Filter

Good Idea, Poor Execution

My Issues

1. The ML - Initially, the seemingly mean, and rude and ignorant behaviour, combined with the overly-friendly stalkerish behaviour with the pretty people, combined with his look, he was bouncing between clueless nerd and Jefferey Dahmer. He was either creepy or cringe. That, for me, was how it was until a short time after Su Miao died. It was more disturbing than humorous, and it was at least cringeworthy. His modern drama old man behaviour made things worse in this as well. He became more likeable from the end of episode nine.

2. The make-up situation - She clearly had makeup on most of the way through, there were only a couple of times that it looked like she might not have any on, once in the first episode, and when she was in bed. She was supposed to be not wearing make-up but it was too obvious that she was wearing a matt mask and smudged eye make-up, and sometimes had more on, and at least one of those times, she had a full face on when people were talking to her about putting make-up on as if she didnt already. Then, to make matters worse, she started applying make-up and it was just a cleaner version of what she'd been wearing all along.

3. Invisible issue, one - She became invisible and made a speech about not being able to let go of the filter, and it was obviously supposed to be this sad scene to do with her insecurities about her looks, but from what we saw, she never overindulged with the bracelet, it was just used to serve a purpose, and the only time she stayed longer than necessary as someone else was when she had no choice.

4. Invisible issue, two - It was obvious everyone kept looking directly at her face when she was invisible throughout, and when they reached out it was obvious they purposely avoided her.

5. The lead's relationship is awkward and cringy. I get that they're trying to do teen nerdy first love stuff, but it was weird, and I didnt believe they actually liked each other at all, they didn't even feel like friends and there was zero chemistry, and ALL the kisses were bad. Some people might have found them funny together but I just thought it was icky. There were moments that made them ok.

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I really liked the fun tech, and the music, and some of the more emotional scenes. Also, I like the second pairing a lot, and they are one of my all-time favs.

It was entertaining enough to keep watching, but that's it, there were too many big issues for me to find it more than mildly entertaining and decent on the whole.

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I almost dropped it but I'm so glad I didn't!

The concept was new and interesting but to be honest I found it really hard to watch especially the first few episodes. I just can't grasp the idea of the filter that changes the appearance of Su Cheng Cheng that lead to deception. I just got very curious as to how the story will progress eventually that's why I kept on watching it whenever I don't have anything to watch. It's kinda weird as well that Tang Qi's character always ends up falling in love with Su Cheng Cheng's other appearances, and not her true self. But then if you think of it, Tang Qi already had a misconception with Su Cheng Cheng from the start since he thought she tried to bully him during their school days. This led to him not really opening up his heart and mind to Su Cheng Cheng directly.

To be fair, this drama is really fun to watch. My most favorite one is the alpaca episode, it's been a while since I laughed this hard on a drama. Yet again, I almost dropped it at episode 20 when Quan Sheng Tang was killed (like Su Miao) as I felt real pity on Tang Qi (bro, if it was me I already went crazy) but then everything unfolds and he decoded what was really happening. After this, everything went well especially the romance arc of Tang Qi and Su Cheng Cheng (binge-watched this until the end lol)

One of Tang Qi's lines summed up the message this drama is trying to convey: "The filter only changes your appearance, but not your inner self. What I like is the imperfect you." It's very fitting to today's beauty standards as everything is judged based on appearances and most of us are really not confident with our looks leading to insecurities.

Overall, I loved this drama although it gave me a hard time grasping the concept but I think that's one of the beauty of it. You just need perseverance to unlock the hidden gem this drama has. It's my first time watching Tan Jianci and Li Landi and they really are one of the best actors in China. They perfectly delivered both comedy and chemistry! Hoping they could have another rom-com in the future!

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Glorious Screwball Comedy

A true screwball comedy is rare in this world. It requires masterful acting to balance the physical and emotional comedy. Comedy is hard so the success of this show is a testament to the skill of the acting, especially Tan Jian Ci who manages to balance situations without letting it be overacting. He keeps the audience believing even when it is ridiculous. Landy Li does brilliantly moving between a range of characters in silly situations. She reminds me of Katherine Hepburn. The support characters are all clever and are well performed. The story develops with skill without breaking believability even when the audience in some part of their head knows this is too silly for words. I laughed so hard and I keep laughing.

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A Modern Day Fairy Tale

I think the best way to enjoy this series is to avoid thinking of it as something that could really happen. Instead, it should be thought of as a combination of Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, and maybe even Beauty and the Beast. DON'T TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY! Think of it as a live action cartoon. It's one of the funniest dramas I've watched recently.

The main female lead has been told she's unattractive her whole life. (Who could think of Landy Li as being unattractive? Anyway...) She has a chip on her shoulder because of this, and has basically given in to the idea that she's ugly. The main male lead is a brilliant scientist with very low EQ. After a disaster at their class reunion, he makes a thoughtless statement about her appearance, and things go downhill from there.

However, the female lead has a good heart, and as a reward for a kindness she extends to someone she receives a bracelet which is actually a gadget that serves as a 'filter', changing her appearance so she seems to be a glamorous woman...and various other personas.

The male lead is unaware of this and falls in love with the glamorous woman, not realizing her true identity.

It sounds confusing...and it is to begin with as the characters try to figure out how to deal with the situation, but it's also very funny. Both Landi Li and Tan Jian Ci have excellent comic timing, and they can both sell the set up so the viewer can believe it might happen.

As the female lead goes through several iterations, the male lead finds himself growing fond of an alpaca and falling in love with another one of her personas. He does some soul searching, trying to figure out why he's so fickle, not realizing they're all the same person. As mentioned in the drama, he may be responding to her pheromones....her body chemistry. Whatever the cause, he continues to find them fascinating.

The OST for this series is outstanding, and I've listened to many of the songs several times.

I enjoyed this series quite a bit. There are some angsty parts which serve to make the viewer consider how society views people who are considered beautiful compared to those who are supposedly less so. The main characters have to decide how they really want to view themselves and each other.

My only minor complaint is the ending of the second couple's story. I think that should've been left out of the series, and it could've ended with 30 episodes. However, that didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the series, and I'll probably watch again at some point.

Watch it with an open mind, and have fun!

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An excellent RomCom about life lesson that showed inner beauty outshines external beauty

Filter is a romantic comedy about society's view of beauty. Su Cheng Cheng has low self-esteem and relies on the filter bracelet to change her appearance, not realizing that her inner beauty attracts Tang Qi. The drama is funny and offers a good life lesson about inner beauty outshines external beauty.

Tan Jian Ci and Landy Li acted excellently in this drama, especially Tan Jian Ci. I didn't know he could act in comedy. The supporting cast is also good, especially Huang Si Rui, who played Lin Yuan, Su Cheng Cheng's best friend. I enjoyed this drama very much.

Synopsis: Su Cheng Cheng is an ordinary woman who gains a high-tech bracelet that lets her change her appearance. Using it to help others, she unwittingly captures the heart of Tang Qi, a man losing his eyesight, through multiple personas. As she hides her secret, Tang Qi suffers repeated heartbreak. Will she reveal the truth, and can they find happiness without deception?

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 8
2, Script: 8
3, Music/OST: 8
4, Production Quality: 8
5. Cinematography: 8
6. Rewatchable: 8
7. Onscreen Chemistry: 8

Overall Rating: 8

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what a DISAPPOINTMENT ????

I was so excited to watch this show. I saw some trailers on YouTube and found it really funny. I guess the best parts were in the trailers.

Plot: a 30 something years old girl (still in love with her middle school crush..yup, I know) is not doing great. She feels society discriminates her because of her looks. One night she receives a magic bracelet that gives her the ability to change her appearance.

I'm only 6 episodes in and I am starting to get annoyed.

Let's start with our FL. She feels others have an advantage over her because of them looking ''better than her". Sure. That can be true but she doesn't put in any work.
She is interviewed for a job which requires some attention when it comes to attire and so on. Well, she puts on some jeans and a sweater and calls it a day. The recruiters were assholes? Sure. But she wasn't willing to do anything to win them over.
She finally lands a job thanks to her sister's connections and basically doesn't do any job (I know she is busy being su miao but her colleagues don't know that)and is so sad because her colleagues are not welcoming her. Girl, you got hired not through your hard work and are absent half of the time, what do you expect?

Male lead: oh man. Where to start with this guy.
First of all I like the actor. I saw him before in "lost you forever" and he was AMAZING. Here? Not at all. His acting here is so bland.
His character is a creep. He falls in love with su miao over her looks and even wants to marry her!! He barely knows her and she keeps rejecting him.
He basically stalks this girl and forces himself into a home to see a girl who said no multiple times.
When the FL lead is injured and ends up in an hospital she tells him straight to his face she doesn't want to see him anymore. He obviously comes again the next day.
He is a creeeeeeppppppp.

Talking about the drama in general they try so hard so be funny but everything falls flat. I didn't chuckle not even one time.

The only positivea in this drama are her best friend and the "lucky" guy. They are good comedic relieves and have good chemistry.

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It is not a mature one

Kids would enjoy this drama more. At the start, the drama introduces a girl who is strong, and people around her are either amazed or shocked by her strength. However, she doesn’t consider herself beautiful and often compares herself to others because she has marks on her face.

She falls in love with a boy but doesn’t know how to behave around him. So, she takes advice from her friends and follows whatever they suggest. Unfortunately, this leads to misunderstandings. The boy thinks she is trying to overpower him with her strength, while she assumes he finds her unattractive.

As they grow up, their misunderstandings persist. Every time they communicate, she misinterprets his words and wishes to look prettier. This is where the bracelet ,a filter come into the story.

I liked the love story and all the characters, especially the female lead’s mother, father, sister, and friend. I also enjoyed the chemistry between the second leads.

Previously, I mentioned that kids would enjoy this drama more. However, since it is rated for ages 15 and above due to kissing scenes, it may not be suitable for younger audiences.

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Funny and entertaining but too long

A seriously funny show that catches you off guard with its humor making you quite literally laugh out loud. Definitely one of the funniest shows I have seen in a while, at least at parts. The humor in this show lands well and is spaced appropriately and the actors that all play the variations of ChengCheng are phenomenal in connecting the small nuances of the character creating a convincing thread between them. A little heavy handed at times but the overall messaging of loving yourself and looking beyond appearance creates a pleasant story. An drama that is able to entertain with its moral compass but falls a little short making it just your average watch.

There are many things I truly loved about this show. The idea of beauty is not only skin deep, the comedy, and the actors abilities to portray the same character in different bodies convincingly. But what fell short for me were some of the character arcs and relationship progression. When it comes to ChengCheng and Tang Qi I felt like their dynamic was not properly explored prior to him discovering the truth. Had the drama opted to let him see the things he liked about the personas also in Cheng Cheng's true form and allowed him to begin to like her naturally that way I think I would have liked that more. But he never really shows her any interest until he realizes the truth and Cheng Cheng did not seem overly interested in him after being heartbroken over her crush ending in the very beginning. So the lack of chemistry and natural relationship progression was missing leaving a disconnect. Also Tang Qi lacks proper character development. His character goes from fairly silly in his pursuit in the beginning making his character a bit aloof but once together he seems almost like a different character.

This drama is also too long. There were a couple arcs that could have been omitted and brought the show to 24 episodes and I think that would have saved a bit of the fatigue I began to feel while trying to finish this. The grandma and pregnancy arcs were unnecessary to me and did not add much value to the overall show. The sponsorships for this show also began to feel very very obvious with the overuse.

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One of the funniest CDramas, such a Creative Story

Oh wow. This show was hilarious. I have not watched a Cdrama where I laughed as much out loud as I did with this one. It was hard to believe that landi Lin is not beautiful but I understand the concept and where they were going as someone who also was never viewed as beautiful growing up. This story begins and continues with nothing but misunderstandings, some hilarious, some quite torturous of the ML.

Don’t go into this show looking for reality.. this show is just pure fantasy and fun. It’s also very funny. There were also periods where I was grinning so much my mouth hurt.

I loved the second couple in this drama, I loved their relationship and how cute they were. I loved the way they talked too.

Overall, I loved their creativity of this show. It’s definitely something different fun cute and enjoyable. There were periods where I was like, ok I’m ready to move on from the constant misunderstandings but the overall concept and story was so good. Highly recommend!

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