Musings of the Obsessive Kind

A little disclaimer - romcom is my least favorite kdrama genre. It doesn't mean there are no romcoms I adore (there are some wonderful ones out there), but it does mean that the chances of my loving a romcom are smaller than loving a drama in any other genre. It's been years since I've loved a romcom proper from beginning to end (let's face it, Secret Garden was really a romantic fantasy melodrama with some funny bits and not a comedy).

And yet, despite it all, I really really adored the first ep of BL. I am not emotionally attached, not yet - that invisible magic switch which gets me to see these people as real beings I root for, hasn't flipped yet.

But it's a funny clever drama with huge potential. And after Hong Sisters' recent outings, it is fun for this ahjumma to see leads who are definitely adults (whatever their mental state may be - does anyone really think Dokko Jin is mature? :P)

Like in a lot of their dramas, the heroine is pretty awesome from the start but the male lead is immature and spoiled and has a lot of growing to do. (I think My Girl is the only one of theirs which actually breaks that pattern). Dokko Jin may be a huge superstar and south of 40, but he has the childishness, self-absorption and capacity for reflection of a five-year-old. Cha Seung Won, who usually excels in playing dangerous, cold, thoroughly grown-up men, is a total hoot here going all-out playing a man who is the opposite of those three characteristics. I don't like Dokko Jin as a person but he's a hell of an amusing character.

But the heart of the drama, so far, is with Gong Hyo Jin (who is an actress that I loved in everything I've ever seen her in). Ae Jung is down on her luck, her celebrity is almost gone (due to long-ago rumors which are, I am pretty sure, untrue) but her optimism, cheer and strength are wonderful. Nor is she the usual clumsy, 'cutely' incompetent heroine which the bane of kdrama romcoms. Ae Jung is very much a grown-up, a woman who earns a living, and who may be funny/be in funny situations without coming across as a nincompoop. And she and CSW have very good chemistry.

I don't have much of an impression of the second leads so far, beyond the fact that Yoo Inna plays the usual Hong Sisters plastic, brittle secondary bitch and that Yoon Kye Sang is very adorable and funny but I wish that he was able to go back to leading man status (Crazy for You, Who Are You, and She's 19 were all so awesome). But then the Hong Sisters never spend much time on secondaries - the OTP is King in all their stuff. The drama is populated by the usual cast of funny supporting characters, Hong Sisters-style.

You know, the drama BL reminds me of the most is not one of Hong Sisters', but Choi Jin Shil and Jung Joon Ho's wonderful Last Scandal. You have the formerly popular woman who hasn't been treated well by time and people around her, you have a spoiled and childish superstar with a hidden heart, you have he fishbowl funny world of celebrity etc etc. If BL can manage to be one-fifth as amazing as LS turned out to be, we will indeed have a winner!

Oh, and even though a lot of the first ep is set in the wacky, bizarre world of Korean variety shows, the drama is still hilarious if you've never watched a second of those. I found it all very funny and my total exposure to Korean variety shows was a total of one ep of WGM.

Did you work your whole way through this opus? Have a reward:

A little disclaimer - romcom is my least favorite kdrama genre. It doesn't mean there are no romcoms I adore (there are some wonderful ones out there), but it does mean that the chances of my loving a romcom are smaller than loving a drama in any other genre. It's been years since I've loved a romcom proper from beginning to end (let's face it, Secret Garden was really a romantic fantasy melodrama with some funny bits and not a comedy).

And yet, despite it all, I really really adored the first ep of BL. I am not emotionally attached, not yet - that invisible magic switch which gets me to see these people as real beings I root for, hasn't flipped yet.

But it's a funny clever drama with huge potential. And after Hong Sisters' recent outings, it is fun for this ahjumma to see leads who are definitely adults (whatever their mental state may be - does anyone really think Dokko Jin is mature? :P)

Like in a lot of their dramas, the heroine is pretty awesome from the start but the male lead is immature and spoiled and has a lot of growing to do. (I think My Girl is the only one of theirs which actually breaks that pattern). Dokko Jin may be a huge superstar and south of 40, but he has the childishness, self-absorption and capacity for reflection of a five-year-old. Cha Seung Won, who usually excels in playing dangerous, cold, thoroughly grown-up men, is a total hoot here going all-out playing a man who is the opposite of those three characteristics. I don't like Dokko Jin as a person but he's a hell of an amusing character.

But the heart of the drama, so far, is with Gong Hyo Jin (who is an actress that I loved in everything I've ever seen her in). Ae Jung is down on her luck, her celebrity is almost gone (due to long-ago rumors which are, I am pretty sure, untrue) but her optimism, cheer and strength are wonderful. Nor is she the usual clumsy, 'cutely' incompetent heroine which the bane of kdrama romcoms. Ae Jung is very much a grown-up, a woman who earns a living, and who may be funny/be in funny situations without coming across as a nincompoop. And she and CSW have very good chemistry.

I don't have much of an impression of the second leads so far, beyond the fact that Yoo Inna plays the usual Hong Sisters plastic, brittle secondary bitch and that Yoon Kye Sang is very adorable and funny but I wish that he was able to go back to leading man status (Crazy for You, Who Are You, and She's 19 were all so awesome). But then the Hong Sisters never spend much time on secondaries - the OTP is King in all their stuff. The drama is populated by the usual cast of funny supporting characters, Hong Sisters-style.

You know, the drama BL reminds me of the most is not one of Hong Sisters', but Choi Jin Shil and Jung Joon Ho's wonderful Last Scandal. You have the formerly popular woman who hasn't been treated well by time and people around her, you have a spoiled and childish superstar with a hidden heart, you have he fishbowl funny world of celebrity etc etc. If BL can manage to be one-fifth as amazing as LS turned out to be, we will indeed have a winner!

Oh, and even though a lot of the first ep is set in the wacky, bizarre world of Korean variety shows, the drama is still hilarious if you've never watched a second of those. I found it all very funny and my total exposure to Korean variety shows was a total of one ep of WGM.

Did you work your whole way through this opus? Have a reward:

ockoala just posted this pic from the poster shoot for Best Love on her blog, and I just about died:



I mean - My huge favorite Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Seung Won (who's looking hotter than ever)! She is a faded pop star who has negative popularity due to her bitchy reputation and who goes on a celerity dating show to get some of it back but falls for her partner (scrumptuous Yoon Kye Sang, who's a doctor) for real! And he's n1 superstar with very positive image who ended up having a one-night stand with heroine and now can't get her out of his head. Heeee. EEEEEE!

Aaaand - we have a winner! Goodbye Miss Ripley starring Lee Da Hae (a.k.a. Mousie's favorite kdrama actress) and Micky Yoochun (a.k.a. Mousie's true love from SKKS) which airs after The Duo is over. Apparently this is going to be based on a true-crime scandal about a woman who got hired by a prestigious college institution after showing these amazing credentials but then it turned out she barely finished high-school and faked her degrees with the help of her much older boyfriend (presumably not Micky as he's not almost 20-yrs her senior, good Lord). LDH plays the scammer. Not sure who Micky plays except I am sure he will be her OTP.

I WANT I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!!

No offense to The Duo, but please be over sooner, k?

The runner-up is Discovery of Affection, an upcoming Hong Sisters drama about a love affair between a successful actor and a washed-out actress. Starring Cha Seung Won and Gong Hyo Jin. I repeat - starring Cha Seung Won and Gong Hyo Jin. If there is a casting heaven which answers my prayers, this is it. The Hong Sisters and I have a somewhat fraught relationship - when I love their dramas, I love them hard (My Girl, Delightful Girl Chunhyang, and Hong Gil Dong, the latter of which is in my top 10 kdramas of all time. I enjoyed Fantasy Couple as well though not as much as the above three). However, every one of their dramas since HGD has been actively annoying to me - both You're Beautiful and Gumiho Girlfriend felt stale, emotionally shallow, and featured characters where to call them immature and weak would be kind. BUT. I have hope! Because the big problem with YAB and GG came from them skewing so young. With actors in their 30s (GHJ) and 40s (CSW) respectively, this is not an issue, especially since neither could play a weak idiot if they tried. More importantly, if Hong Sisters wanted their leads to portray weak idiots, they would not have picked those particular actors. So, despite my past falling out with the Hong Sisters, hooray!

Aaaand - we have a winner! Goodbye Miss Ripley starring Lee Da Hae (a.k.a. Mousie's favorite kdrama actress) and Micky Yoochun (a.k.a. Mousie's true love from SKKS) which airs after The Duo is over. Apparently this is going to be based on a true-crime scandal about a woman who got hired by a prestigious college institution after showing these amazing credentials but then it turned out she barely finished high-school and faked her degrees with the help of her much older boyfriend (presumably not Micky as he's not almost 20-yrs her senior, good Lord). LDH plays the scammer. Not sure who Micky plays except I am sure he will be her OTP.

I WANT I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!!

No offense to The Duo, but please be over sooner, k?

The runner-up is Discovery of Affection, an upcoming Hong Sisters drama about a love affair between a successful actor and a washed-out actress. Starring Cha Seung Won and Gong Hyo Jin. I repeat - starring Cha Seung Won and Gong Hyo Jin. If there is a casting heaven which answers my prayers, this is it. The Hong Sisters and I have a somewhat fraught relationship - when I love their dramas, I love them hard (My Girl, Delightful Girl Chunhyang, and Hong Gil Dong, the latter of which is in my top 10 kdramas of all time. I enjoyed Fantasy Couple as well though not as much as the above three). However, every one of their dramas since HGD has been actively annoying to me - both You're Beautiful and Gumiho Girlfriend felt stale, emotionally shallow, and featured characters where to call them immature and weak would be kind. BUT. I have hope! Because the big problem with YAB and GG came from them skewing so young. With actors in their 30s (GHJ) and 40s (CSW) respectively, this is not an issue, especially since neither could play a weak idiot if they tried. More importantly, if Hong Sisters wanted their leads to portray weak idiots, they would not have picked those particular actors. So, despite my past falling out with the Hong Sisters, hooray!

I have just finished ep 2 of Thorn Birds and it's official - I am in love. Make no mistake, this is an unapologetic melodrama - three of the four protagonists have mothers who abandoned them and the story is not set in an orphanage. But I believe melodrama is like any other genre - most of what is made in it is crap, but occasionally you can find a gem. After all, both Something Happened in Bali and Que Sera Sera were melodramas.

I have no idea if TB will join those ranks but after the first two eps, I think it's very much on track. The drama's biggest strength lies in its casting. Yes, the script is fast-paced and I like the dialogues but imagine a slew of idol-wannabe-actors in the role and the drama would quickly become unbearable.

The top honors go to Joo Sang Wook who tears into his role as someone deeply scarred under his well-mannered and reserved facade. I have no idea if JSW is a versatile actor - for all I know, he'd be awful in a comedy. But he is incredible in dark adult dramas which is what this is. Just as in Giant, he steals every scene he's in - whenever he's on-screen, I can't pay attention to anyone else. It helps that he looks like a grown-up and can project a masculine/intelligent/competent vibe. Nothing against teen dramas or teenybopper idols but I prefer to watch adults.

Kim Min Jung is next - she's someone who is hateable but also pitiable. I should dislike her, and I do, but I can't wholly dismiss her - there is something irreversibly broken in her. Her hunger for power, recognition, love is what drives her. I am sure I will cheer when the heroine will grind her bones to make her bread, but I will be devastated too.

Han Hye Jin is likewise very good - I thought she was a little over-the-top in a couple of hyper moments but only a little, and she nails every quiet scene.

Seo Do Young hadn't had much to do yet other than be his gorgeous, cheeky self, but it's testament to his chops and screen presence that he's able to hold his own against his co-stars and keep my interest whenever he shares the screen with them, despite me knowing so little about his character.

Please, flist, give this one a chance. It's very very good. I don't remember the last time I've seen such an intelligent, nuanced, adult kdrama.

( A few caps from ep 2 )

In casting news:

(1) Apparently, Lee Da Hae and Micky Yoochun may be cast opposite each other. I adore both of them but I cannot imagine them opposite each other at all. My brain breaks. But I have liked every single LDH drama I've ever seen, so I will probably like this too.

(2) The Hong Sisters are considering casting Cha Seung Won as the lead of their next, a drama about a romance between a popular actor and a washed-out actress. I used to love Hong Sisters and swear by them but their two last dramas really rubbed me the wrong way so my new motto when it comes to them is "approach with caution". Still, if they are casting CSW, there is no way their hero would be a spineless, cowardly, immature beta (yes, my Gumiho issues are showing) because that is impossible to make CSW into that (and he's a couple of decades too old to even try). And I have no idea who they will cast as the heroine and what her character will be, but I can't imagine her being a spineless idiot like the heroine of YAB because not only would the age be wrong, any character played by CSW would eat her for breakfast. So I am cautiously optimistic with that one.