K-Drama: Dr. Jin and I Need Romance 2012

I’m not writing an extended review for Dr. Jin, but I did want to bring it to closure since I did write 1st and 2nd impression.  Final impression for Dr. Jin in two words?

HOT MESS.

It’s really a shame.  The premise was so interesting and the drama didn’t start off badly.  I’m not sure what happened.  The writers got too ambitious and wrote themselves into yet another Korean drama corner?  By the way, this seems to be a common problem with Korean dramas.  The way the drama progressed (one ridiculous plot to another) and ended (another WTFery of an ending which Korean dramas seem to excel in), I have to wonder if the original story was also bad or just the Korean adaptation.

If you must watch Dr. Jin, do it knowing that most sane people will find it insane and start wanting to do insane things like hurl their very expensive Macbook out the window.  I would seriously recommend watching Dr. Jin while reading the wonderful recaps on Dramabeans.  The recapper does a heroic job of making Dr. Jin palatable without alcohol consumption.  I would recommend that you don’t actually drink while reading the recaps because she (or he?) will make you spit or ew, snort out the beverage while laughing out loud.

I would give Dr. Jin 3 to sometimes even 3.5 on unintended entertainment value, but as for actual quality, it would be 1.5.

On the other hand, I Need Romance 2012 was an unexpected gem.  I should have known since it comes from tvN, the same channel that produced Flower Boy Ramyun Shop and Queen In-hyun’s Man.

The drama is fast-paced and well acted with mostly cute chemistry all around.  The only problem was with the OTP. Frankly, I didn’t feel it and would have preferred that the girl winded up with the second male lead.

Still, the drama is amusing and easy to watch akin to a light summer reading book. (4/3.5)

 

K-Drama: Final Impression of Big

 

*Warning – spoilers included

Big was a highly anticipated drama, written by the famed Hong Sisters (My Girl, Hong Gil Dong, You’re Beautiful and Best/Greatest Love) and starring Gong Yoo in his first comback drama since the 2007 drama the Coffee Prince and his military service. Well with high expectations comes big disappointments. Big never delivered on its potential throughout the series and it ended with a highly polarizing finale. People either love it or hated it. It left them satisfied or the entire drama was ruined for them.

As for me, when I finished watching the finale, I was stunned and not in a good way. The first thought that popped into my head as the credits rolled by was, “That’s it? This can’t possibly be it.” I played the final scene a few times hoping for more explanations and a better closure with resolutions to the big major questions leading up the end.

Out of all the questions and loose ends left leading up the finale, the only one that got answered, however unsatisfactorily was the question of the OTP. After a week of processing and reading opinions from various bloggers that have recapped the drama, I’ve decided that Big’s biggest flaw wasn’t in the ending. It was in the setup and the subsequent expectations that I (and I’m sure many other viewers) had throughout the series.

Big was thought of as a romantic comedy with a body switch between Kang Kyung Joon, an 18-year old boy and a Seo Yoon Jae, a 30-year-old man. Since Gong Yoo plays Yoon Jae, the natural assumption was that Seo Yoon Jae would be the male half of the OTP.  The body switch would be mutual like Freaky Friday with a switch back after some lesson learned.

Well, you know the saying when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me? Only Kyung Joon wakes up in Yoon Jae’s body.  Yoon Jae in Kyung Joon’s body is an unexplained coma and a romance develops between Kyung Joon and Da Ran. Whuck??? Yeah, I’m sure a lot of us scratched our heads.  The drama works while Gong Yoo plays Kyung Joon, but what happens when the souls switch back?  Gong Yoo is the second lead?  Or is the switch permanent?  Then what happens to Yoon Jae? What happens to Kyung Joon’s body?

Scenario 1: Gong Yoo keeps playing Kyung Joon and Yoon Jae either dies in Kyung Joon’s body or they live forever in each other’s body. Okay, kind of sad and sucky for both and confusing for others especially since most don’t know about the switch.

Scenario 2: Yoon Jae is really the lead. Except we all start falling in love with the Kyung Joon and Da Ran OTP. So, unless the switch back happens soon where we can start seeing the Yoon Jae and Da Ran romance growing, this won’t work.

Scenario 3: Kyung Joon in his own body is the lead. Except really the actor really looks like a 16-year-old and the OTP don’t physically match. And an already questionable romance between a student and a teacher becomes more questionable. But if we could see the onscreen chemistry between the two actors, perhaps we could buy it?

They look okay, but…

None of the scenarios are completely satisfying as Gong Yoo continue to play Kyung Joon week after week and the viewers get attached to Kyung Joon’s character, but in Gong Yoo’s body.  I mean, look at the man.

Look at the chemistry between the two.

Scenario 4: Kyung Joon switches back with no memories of the switch and everything goes back to normal… except for poor Da Ran!  What kind of a romantic comedy would this be?  And does she or doesn’t she stay with Yoon Jae when she’s been in love with Kyung Joon?

Scenario 5: Kyung Joon switches back with or without memories and the romance with Da Ran starts up again a few years later… the more common plot device and the more likely scenario except how do they age up that baby face?

I could probably come up with more scenarios, but again, nothing that completely satisfies.

Then, the drama decides, for no real good reason, to have Da Ran and Kyung Joon in Soon Jae’s body to marry.  How can the viewer picture Da Ran with anyone else after seeing this?

Then, to really mess with the viewers and it’s revealed that Kyung Joon and Yoon Jae are brothers.  Talk about one f-ed up situation!

In the end, the drama ends with a scenario that’s close to #5, but with many questions unanswered.  As much as I hated the ending, in retrospect, it was the only way the drama could end.  In retrospect, the Hong Sisters had written themselves into a corner where no one was going to be fully satisfied and the ending they went with was the most palatable, however unsatisfying it was.

When I try to rate this drama I feel really conflicted.  I love Gong Yoo and his performance was so fantastic that I really enjoyed watching the drama on the whole.  There were some glaring flaws though like the side story line of the Kyung Joon’s uncle’s unrequited love was okay for an episode.  But then it came up again and again for no purpose whatsoever.  Also, secondary characters remained caricatures throughout the drama.  Finally, the unnecessarily convoluted plot with twists and turns that were never resolved fully.  So, 3.5 for enjoyment and 2.5 for quality?  Except 3.5 seems really high considering that I can’t really recommend this drama.  I guess I would recommend this drama to Gong Yoo lovers. His performance is well worth the pain, but otherwise, it’s skippable.

*I wrote this awhile ago, but never published.

 

K-Drama: Final Impression of I Do, I Do

Going by the promotional posters for the Korean Drama I Do, I Do, it is hard to tell what this series is about beside shoes. Is it a romantic comedy? A modern-day Cinderella (see the poster with one shoe left on the stairs)? About shoe fetish? The trailer adds to the confusion because it suggests a naughty rom-com with its salacious bedroom scene.

Except this is a regular broadcast KOREAN drama. They don’t do salacious. So, what is this drama about?

Hwang Ji An (pictured above) is a 30-something-year-old shoe designer and director at a high-end shoe company. She’s smart, beautiful and financially secure, but has no thoughts of getting married, let alone having children despite all the traditional parental pressure. Yet, after a drunken one-night stand she gets pregnant. The repercussion goes beyond her personal life and affects the career that she’s spent the last 15 years nurturing and protecting.

Park Tae Kang is a 20-something-year-old college drop-out with no money and no ambition. He’s kind and has a big heart, but he is also immature and irresponsible. He took his college tuition money to buy a motorcycle and named her Beyonce.  Due to an run-in on the motorcycle with Hwang Ji An, trails her all day to get the repair money, gets drunk with her and winds up sleeping with her.

Rounding out the cast, Jo Eun Sung is a successful doctor, who also has no interest in getting married, but continues to go on blind dates in order to appease his parents. He meets Ji An and to his surprise, falls for her.

Yeom Na Ri is the ambitious daughter of the company Chairman.  She competes with Ji An for the next president’s position and the acceptance of her family, as well as for the affection of Tae Kang.

I’m throwing this photo in because Park Tae Kang’s father, Park Kwang Seok is awesome. The actor, Park Yeong Gyu also played the awesome dad in Protect the Boss.

Like most Korean dramas, some convenient and contrived circumstances bring Ji An and Tae Kang together again at her shoe company. Their professional and personal lives become entangled due to the discovery of the pregnancy and machinations regarding company succession.

On paper and on the surface, the doctor seems better suited for Ji An. Look how nice and mature they look together. Honestly, it was hard picturing Ji An with the baby-faced, immature Tae-Kang.

Then, you get a scene like this.

And this.

And this and you’re like omo, omo, omo! Heck with nice and mature!

In the end though, chemistry or not, the drama is about the growth of both lead characters as they struggle with some major life decision. Hwang Ji An is the more complex character of the two. Her character is the antithesis of many Korean drama female leads in that she is strong and smart to the point of arrogance. She seems to have it all, is the more successful on paper, but she’s emotionally stunted.

Tae Kang’s character is very much like the typical female lead’s role. He is sweet and kind to the point naiveté and slightly dumb (or at least he didn’t do well in school). He is by all counts a loser, with no money, no education and no job. In fact he’s light years ahead of everyone in terms of the heart. As Tae Kang and Ji An interact, they help each other grow and mature into their full potential apart and possibly together.

One of the biggest problem with the drama was the stereotypical characterization of all the secondary characters.

Korean dramas have a tendency to have secondary characters written in really broad strokes, with little depth beyond the stereotypical characteristics (evil opponent without remorse; clingy ex who can’t take a no; secondary male lead who’s almost perfect in every way except he never reveals his feelings until it’s too late; mean, over-bearing parents, etc) and I Do, I Do was no exception. Anytime you want to fast forward through scenes without the leads is not a good sign.

On the other hand, none of the truly annoying characters were much more than sheep in wolves clothing. The time not spent in developing their characters meant more time spent on the OTP. I Do, I Do was successful in the development of the OTP relationship. It wasn’t perfect. It was all sweetness and light. It wasn’t all sizzling passion. But it really felt real.

The drama also manufactured certain complications and conflicts in order to create tension instead of relying on dilemmas that would naturally arise from Ji An choosing to become a single mom and trying to maintain a her high level position in a high pressured industry. Anytime the viewer is rolling her eyes at certain scenes is also not a good sigh.

Still, the drama was overall pleasant to watch and it delivered a satisfying final two episodes. I’m finding with 30 plus dramas that a satisfying ending is actually a rarity. Also, Kim Sun Ah’s acting in I Do, I Do is a pleasure to watch. I give this drama 4/4.

Credit: All photos from MBC.