8/10 for content, not my enjoyment
I can see why this got high ratings. My rating, strangely, is based on how I SHOULD have felt about the drama, not how I ACTUALLY felt (more of a 6.5-7/10). The fact that I could rate it this high when I wasn't feeling it is due to Kim Seon Ho.What I loved:
1. Kim Seon Ho as Kim Rae Wan. I love him as an actor. He was excellent in this. I could feel his patience with her behavior (I knew before he did that he was in love. Only someone in love could put up with her.), as well as his vulnerability. He did a great job of portraying someone that is coming to terms with his feelings, and once he does, he's brave enough to verbalize those feelings.
2. The song You Drive Me Crazy. The scene where that was being sung was so special and Kim Seon Ho just blew me away, yet again.
3. His house. Sure, it has nothing to do with the storyline, but I loved it nonetheless.
What I hated:
1. The character of Han Eun Seong. Lee Yoo Young did a great job to make me hate this character so much, but the fact that she was self-absorbed, inconsiderate, bossy, fickle, and had issues with alcohol really ruined my enjoyment of this show. I have to like SOMETHING about a character in order to root for them, and I just felt that he was so much better than her and he was better off when she left. And after the obligatory time jump, she appeared to not have improved at all, as evidenced by just boldly letting herself into his house. It felt like she knew he would just be waiting for her. It made me mad.
2. Pervasive use of alcohol. Everything that happened, happened as a result of being drunk. Emotions are not real or reliable when clouded by alcohol.
3. Time jump. I understand that she was afraid, but she didn't seem like the kind of person that would be true to a man (especially since she never admitted how she felt about him) for a year. So, for me, the idea that she might have been with someone else while she was gone really lessened the love in this love story. (I know I'm projecting here, but that's what I kept thinking as I was watching this.)
I realize that most people are not as judgmental as I am, so my suggestion would be to give it a try. It's only four episodes.
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Where's the communication!?!?
So, Chinese dramas are notoriously long. They tend to spread out over many more episodes than they need to, with some episodes being no more than filler. That's a big complaint of mine. However, that said, if I have to fast forward through a lot of stuff to get to the meat of the story, I will do so. I might rate lower because of all my wasted time, but not always. There were a few things in this show that I found problematic and ultimately unforgivable.Wasted time/scenes/episodes
No chemistry between leads
Leaving for no apparent reason for years. I find this trope so maddening, because in this day and age, with everyone walking around with a phone in their hand, that someone could leave for five years is just irritating. First, them not having contact with one another for years completely negates all the stuff we had to watch to get them together. If you can leave without a word, you aren't really in love.
But the biggest thing for me - you have a child with this man and don't tell him?!?! That is unforgivable! I'll admit that the prudish side of me started watching Asian dramas because they were more pure than American TV. I got tired of the going to bed with one another without a commitment. Sadly, so many Asian dramas are jumping on the premarital sex bandwagon. I can deal with that, but there is absolutely no excuse for keeping a child from his father and vice versa. That was the kiss of death for me, as far as this drama was concerned.
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This had potential, but there were some real problems for me
First, what I liked - the roommates of both the ML and FL. They brought a lot of heart and humor to their roles. I also always like a large height difference between the leads. However, this led to one of my problems with this drama...The ML was borderline abusive to the FL. The first time he grabbed her by the face and kissed her, it really was rough. Plus, he was always dragging her toward him roughly, or grabbing her by the arm in an overly firm manner. This really bothered me. I don't think that behavior is ever acceptable, but I might have been more tolerant if she wasn't so tiny.
ACTING: Ireine Song - I've only seen her in one other thing, and her character was pretty much the same, so it's hard to judge her acting prowess. Aaron Deng as Qin Shen - wooden and expressionless throughout. I've not seen him in anything else, so I'll reserve judgment on whether it was acting or the script. Which brings me to -
WRITING: I didn't care for the way the main characters were written. Qin Shen was a total Tsundere, but we never got to see the soft side of him. On the rare occasions that he smiled, it seemed somewhat forced. It would have been so nice to see him develop some warmth, especially as it related to his roommates. It always seemed there was only tolerance, I would have liked to see sincere friendships develop. The FL even used the statement about him not using his words. Throughout the drama, it was grunts or one-word answers. He was overbearing physically to the FL as mentioned before, as well as being possessive and jealous, and not in a cute way, telling her she couldn't talk to guys, following her around to monitor who she was talking to. This could have been portrayed in a way that was sweet and showed how he cared for her, but it didn't get portrayed that way. The FL character of Yuan Qian - when she stood up to the bully, I had high hopes for her, but she seemed like a "taker/user" to me, always asking others to do things/get things for her. She was also eavesdropping on every conversation he had with anyone. In every Asian drama, there always seems to be falling/tripping as it relates to the FL. This show took it to the extreme. She was ALWAYS falling, stumbling, tripping, or walking into things. I also didn't care for her attempts to be "cute". She was never willing to tell him how she felt, but was constantly asking him, "Isn't there something you want to say to me?" Each episode seemed to be a repeat of the previous episode, misunderstandings, him being mean, her trying to get him to tell her he liked her, and the friends giving both of them a hard time. As for the character of Ling Wei as the girl that liked Qin Shen - she seriously needed therapy! The writers also never really delved into why he was so mean to her, what had happened in their past, or anything like that.
RELATIONSHIP OF LEADS/CHEMISTRY: He was silent, bossy, possessive. She pouted, stomped around, was mad or employing the silent treatment A LOT. They spent a lot of time staring at each other, and not much time having actual mature conversations that would develop a relationship. This didn't feel like a healthy relationship to me at all. Granted, one of the reasons I enjoy romances is because it's not real life, but for me, this relationship never felt lovely, or something I wanted to see more of. Chemistry between them was severely lacking. In general, the relationship felt toxic.
MUSIC: I don't remember it.
REWATCH: There weren't even any scenes that I think I'd want to rewatch.
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Such a cute couple, but...
The main couple was wonderful. Theirs was a healthy, loving and supportive relationship. Things got a little hazy midway through - she got an apartment for him, was she staying there too? (after saying she wasn't ready to be with him in a physical way). I really loved the progression of the relationship and some of the friendships.I have to say that her cousin needed to be run over by a truck or something. He was beyond irritating throughout most of the show and a girl blindly liking a total mean guy just never makes any sense to me. There was also the obligatory "you're not good enough for him" wanna be girlfriend as well as "I can take care of her better than you" wanna be boyfriend. That cliche gets really tiresome. And some of the secondary characters were seriously overacting. And the dubbing was somewhat problematic - most of the girls sounded the same.
I had to rate down based on the other cliches of the evil mother and the two year separation. This story arc really bothered me on so many levels. She stood by her man up until this point and then was leaving without letting him know?!?! So immature and it wasn't true to their relationship up to that point. It would have been so much better had the mom said at the airport that she had changed her mind and the daughter didn't have to go. And why leave for two years to "study" when you are part owner of a company?!
All that said, the ML and FL were both wonderful, him especially. When he looked at her...oh my. And can I just say a big THANK YOU for giving us a wedding at the end?
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A purposely cliche-ridden show! Such a fun watch.
The only reason this show isn't a 10 is because the "real world" was so drawn out, everyone in the real world was toxic, and the heroine became kind of spineless at the end. That said, I still highly recommend this drama, because it is just so much fun!STORY - I'm not going to repeat the synopsis, but let me just say, if you have been a fan of Asian dramas for awhile, you will love this show. I think it has pretty much every cliche we've learned to love/hate. There are multiple Hyun Bin references, homages to Goblin, DOTS, Kill Me Heal Me, and a couple of others that I didn't recognize. You've got the scrappy heroine/female lead that, once she goes into the novel, realizes that she's not the lead, which makes for very entertaining dilemmas. Overbearing CEO (yes, he's actually called that), second male lead which caused me serious second lead syndrome, the arm grabs, the shower scenes (they really played these up!) the comas, the evil family, the childhood traumas, etc. I loved all the lines relating to the FL in the novel "why does she trip every time she gets near the CEO? Doesn't this company make you pass a physical?" The writer did an excellent job of making fun of all these things, saying exactly what I'm sure all of us have said at one time or another. I did feel that the writing was more stilted at the end in the real world, it was bordering on cliche, unfortunately. I absolutely hated the FL in the novel - so vapid, with a whispery voice, wide eyes, and I was surprised she was able to breathe on her own without assistance. I didn't get why Xiao En was in love with the CEO/Ao Ran, other than that's what the FL is supposed to do. It made sense once they got to know each other, but it felt backward to me - just being in love with a pretty face, I guess. I loved the FL and her best friend - the kind of friendship that we all want to have in our lives.
CAST - Vivian Sung was good as Xiao En, though her hair hanging in her face was about to drive me crazy - give that girl a barrette, for heaven's sake! Marcus Chang as He Tian Hang/Ao Ran - let's be honest, this guy is serious eye candy. I think his acting tends to be a little flat and one note, which was perfect for this show. He did an admirable job of playing two different sides to the same person. Simon Lian as Qing Feng - he was my favorite person in the show. The strong, silent type, he really took the time to get to know Xiao En - I was shipping them for the longest time, even though I knew it could never be. I loved his relationship with Ao Ran as well. I was actually very sad that He Tian Hang didn't have his counterpart in the real world.
COSTUMING - Why they put the FL in huge, hanging, oversized, blousy, not attractive outfits through the whole thing, I have no idea. The clothes that the men wore were nice.
OST - beautiful. Marcus Chang did a few of the songs.
So, even though I felt like there was a lot of boring stuff, it was so fun to watch a show give voice to questions that I always have while watching these shows. Kissing first thing in the morning? Don't they need to brush their teeth?
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Talent wasted on a mediocre script
Park So Dam - she has a great voice. I loved her in Cinderella and the Four Knights, and heard she was exceptional in Parasite, which I did not see. I'll be honest, I think any actress could have been dropped into this part and they would have been okay.Park Bo Gum - he is a wonderful actor. He is able to portray a full range of emotions with nothing more than his eyes. For anyone that has not seen I Remember You (also known as Hello Monster), he is EXCEPTIONAL in that! There is something very charismatic about Bo Gum, and the more of his works I watch, the most impressed I am.
This show started out well. I loved the background look into the career of modeling and the concept of two good friends being on opposite ends of the economic as well as career scales. The main characters started out being very up-front with one another, verbalizing their likes, dislikes, etc. However, once they actually got involved with one another, the communication stopped. In Asian dramas, I often wonder why the characters don't just talk to each other, it was such a disappointment that this was a problem here as well.
I loved the woman that played his agent, she brought some good comedic talent to the table. However, there were so many story lines going on at once, some of which were never fully fleshed out, some of which were pointless, some of which were just downright irritating. There seemed to be more happening with other people in the show than the main three characters. This made the show seem needlessly long.
If I'm honest, the thing that kept me coming back was Bo Gum's acting. That and the hopes of a good ending. On that score I was very disappointed. The ending was so lackluster and open-ended, it felt like there should have been a concluding episode following the last episode. This is another thing that I notice about Asian dramas, they tend to use a lot of filler to make more episodes and then wrap everything up in the last five minutes. Writers could definitely take a cue from the writers of Legend of the Blue Sea, which has the best ending of any Asian drama that I've ever seen.
So, my long-winded evaluation of Record of Youth, see it for Park Bo Gum, but don't expect much otherwise.
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What a treat!
This was a well-written, and wonderfully acted story. Yoon Hyun Min's character (2nd male lead) progressed in an alarming way, showing what avarice and want of power can do. Kim So Yeon was terrific as the ever-efficient and loyal secretary. She was so mature that she seemed much older than everyone else. She has a honey-sweet voice that would calm the most agitated person. That said, Jung Kyung Ho ran away with this show. His character had been driven by revenge for years, and that was his entire focus. He was all hard edges and unforgiveness. Once he has a "change of heart" (which I think should have been the movie's title, by the way!), watching him come to terms with making some decisions that might actually benefit someone else was a joy to watch. This was a man not used to feeling anything other than anger, now suddenly he was starting to feel love. At times he did not take it well, which brought on some extremely funny scenes. Him getting dating advice from his trusty male secretary was a hoot. He didn't actually know how to have interpersonal relationships, so he kept yelling at people, and he said some really funny things to others. The two leads had a wonderful chemistry together. They were playful at times (I dare you not to crack a smile while watching this!), soulful at other times. Good kisses. It was a happy ending, though it was a letdown, kind of emotionless after everything the couple went through to be together. They should change the poster for this show. I didn't watch it for the longest time, thinking it was going to be too slapstick, but this was an intelligent show, with elements of drama, comedy, crime, mystery, all rolled up in one package.Was this review helpful to you?
Take the time to watch this.
It’s a feast for the eyes - it has a film noir feel to it. Filmed a lot in shadow, with brown/dark tones. Everything has been well thought out, the rooms, the clothes and the makeup all flow seamlessly together, with nothing out of place. The use of closeups was very well done, especially when the bartenders were mixing drinks. The two female leads work like yin and yang, one extremely overtly classy, selfish and insecure, the other more understated and comfortable with herself. The entire cast was very good, and they were working from a great script - a lot packed into five episodes, with no wasted scenes. The music added to the overall feel, from the pounding techno, to the use of a single, droning beat whenever someone entered the bar. This show was a joy to watch!Was this review helpful to you?
Watch this if...
Watch this show if you want a very funny show that is full of slapstick comedy, over-the-top characters, bad language, and an overabundance of fart jokes. My overall rating is lower strictly because of the fact that those are not things I enjoy.The acting of everyone was good and the cast had good chemistry together. I'll bet they had fun making this! The SML had some weird hair thing going on that was really bothering me, get that man a comb!
Each character was likeable in their own unique way. I liked how the SML (chaebol) and his family were played - it's like they purposely made them caricatures of the chaebol families we normally see in Korean dramas.
The show moves at a good pace and there always seems to be something going on. I also liked the progression of the characters in the department. At the beginning everyone hated them, and it seemed that they didn't like themselves or each other very much either, but relationships were developed.
This is DEFINITELY a show to watch if you need some relief from heavier dramas.
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WATCH THIS SHOW, NOW!
Dali and the Cocky Prince was an absolute treat from start to finish. I don’t give 10’s easily, but this show grabbed me almost from the first moment and took me along on a journey that was special and, frankly, just almost more fun than I could stand. I found myself smiling through most of this, but there was also enough mystery and drama to balance it out. Overall, it’s a light, bubbly, sunshine-y show, juxtaposed with the seedy underbelly of greed and corruption. I’m not going to retell what the show is about, you can read the synopsis for that. I can’t say that the story is completely original, but the way it was handled was very original. The storyline was always interesting, with no lag, and the writers/director were clever in the way that they used flashbacks to reveal missing scenes that tied everything together.ACTING: Everyone was excellent. The woman playing Moo Hak’s stepmom was very over-the-top, but I believe that’s the way she was supposed to be portrayed. She brought a lot of humor to her character. I won’t bore you with my thoughts on the whole cast, but I would like to address three of the actors/characters.
Park Gyu Young as Kim Da Li – she was wonderful. First, she had an ethereal kind of beauty, and her character was very, umm, “contained” for lack of a better word. Her voice was quiet and well-modulated. She didn’t often show a lot of emotion, but you could tell that she was honestly a nice person. A retro flapper-like haircut, with pin curls surrounding her face, was something you don’t see in Asian dramas and was a brilliant call. Her beauty, along with her demeaner could lead you to believe that she was a pushover, but that belief was eradicated right away. She was no one’s fool. Her character, at the beginning, had so much, but she was such a lovely person you couldn’t be jealous of her, then when things started to go bad for her, it was heartbreaking to watch.
Kim Min Jae as Jin Moo Hak - I’ve seen him in some other dramas and have always enjoyed him, but the character he portrays in this show was so special! First, Moo Hak doesn’t appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He knows business, but completely messes up phrases and is always saying the wrong things. He starts out being ONLY about money, and he’s not apologetic at all about that fact. He’s loud, tacky and uncouth. As time goes along, we get to see his priorities change. His facial expressions were spot-on here, from cold businessman, to wonder when he first sees Da Li, to love, to happiness. He has dimples that you could literally land a plane in, so when he smiles, you’ve got that treat to enjoy.
Hwang Bo Ra as Moo Hak’s secretary – This character was fabulous. Men usually have male secretaries in Asian dramas, so it was a treat to see a woman in this role. They put her in boxy, oversized suits with dress shirts and ties and her hair was short and slicked back, almost as if to make her androgenous. Bo Ra, in the other shows I’ve seen her in, tends to play a wacky character, with exaggerated facial expressions (think Lucille Ball), playing strictly for laughs. She did provide a lot of comedic relief here, as well, but there were times that she just faded into the background of the story, not taking us away from the main storyline. I loved the respect that Moo Hak had for his secretary and their working relationship.
CHEMISTRY: I’d like to address the powerful chemistry between Gyu Young and Min Jae. They played so well off of one another throughout the whole show. Min Jae’s character fell before Gyu Young did, and that was wonderful to watch. There were times when he was looking at her that his gaze was so intense, I felt kind of like a voyeur. The first kiss was, unfortunately, very awkward, but we were treated to many more opportunities for skinship that were way up there on the hotness scale. The relationship between the characters was so lovely. There was sweetness, protection, as well as a good amount of playfulness, which, unfortunately, doesn’t normally get included in dramas. They spent time laughing together, and I loved that they didn’t continue to call one another by their last names throughout the whole show. We actually got to be with them as they got to know one another, and I could totally understand why they started liking one another.
I also loved the chemistry between Moo Hak, Da Li, and her cop friend, Won Tak. I was watching a behind-the-scenes about this show and Min Jae came up with the idea to call him “Our Won Tak”, so we got to see Moo Hak be jealous every time Da Li called him Our Won Tak. But Moo Hak even called him that! I loved the direction the writers took with the character of Won Tak and the fact that they didn’t try to make him be competition for Moo Hak.
MUSIC: Oh, my goodness, the music was exceptional. There was a song that sounded like something you would dance the Charleston to, it was fun, peppy and upbeat. There were multiple other songs that I enjoyed as well. My favorite, however, was them weaving classical music into the soundtrack. Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major/Memories was used, and Carmen’s Habanera, especially when it was used during tense scenes, with no instruments, only using whistling, was so clever. The music fit in so well with the feeling of the museum and the world of art.
CINEMATOGRAPHY/COSTUMING/SET DESIGN: Exemplary. Buildings painted in bright colors, with Da Li riding her bike. The beautiful artwork in the museum. The clothing everyone wore. There were a few instances where I especially appreciated the camera work: 1) Side-by-side shots of Moo Hak and Da Li when they were sitting across from one another at a table. In one instance, they were both wearing white and I loved being able to see the interplay of their emotions happening “in real time” as opposed to cutting back and forth. There was also a scene in the museum where both Moo Hak and Da Li were in their own worlds, walking through fog and laser lights, lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, and when they got close to each light bulb, there was a scene from earlier in the show, reviewing all of their interactions with one another. The scene at the museum at the end with artwork full of color and movement. This show was definitely a treat for the senses.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Absolutely! It’s one of those shows that, now that I know what is going to happen, I want to go back and re-visit, watching for clues and nuances that I missed the first time around.
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Sure cure for insomnia!
Oh my gosh, what an absolute waste of time!!SCRIPT: The dialogue is stilted, there is nothing happening throughout the whole show, there are numerous unlikeable characters (including the two leads, unfortunately), I didn't care if they were breaking up because I don't know why they were together in the first place, the "villain" just made no sense and I felt that they put her in there because every show has to have a villain, doesn't it? And the ending made me want to throw something at the tv. I LITERALLY said, "That's time I'll never get back!" The way the main characters were written was really bad. I was looking forward to seeing Jang Ki Yong - they did put some great clothes on him, but he was a very unlikeable (borderline creepy) character. Call me crazy, but falling in love with your dead brother's girlfriend is just not right. There was something kind of obsessive about him. And her? Just so many things. You're a complete witch to this guy, going on and on about how important your career is, and you let people walk all over you? You have a one-night stand with a random guy and when he approaches you later, you're mad at him?
ACTING: Jang Ki Yong. I loved him in My Roommate is a Gumiho, and his acting in Born Again was amazing. In this show he had no expression throughout most of the show. I kind of felt that he even knew the script was bad, and wasn't making much of an effort. Song Hye Kyo - is she the same in absolutely everything she is in? Speaking of no expression - her face always had the same expression, as did her voice. When I watch her, I always think that maybe she doesn't smile because she doesn't want to wrinkle or something. I think the lack of emotion she displays when she acts contributes to you not liking the characters she portrays. I've never watched a show where there is so much staring going on. Staring into space, staring at each other, staring at a door.
CHEMISTRY: None.
REWATCH VALUE: Not on a dare!
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Toxic message and bullying abound
The story was okay, but Im Soo Hyang looked totally plastic. I think it was to emphasized all the reconstructive work she had had done, but as her expression hardly ever changed, it reminded me of a bad botox job. Cha Eun Woo had absolutely no facial expressions and his voice inflections never changed. Both characters were just bland.So much emphasis was put on her completely making herself over, and her resultant self-esteem problems, I couldn't feel for her character at all. Was the message that you should be happy with who you are? Or was the message that you should consider plastic surgery? It was hard to tell. I didn't feel that the characters were fleshed out enough.
The body shaming in this drama was way over-the-top. A recurring question I have about Asian culture - do people just say whatever they think in front of people or is this just a cliche? ("He's so handsome" "She's so ugly") I can't imagine taking pictures of a man because he's handsome and talking to my friends about it with him standing there.
The last episode was cute though. Happy ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
Disappointed
Just my personal opinion, but here's what I liked and what I didn't:LIKED:
-Music, especially when the cast of HP was singing
-the cameos
-Lee Bong Ryun as Professor Seo. She had a commanding presence, but could be supportive when need be. I think she was my favorite character.
NOT SO MUCH:
-FL. Pouty, threatening to quit, even as late as the last episode. Being a doctor isn't something you just "put up with". Plus, she wasn't a true first-year, so she should have known a lot more than she did.
-The other first-years. He was an idiot, one was a robot, and the other seemed like she wanted to be some kind of influencer or something.
-The leads were all unlikeable and didn't gel with one another. I will say things got better after episode 10.
-The stories weren't that interesting.
Now, I'm not saying not to watch it. Please do, since I tend to be harder on shows than others.
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Movie-length commercial for MSC Cruises
This movie was literally the middle of the road for me. To me, it had more wrong than right, but I'll just give it a 5 and move on.I really struggled with this movie, as it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be. Was it a comedy? A mystery? A farce? Except for the main characters, everyone else's hair, makeup and clothing were WAY over the top. A lot of the characters just seemed like caricatures of real people - that makes it hard for me to feel like I'm getting to know them and to feel empathy for them. Most of the characters were a little creepy, including the children. Was that so that we couldn't figure out who the "bad guy" was?
I think the biggest question I had while I was watching it, how did the FL get on board the ship without a ticket, how was she able to remain on board once the ship left (the ML knew she didn't have a ticket), where did she get her wardrobe since she didn't have luggage? And I could be mistaken, but when we first meet her, I don't think she even had a purse on her.
All-in-all, for me this movie was too "campy" and difficult to take seriously.
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