support and help each other. Next day you scheme and try to take advantage of others. When there’s a common enemy (system change, rules change or company complaint), they band together and fight together. At the end of the day, you are still friends and neighbors, trying to live the best life you can. The dialogs are so well-written: heartfelt speeches, subtle digs here and there, sarcastic and condescending remarks. All of that gives the drama so much flavor.
Character development
As I said, I feel like a proud momma watching the three main children grow up. Tu Nan (the older brother) is a top student who is mature and responsible. Dong Zhe is the mischievous kid who is a little smartass with a good heart but lazy. Lastly, we have sweet and quiet Xiao Ting, the little sister who is perceptive and sweet. Watching the three of them grow up into responsible, mature adults without losing their tight bond is lovely to see. I was especially proud of Xiao Ting for growing up to be a more courageous, independent and sensible woman, who is not afraid to speak up and protect those she loves. Aside from the three main kids, you will follow the lives of other children growing up in the alley. Some you will love, some you will hate. But each one is a product of their family and upbringing. You might not like them, but you understand where they are coming from and empathize with them.
Sismance
The friendship between the two mothers, Huang Ling and Song Ying is the best thing about this drama. These two women are so different from each other: upbringing, marital relationship, personality, family lives, and child-rearing philosophy. Yet, they complement each other so well and support each other in their own way. They accept each other’s flaws, defend each other and unconditionally step up to help each other.
Acting
I applaud the casting director for doing an amazing job. From the youngest child actor, to the oldest veteran, there is no weak link. There are many child actors and actresses in this drama, and each one of them performs so well, especially those three who play the naughty little Dong Zhe. Many of them are actually experienced actors who started acting at a very young age. Before watching, I was hesitant about Fan Cheng Cheng’s performance. But I’m glad to report that he did a pretty good job as well, so much better than when I last saw him in “Once and Forever”, also with Guan Xiao Tong. In that drama, Fan Cheng Cheng is definitely the weakest link. His chemistry with Guan Xiao Tong as siblings here is so much better than when they played lovers in “Once and Forever”. Wang An Yu made me fall in love with him. He is so good in looking smitten and in love, just like in “Forever Love”. Guan Xiao Tong and Lu Yu Xiao are talented and beautiful. Of course, the veterans are amazing. I bet they help keep the younger ones on their toes, as they have many scenes together and the young ones can’t slack off.
Pacing
Slice-of-life dramas are a hit-or-miss for me. I prefer plot-driven dramas rather than character-driven ones as I often find the pace to be slow. But not “Romance in the Alley”. This drama is well-paced with enough to keep invested and interested. The writing does an excellent job in making me smile, laugh, cry, and shake my head in disgust throughout the whole drama.
Minor Criticisms
As much as I love this drama, “Romance in the Alley” isn’t without fault. There are two main areas that I would have liked to see better writing - the passage of time and romance. Because this drama spans a long period of time, about 20 years. The drama doesn’t always tell you what year it is. Viewers have to pay attention to changing lifestyles or the addition of new household appliances starting from TV, fridge, home telephone, microwave, etc. Because it’s sometimes hard to tell time. For example, I would see one scene when the parents are disapproving of their children’s decision (a BIG decision) and then the next scene, the conflict is resolved and it’s not a big deal anymore. Or in one scene Tu Nan and Li Jia would be arguing about their relationship, and then time passed and they openly spoke about it, as if the previous conclusion of their relationship didn’t matter anymore. Regarding the romance criticism, I would have loved to see Xiao Ting and Dong Zhe’s transition from friends to lovers more clearly. The realization of feelings and subtle confession were so short that in a blink of an eye, you could have missed it. I miss the early days of their courting/dating.
With a Douban rating of 8.2 at the time of this review, I can totally see how Chinese viewers resonate to the family values and struggles, and a trip down memory lane with change of times in this drama. International viewers might not agree with the values and decisions made, but that should not stop anyone from appreciating an excellently written and acted drama. “Romance in the Alley” will make you smile and laugh, cry and frown. It has put me through an emotional rollercoaster. I cried so hard when the Lin family moved away from Suzhou and when the two mothers' tight friendship was put to the test because of their children. If you read all the way to the end of this long review, I wish you would give this drama a chance.
Completed: 12/1/2024 - Review #523
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Perfect Off The Path Drama From Your Typical Idol Drama.
if you're serious about acting, non-idol dramas, and slice of life genres of the old days, this is the drama to go for.Romance in the Alley focuses mainly on two neighboring families through hardships and growth. Personally, this is my cup of tea, albeit the 70s-80s Chinese household policies were quite confusing to me.
With that aside, I love watching what the 70s and 80s of China would've looked like, and loved it when they gave us a glimpse of the 90s. The hairstyle, fashion, and environment change tickled my brain. ^^
The acting of the veterans were superb.Everyone felt natural and embodies their characters well. I particularly really enjoyed watching Song Yi and Ms. Ling's sisterly bond. Also how realistic they were towards certain neighbors LOL.
Initially, Zhaung Tu Nan(Fan Cheng Cheng) had a more reserved, studious role as the eldest in his family. I thought Fan Cheng Cheng's acting was quite good because the actor himself is typically loud mouth, and unserious. The actor's personality is the exact opposite. Suddenly, he brought back a bit of Fan Cheng Cheng in him in Tu Nan's adult years and it just threw me off course. This wasn't the Tu Nan I watched growing up. o.O Granted, people can change but I can see the awkwardness of Fann Cheng Cheng in the character, Tu Nan. It's difficult to explain, but it eventually felt like Fan Cheng Cheng was being himself and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Overall, his acting was passable, this was my first drama of his. He just needs to work on it imo. Unfortunately, his love line was pretty short and it really disappointed me. I was expecting more between Tu Nan and Li Jia (Lu Yu Xiao) but it just didn't go the way I was hoping it'd go.
Wang An Yu's character, Lin Dong Zhe, is for comedic purposes and boy was he a rebel kid and annoying. LOL At around 8-9 years old, the kid wouldn't stop complaining, butting himself in places he shouldn't be, or crying. I was so fed up with him. Wang did a great job maturing his character into a more responsible adult. He still embody the mischievous personality of his character and acted quite well. I believe this was my second drama of his and he improved a lot.
Zhuang Xiao Ting played by Guan Xiao Tong. Tong acting was okay. For a child actress, I kind of expected her acting to be really good but her crying scenes were cringe if I'm being honest, but other than that everything else was pretty good. she also embody her character quite well, there was a smooth transition between her and the child actresses.
The connection between Zhuang Xiao Ting and Lin Dong Zhe was adorable. Usually people don't like it when two characters grew up to be together because of the sisterly-brotherly bond. However, the gradual feelings for one another was very natural that you can not help but be supportive of the childhood sweethearts.
Li Jia (Lu Yu Xiao) is a confusing character. one minute she likes Tu Nan then she flakes. Understandably, she believes that she needs to find a specific significant other and Tu Nan wasn't checking it off. Granted, all of it was due to family pressure and it is quite relatable in Chinese society. This drama didn't really showcase Lu Yu Xiao's acting ability as she's barely in it so I don't have much to say.
Speaking of Chinese society, this drama touches upon many Chinese family topics that we suffer from today. The eldest baring all the responsibility, and being expected to take care of all their family members disregarding whether or not it's a selfish request. The expectation of being the perfect child, studying well, having a good future is what all parents expect.Of course, not all kids ended up following what their parents expected of them and I like how realistic it is. Some kids weren't able to fulfill their wishes because of the financial status which was disheartening to watch.
The youngest being in the shadows of their older siblings. Favoritism.
Family drama always end up spreading everywhere nobody how low your voice was.
The acting kind-and-polite-but-is-the-opposite personality really speaks to me because I don't like those kind of people. And I've experience these kinds of people in my own family.
Anyhow, I love that the drama showcase their financial struggles, and difficulties caring for their children, and juggling crazy family members. Extremely relatable imo.
Overall this drama was one of the rare dramas that's off the beaten path, a drama not many cdrama fans would enjoy or look at today because it's not xianxia, wuxia, modern romance, nor is it historical romance.
Its a historical family, and slice of life drama.
if you watched The Bond, which I have thoroughly enjoyed and one of my favorites, then this drama is for you!
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BEST Directeur Ever.
With ZHANG Kai Zhou all' acteurs are in thé main role . I watched all his drama at least twice.This drama take you to a peaceful, lovely period of human relationship between friends, family and lovers...
When You finish watching it , you will find that you have a good time with those carcteres wishing to keep checking there new as they are real peoples .
I Hope really that genius Directeur to be good evaluate internationally.
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The Chinese Answer to Reply 1988!
"Romance in the Alley" is a slice of life Chinese drama covering two families sharing a courtyard in Suzhou over a 20 year period, roughly 1975 to 1995. It is a time of tremendous change, the economic opening of China, and the environmental strains and opportunities are palpable. This background consistently adds extra twists and turns to the standard family slice of life fare.At the center of the story are Huang Ling and Song Ying, two women at the town's cotton mill, whose families are neighbors in a company apartment complex. Their relationship with each other, their relationships with their husbands, and the relationships among their children form the backbone of the story. The story is at points nostalgic, but it also doesn't back away from the difficulties these people would have faced in this time. Just to be clear, there is some romance here, but romance does not dominate the story.
This being a family drama, filiality and brotherhood/sisterhood are repeated themes. I have compared this show to "Reply 1988" but one significant difference is that there are some obvious recurring villains in this show, which was largely not the case in "Reply 1988." The result is that this show isn't quite as feel-good as "Reply 1988" was, but given the stress of Chinese life in this era, the presence of those kinds of schemers feels more realistic. One other repeated theme is the desire for security, and the fact that the Chinese government's hukou policy makes any plans for the future enormously more complicated. (For those unaware, in China if you live in, say, Suzhou, then you cannot just move to Shanghai or Guangzhou without government permission... and the government is pretty stingy about giving that permission).
On the technical side the acting is generally solid. Ling's marriage is repeatedly tested by her husband's thoroughly filial behavior, and the husband and wife are presented so well that it really is easy to feel the wife's annoyance with this guy. The Song Ying character is a roller coaster ride, starting from the first episode. The child acting is all well-done, and in particular the Dongzhe child actors deliver a hilarious performance. That said, the teenage Dongzhe actor is OK on his own, but feels a bit inconsistent with the others, especially with an accent that doesn't fit the rest of the series. The adult actor for Tunan, Fan Cheng Cheng, has taken some beatings on Chinese social media, but I think that's more a problem in the writing. For whatever reason, the Zhuang Tunan character goes from being a smart, sensible kid to a dork as an adult. More on this in a minute.
Generally the writing was solid, taking an interesting premise of watching two families deal with great social and economic change, and letting it evolve. The conflicts seem to naturally flow, and the resolutions feel true to the characters. There is one problem though, as alluded to in the prior paragraph, the relationship between Zhuang Tunan and Li Jia. The two of them have a potential romance with significant -- and interesting! -- roadblocks, but those roadblocks are addressed awkwardly by the show. The worst happened when Jia locked Tunan into a room together for the night, a strange opportunity to talk out their problems; then the dork (who is in his late 20's at this point) escalated the strangeness by literally jumping out a second floor window as fast as he could, nearly breaking his butt in the process. Basically, a sensible central character was turned into a loon to serve some purpose, I'm not sure what.
Again, there's some interesting stuff here, and aside from the bizarre twists between Tunan and Jia, the series was well-executed. My only other complaint was logistical, that the English translation on YouTube was obviously machine-generated, which could cause confusion without a Chinese speaker around. Some names were frequently translated into English equivalents, which took some time to get used to (for example "Chao Ying" was called "Super English" and "Wu Feng" was translated as "Forest Worker"). Most of the time I could follow what was going on, but the Tunan-Jia scenes got so weird that I assumed I was misunderstanding something.
To summarize, a good story and mostly good characters built off an interesting premise, but prepare for something weird with the Tunan character.
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