This review may contain spoilers
Melo Movie is the drama that broke me from my k-drama watching hiatus -- I initially decided to give it a try because it had elements I enjoyed. Park Bo Young, the black cat x golden retriever trope, second chances, and the film industry. I was still left with these things, but instead convoluted, glossed over, and underestimated for it's full potential. I think that's the thing -- or maybe the problem -- with a lot of Netflix kdramas. They're really fun to watch for their concepts, but whether or not they hit the mark with the story they want to portray is really a hit or miss. With this, I would say it was somewhat of a miss. It does a lot of things well for it's genre, but there were a lot of things I felt lacked in it's fervor.
STORY: 8/10
Many elements of Melo Movie were super interesting to me. The storylines seemed to be well thought-out for the most part; they didn't depend too much on cliche tropes but of course paid homage to them for the sake of living upto the title of the show. For that, I enjoyed this drama's subtlety and thoughtfulness; all these characters are involved in the film industry and are creators in some shape or form, so it involves the typical plot of young people soul searching and integrating themselves into their field. It focused more on the characters' struggles more than the industry itself, which could be very intentional and therefore done in a way that didn't feel corny or overstated.
The romances, despite it being the main overarching theme of this show, seemed to hold much less importance than the rest of the characters' plotlines. Like almost everyone else is mentioning in their reviews, the side couple's plotline held more interest to me simply because they were frustrating in a way that made sense. The main couple's problem is their constant miscommunication and stubbornness; it also didn't really rub me the right way that the Gyeom was practically forcing himself on Mubee when he wanted her to notice him or forgive her, but didn't care to understand just WHY she was so annoyed with him or even apologize. Gyeom is childish and bubbly for a reason, this is stated, but the borderline disregard he had for her clearly setting her boundaries didn't feel really romantic to me. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I have less tolerance for this BS and forcing the FL into doing things she doesn't like in romance media, even though... well... I watch a lot of romance media/dramas and this is a very normal trope that tends to happen a lot. LOL. I do realize that Gyeom's behavior is something that was required to force Mubee out of her shell -- I just wish his approach was more respectful to her.
Also, the main couple's development didn't really impact me in anyway. When Gyeom and Mubee finally cleared the main misunderstanding between the two of them, it didn't feel that satisfactory. It was cute though, and I especially loved the scene of them telling each other their secrets in the car as the music swelled. I think that was more of the direction of the scene however, rather than the characters themselves.
Maybe not a popular opinion, but I really did like what they did with the side couple. They showed the other side of the second chance trope; a couple that doesn't survive, or realizes why they broke up with each other in the first place. A couple that receives proper closure on both ends. Ju-a, I think, was more frustrating than Si-jun in this situation simply because she seemed so confused with her own feelings that what she was saying didn't pair with how she was acting. If she's so sure she wants nothing to do with him romantically, why insert herself into his life again other than his music? Why did she kiss him? Did she want to prove something to him -- to show him how much he hurt her in their relationship from half a decade ago? I think this hypocrisy and complexity from her thought process paves the way for an even more complex character existing in Ju-a, but I don't believe they thought it out well enough for her to have a full character arc. She simply continues being hypocritical in her own way and having us, the audience, never realize WHY she does the things she does, or even if she has a reason to. Most of her monologue is about Si-jun, never about herself or her own ambitions in writing. Si-jun gets his shot at talking about his passion for music, we even hear about his backstory and home situation. But never hers. And that is a travesty.
Finally, my favorite aspect of the plot in general is the relationship between Gyeom and Jun. I love bittersweet brother relationships, but kdramas often make them really corny. However, this is one of the best things of the drama. Gyeom's struggle of knowing who Jun really is as a person, Jun's entire character being this guy who's had to silently suffer and bear everything his entire life, and how the two had only each other to depend on and influence each others' ambitions... it was really beautiful. I cried a little in their confrontation scene, and even while they were arguing, Jun rushed to take care of Gyeom when he burned his hand. With that said, even Gyeom's grief was done alright -- though not perfect, it was well-intentioned and thought out creatively.
ACTING/CAST: 7/10
Obviously, the main couple was great. You got Choi Woo Shik, who is a household name in of itself, and Park Bo Young, one of the top leading ladies in kdramas who has proven her range in her many roles. They depicted their characters well, but I think Bo Young did especially more amazing as Mubee. I felt she was fully immersed in her character; and that she herself was Kim Mubee, rather than playing her.
This is the first drama I've seen of Jeon Sonee, and she knocked it out of the park. She was noticeably the best actor besides the main two in this drama for me (and of course Lee Jaewook, who I was surprised was even in this drama). Lee Junyoung felt kind of weak to me, as he seemed to have, like, a singular facial expression in most of his scenes. He's either dejected or smug, with no in between whatsoever.
MUSIC: 7.5/10
I added one or two songs to my playlist from the soundtrack, so I wouldn't say I hated it. For the most part, it was forgettable. Which is disappointing considering one of the main characters is a musician, and they were making a movie that centered around music. Also, I really don't mean to nitpick, but whoever made them sing English songs needs to rethink their choices. They sounded lovely, but incomprehensible. LOL. I guess that's just the beauty of it.
REWATCH VALUE: 8/10
Melo Movie can live upto its name in the fact that there was nothing too serious or hard to watch that would make it difficult for me to pick this up again. The drama is pretty simple and sweet, with your typical "enjoy life while you can" motif that a lot of dramas with these themes seem to have, a la Record of Youth. The only thing that would get in the way is just that it was... rather boring in the grand scheme of things romance-wise, which is typically the reason why I rewatch dramas in the first place.
OVERALL: 7.5/10
Intriguing and good enough to make me finish the drama, but not enough for me to consider this show memorable. I enjoyed the cast, the characters and the elements that showed their appreciation for the craftmanship of film as a whole, but very little of the plotline really gripped me into the show in any way. It had a lot of potential to be better than it was, but it didn't, but I'm not really disappointed or anything like that. I would just say it was "meh." I liked it, but I wouldn't say it's the best drama of the year. With that in mind, I would definitely recommend this to people regardless just because of the other elements I previously mentioned that I enjoyed.
STORY: 8/10
Many elements of Melo Movie were super interesting to me. The storylines seemed to be well thought-out for the most part; they didn't depend too much on cliche tropes but of course paid homage to them for the sake of living upto the title of the show. For that, I enjoyed this drama's subtlety and thoughtfulness; all these characters are involved in the film industry and are creators in some shape or form, so it involves the typical plot of young people soul searching and integrating themselves into their field. It focused more on the characters' struggles more than the industry itself, which could be very intentional and therefore done in a way that didn't feel corny or overstated.
The romances, despite it being the main overarching theme of this show, seemed to hold much less importance than the rest of the characters' plotlines. Like almost everyone else is mentioning in their reviews, the side couple's plotline held more interest to me simply because they were frustrating in a way that made sense. The main couple's problem is their constant miscommunication and stubbornness; it also didn't really rub me the right way that the Gyeom was practically forcing himself on Mubee when he wanted her to notice him or forgive her, but didn't care to understand just WHY she was so annoyed with him or even apologize. Gyeom is childish and bubbly for a reason, this is stated, but the borderline disregard he had for her clearly setting her boundaries didn't feel really romantic to me. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I have less tolerance for this BS and forcing the FL into doing things she doesn't like in romance media, even though... well... I watch a lot of romance media/dramas and this is a very normal trope that tends to happen a lot. LOL. I do realize that Gyeom's behavior is something that was required to force Mubee out of her shell -- I just wish his approach was more respectful to her.
Also, the main couple's development didn't really impact me in anyway. When Gyeom and Mubee finally cleared the main misunderstanding between the two of them, it didn't feel that satisfactory. It was cute though, and I especially loved the scene of them telling each other their secrets in the car as the music swelled. I think that was more of the direction of the scene however, rather than the characters themselves.
Maybe not a popular opinion, but I really did like what they did with the side couple. They showed the other side of the second chance trope; a couple that doesn't survive, or realizes why they broke up with each other in the first place. A couple that receives proper closure on both ends. Ju-a, I think, was more frustrating than Si-jun in this situation simply because she seemed so confused with her own feelings that what she was saying didn't pair with how she was acting. If she's so sure she wants nothing to do with him romantically, why insert herself into his life again other than his music? Why did she kiss him? Did she want to prove something to him -- to show him how much he hurt her in their relationship from half a decade ago? I think this hypocrisy and complexity from her thought process paves the way for an even more complex character existing in Ju-a, but I don't believe they thought it out well enough for her to have a full character arc. She simply continues being hypocritical in her own way and having us, the audience, never realize WHY she does the things she does, or even if she has a reason to. Most of her monologue is about Si-jun, never about herself or her own ambitions in writing. Si-jun gets his shot at talking about his passion for music, we even hear about his backstory and home situation. But never hers. And that is a travesty.
Finally, my favorite aspect of the plot in general is the relationship between Gyeom and Jun. I love bittersweet brother relationships, but kdramas often make them really corny. However, this is one of the best things of the drama. Gyeom's struggle of knowing who Jun really is as a person, Jun's entire character being this guy who's had to silently suffer and bear everything his entire life, and how the two had only each other to depend on and influence each others' ambitions... it was really beautiful. I cried a little in their confrontation scene, and even while they were arguing, Jun rushed to take care of Gyeom when he burned his hand. With that said, even Gyeom's grief was done alright -- though not perfect, it was well-intentioned and thought out creatively.
ACTING/CAST: 7/10
Obviously, the main couple was great. You got Choi Woo Shik, who is a household name in of itself, and Park Bo Young, one of the top leading ladies in kdramas who has proven her range in her many roles. They depicted their characters well, but I think Bo Young did especially more amazing as Mubee. I felt she was fully immersed in her character; and that she herself was Kim Mubee, rather than playing her.
This is the first drama I've seen of Jeon Sonee, and she knocked it out of the park. She was noticeably the best actor besides the main two in this drama for me (and of course Lee Jaewook, who I was surprised was even in this drama). Lee Junyoung felt kind of weak to me, as he seemed to have, like, a singular facial expression in most of his scenes. He's either dejected or smug, with no in between whatsoever.
MUSIC: 7.5/10
I added one or two songs to my playlist from the soundtrack, so I wouldn't say I hated it. For the most part, it was forgettable. Which is disappointing considering one of the main characters is a musician, and they were making a movie that centered around music. Also, I really don't mean to nitpick, but whoever made them sing English songs needs to rethink their choices. They sounded lovely, but incomprehensible. LOL. I guess that's just the beauty of it.
REWATCH VALUE: 8/10
Melo Movie can live upto its name in the fact that there was nothing too serious or hard to watch that would make it difficult for me to pick this up again. The drama is pretty simple and sweet, with your typical "enjoy life while you can" motif that a lot of dramas with these themes seem to have, a la Record of Youth. The only thing that would get in the way is just that it was... rather boring in the grand scheme of things romance-wise, which is typically the reason why I rewatch dramas in the first place.
OVERALL: 7.5/10
Intriguing and good enough to make me finish the drama, but not enough for me to consider this show memorable. I enjoyed the cast, the characters and the elements that showed their appreciation for the craftmanship of film as a whole, but very little of the plotline really gripped me into the show in any way. It had a lot of potential to be better than it was, but it didn't, but I'm not really disappointed or anything like that. I would just say it was "meh." I liked it, but I wouldn't say it's the best drama of the year. With that in mind, I would definitely recommend this to people regardless just because of the other elements I previously mentioned that I enjoyed.
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