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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Boring, and it was only 10 episodes!
The first couple of episodes were them fighting. I wasn't feeling that they were a good couple to begin with, so when she was trying to make a deal to save him, it just didn't make any sense to me. Why were they together? I didn't believe that they were in love, due to the circular storyline (break up, make up, repeat), the lack of chemistry and the fact that they were "broken up" more than they were together. I felt that the writers were trying to create a thought-provoking drama, and granted, the potential was there, but if you can't see the love between the couple, the rest of it just doesn't make sense.Was this review helpful to you?
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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This show was brilliant!
As a die-hard rom-com fanatic, I decided to watch this show after watching a few "average" rom-com's with the hopes that there would be a good one for me to watch after this. OH MY GOSH!Story: The story was very original, to say the least. I was struck by the sadness, feelings of being unsure, yet the hope and friendships that were developed in the village. The beauty of the village stood in stark contrast to the dark underbelly of what was happening in the world. I'm not going to reiterate what's already been mentioned in the synopsis, but when I first started watching, it was a typical con man scenario that I didn't think I was going to care for. I love when the writers do a good job of "found family" - people not being related by blood, but bonding, nonetheless. It was done on multiple levels here, with the people in the village, with Kim Wook and his partners in the pawn shop, and even with Kim Wook and Joon Ho. There was humor, drama, love, and oh my goodness, the mysteries. I felt the writers did an excellent job with this show. There was so much going on and there were so many moving parts, I was glued to the screen - I watched all 12 episodes in two days! I really wish that I knew someone that was watching it with me, because I would have loved to be able to discuss what was going on.
A LITTLE SPOILER-Y
Acting: Everyone did an excellent job. Go Soo as Kim Wook was able to move seamlessly from cocky to emotional without any difficulty. His emotions just tugged at me. Ha Joon as Shin Joon Ho was heartbreaking. All I can say is WOW! I had hoped against hope that his storyline would turn out differently, but in my heart, I know it couldn't have. Episode 10 just about killed me! Song Geon Hee as Thomas - at first, the blond hair was a little distracting, but I found him mesmerizing as the cement that held the village together. I was glad he got his closure, but sad for us as viewers that we won't see him in season 2.
FINISHED WITH THE SPOILERS.
Music: I thought the music was good and unobtrusive.
Rewatch: Since I know what will happen, I probably won't rewatch this, but I'm going to start on Season 2 immediately!
My bottom line: I thought everything about this was wonderful. I can't believe I'm going to stay this, but I'm so glad they didn't try to bring a romance storyline into this. Usually, my giving something a rating of 10 is for something I can rewatch. In this case, I had to give it a 10 just because it was so good. And, add to that, I didn't fast forward through anything - for me, that's saying a lot!
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Unpopular opinion
What is all the hype about? The main female was airhead and a stalker. I don't find anything cute or charming about someone stalking someone else. I felt so sorry for her, because she comes off as not being very bright (combination of poor grades and not getting a clue that the guy has no interest in her), and the stalking aspect made me feel like she must have had no pride or self esteem. The main male was cold. I did like the friendships represented during their high school years. However, once they graduated, the script took a turn for the worse. It was just boring.Was this review helpful to you?
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If you are looking for a healthy relationship, you won't find it here
Let me begin with what I liked – the ending was really cute. I also liked cameo appearances of some of the actors I’ve seen in other dramas. And the music was good. The acting was okay, which I will cover in greater detail under CAST.WRITING: I felt that the growth between the two characters was sorely lacking. The only time they communicated was when they were drunk, and they were drunk A LOT. There were too many unlikeable/pitiful people, and sadly this included the lead characters. There should be someone at the beginning of the story that you want to root for, and I didn’t feel that way about any of the characters. The show was rife with the standard K-drama tropes - wrist grabs, drunk confessions, bullying (sorry, but it’s NEVER acceptable for a man to hit a woman), parent troubles, brother troubles, misunderstandings due to lack of communication, best friends becoming enemies, enemies becoming lovers, crooked CEO’s, tragic medical conditions, love triangles, time jumps, rushed endings. You name it, you’ll find it here!
What stuck out most to me was how dysfunctional the relationships were. Granted, this show is about three years old and was just released, but even three years ago I would hope that writers would start to address the importance of honesty, respect, and communication in a relationship.
MAIN COUPLE: He was a mess, and was not nice to her in any way, shape or form at the beginning. Jumping to conclusions, emotional blackmail, and shutting yourself off from someone that you supposedly love to disappear and handle problems on your own, are not signs of a healthy relationship. Sadly, K-dramas use the time jump in almost every show, and it just doesn’t ring true that when you’ve been desperate to win the love of your life that you’d disappear for months/years at a time to “resolve” things and then just show up out of the blue without having contact with your significant other. In this age of cell phones, texting, social media and FaceTime, this is definitely an overused ploy. She was a mess and a doormat. She was pretty much treated badly by everyone, and she just took it. Get a spine!
SECOND COUPLE: Just no! This was the epitome of a toxic relationship and the police should have gotten involved.
CAST: Choi Tae Joon as idol Hoo Joon. I didn’t feel that he was strong enough to carry the role of male lead. He lacked “presence”. I found myself watching everyone around him in the scenes he was in. I’ve seen him in other things and enjoyed his acting, but this wasn’t a good fit for him.
Choi Soo-young as Lee Geun-Young. I had more problems with the way her character was written, rather than her acting. She is a beautiful woman, and there is an intrinsic sweetness about her that was a positive addition to her character.
Chansung as JJ. As an abusive, possessive, jealous boyfriend, I felt that he was a bit much, but it was the way he was written. However, I will say that toward the end, when something happens to him, that is where his acting really shone. He did a wonderful job of displaying the fear, despair, and vulnerability of his character which actually made you somewhat change the way you thought of him.
Han Ji An as Oh In-hyung. Of all the characters, the writers fell down on the job most with In-hyung. She was spineless and an emotional wreck and I couldn’t believe that anyone would fall for her or that she had the strength to take on being an idol star. Add to that Ji An’s acting, and I felt like it was a bit of a train wreck. Her facial expressions were flat throughout the show and her doe eyes just screamed “poor me”. There were a couple of scenes where she was walking away from the actor she had been talking to, and even her gait was unnatural.
Again, the ending was the saving grace.
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Not for me
I need to care about the characters in the shows that I watch. Here, the only ones I cared about were the grandmas and the second lead couple. I felt like it took me weeks to get through this one (I think I've only dropped one drama - I'm no quitter, even when continuing is as irritating as this was.)STORY/WRITING - It was okay, but nothing extraordinary. Him being younger than her was mentioned a few times - why? It was two years! I absolutely hated the way the FL was written - too forward, kind of stalker-ish, wouldn't take no for an answer, extremely immature, pouting, making ML "pay" for mistakes that she thinks he's made, posting pictures online to make him jealous, emotional game playing, and she always wanted him to do the apologizing, then would pout some more. ML was okay. I didn't find the plot itself interesting, it seemed to repeat a lot and the episodes seemed bloated. I would much rather have had more time spent on the 2nd couple. Now them I loved! There were some amusing things happening with them. However, her abusive husband was a nightmare and then suddenly disappeared, never to be mentioned again. I did like the friendship between the women, the relationship between the ML and his grandmother, and the secretary/aide of the guy that kept trying to get with the FL. He was very funny. I loved the wedding scenes, and the family scenes - they were loud and chaotic, but you could feel the love.
ACTING - for the most part the acting was good. As is usual with Chinese dramas, a lot of the acting for the ancillary characters was really bad. FL - absolutely stunning to look at. The chemistry between the leads was good, but I still didn't buy their relationship, she played too many games. As I mentioned, I loved the second couple. The 2ML was a "tough guy" but I loved how he stuttered every time he was near the 2FL. I also loved his relationship with her son.
COSTUMING - what the heck!?!?! Most of the clothes the ML wore were too big for him, like he was playing dress up. The FL wore things that stuck out like a sore thumb in a small town. Shorts and Boots, too-large blazers. She seemed like she should have been working in a large city, not a small town. And the blue sweater with the bunnies pinned on it? Absolutely ridiculous!
REWATCH VALUE - there is no way!
I realize that I am in the minority here, so you decide for yourself whether to try it.
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