It almost worked.
Why, oh why are Korean writers so obsessed with overcomplicating everything. Not all romantic comedies need a slapstick over the top side characters, not one, but two obsessive exs with various levels of traumatic past, and 978674 random plot lines. Remove 70% of plot lines and elaborate on the remaining 30%, give characters more depth and time to develop and you would have a truly amazing healing rom-com. Sadly, we still had to deal with the unnecessary 70%, because the Korean writers believe in a simple rule of “more means better”.I loved the relationship between Hae Kyung and Woo Do Hee. Even though at first it might have seemed like a one way street, by the end of the show it was clear that they both helped each other a lot. Jung Jae Hyuk truly stole the show in the second half and Lee Ji Hoon easily delivered the best performance. The connection between Jae Hyun and Keanu was one of the best side plots of the drama and I would have loved to watch a show focused on them more. On the other hand Jin Noh Eul was one of the most boring and cliche second female leads ever. Even though she was nowhere near as toxic as the second male lead, I somehow hated her more, simply because she was so poorly written.
Dinner Mate had some great messages and the overall plot, but too much was going on for anything to be truly developed in a meaningful way. One thing I did appreciate though is how it clearly showed that dealing with mental issues is a long process that at times takes many attempts and different approaches - sometimes it takes years to face what you fear and what holds you back, sometimes you will never be ready to fully accept it.
Overall, everything was good, but almost nothing was truly great. The few plots that stood out the most could not save the drama, when there were most scenes and plots that felt completely useless and empty. Maybe it should have been a 8 to 12 episode drama with none of the filler?
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This review may contain spoilers
This is such a light heart warming drama!!! I'm so glad I decided to start watching this!!!The two main leads are so adorable together!!! The story is not too overly cute that you'll get fed up, it was not too mature that you'll easily get bored. It was a right mix of everything. The concept of a "dinner mate" was so simple but somehow it was a unique concept.
The script writing, directing, casting, acting was orchestrated well!
I really loved the idea of "not staying with a person who is uncomfortable to eat with", because though this is common sense to some, I know a lot of us still tend to push this idea aside. But yeah, as a food lover and a kdrama lover I really loved this drama.
Song Seungheon and Seo Jihye Fighting!!!! Congratulations to the whole team behind this drama!!!
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Watch it 8_10ep before giving up.
●I took my time for the show to grow on me, so it was 8 ep (or say 4ep of 1hour) that clenched me to watch it until end. I was literally slow watching 1ep a day and wanted to give up but health-care is my profession so didn’t want to drop it. Good drama, enjoyable but failed to impress on psychiatry and the treatment basis. I liked all the deep and meaningful conversations happening throughout not just the leads but everyone. They were touching and meaningful.●Story- everyone read the synopsis and two people meet on jeju islands and coincidently keeps on meeting. So they decide to be DINNER MATE, then there is return of the Ex's. then the story is slow and there is one more couple of a homeless man and a Female CEO, who also bond over food. This drama is more of love of food.
●Acting- everyone was amazing. My favourite is
▪︎Park-ho-san as Keanu, the homeless man. He nailed the character of homeless man. His makeup, hair, clothes, were bang on which actually made me sympathize with him.Well his laughter reminds of JANG HYUK.
▪︎Seo-ji-hye as woo do hee was amazing, I actually enjoyed her eating food scenes, as if thats the most delicious meal. She was confident and determined and knew what she wants. She always spoke her mind.
▪︎Song-seung-heon as kim hae kyung was good. I liked his character as a person but not as a psychiatrist. As the writer did poor job in researching and treating the patients. It wasn’t his fault but that aspect affected the character a lot.
●Music- each OST was exceptional. Lyrics and music perfect.
Ovan-ost1 and Yummy-ost2, its lyrics was amazing. It felt so good when I read the translation. The hunger and invitation of dinner in the lyrics was WOW. An applause to the song-writers.
Midnight Cinderella-ost5 was like a dream song. It felt as if its written for me.
Dear my star-ost3 and more than words-ost4 were also worth listening.
●Rewatch- I would watch it but not anytime soon, this drama also has lot of plot-holes, maybe I get to understand while re-watching it.
● Appreciation- I loved the proposal scene, while having food, it goes well with concept of dinner mate. Not usual like Ring and going knees.It was Simple and lovely.
●Criticism- writers should have put more effort on the clinical aspect of food, as the ML was treating them with food, he felt as nutritionist more than psychiatrist.
As this drama was also a bonding over food, I wished if they showed more good shots of food.
I was confused with the character of jae-hyuk, yes I understood him during his few scenes that he is a stalker but were the writers trying to make him into culprit or a sympathizing character.
Keanu past wasn’t written properly. He is homeless man, then he wears suit and comes to meet ML, then he again starts on his career as psychiatrist.
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A REFRESHING FEEL GOOD DRAMA WITH A GOOD STORY
I didn't have high expectations from this drama, but I enjoyed it a lot more and I thought I would. The story progresses at a steady pace, and it surprisingly has a good amount of substance and depth in the story. The acting was great and the chemistry between the leads was strong. The female lead certainly deserves more main roles in K-dramas. The whole experience was great, and the ending was good as well. Highly recommended if you wanna watch something lighthearted, but different and wanna feel satisfied with the end.Was this review helpful to you?
Dinner Mate is one of the best romantic drama of 2020! why?
The OST is super fascinating and it perfectly fit the drama, the cast did very well in their acting especially Song Seung-Heon and Seo Ji-Hye plus their chemistry as well as the plot; (Would you lIke to Have a Dinner with Me) for me is a strong and imaginative title for it seems to value family, friends and or relatives enjoying their everyday meal in their every day life and it proves in the drama by means of different kinds of experiencing food to eat not being lonely but being with our loved ones! INDEED A GOOD HEART-WARMING ROMANTIC DRAMA THIS 2020, KUDOS TO THE PRODUCTION TEAM, CASTING TEAM AND TO THE WRITER AND DIRECTOR WHO MAKE THIS DRAMA WONDERFUL! WELL DESERVED.Was this review helpful to you?
Fantastic kdrama
Actully I watched this drama without any reason and anything make me exiting.but i love it and after that i became a big fan of song seung heon . i started watching his all dramas and movies.he is great .For me this drama is better than many dramas in 2020 .
Plz watch this drama because it makes you feel happy and thinking about love .
Thank you all dinnermate team . that was great. I hope lead actor and actress play another drama together.
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I just loved the Lead couple. Both of them are super awesome. And their Chemistry..Omg... totally Heart fluttering. Song Seung heon was So Good & Perfect. Seo Ji Hye... she was great , this role is totally opposite from Crash Landing in you ... & I love her in this drama. ?❤️
Music was Beautiful specially ... Would you like OST by Ovan.
It's genre is also food and I'm sure you'll crave for delicious food while watching it. ??
Without any fanciness it was Simply superb. You should definitely watch it.❤️
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A good drama, to see especially for the performance of the actors
Series where the talent of the actors more or less compensates for the inconsistencies of the story.Plot: A dynamic FL leaves for Jeju Island (as a surprise for her fiance) and finds out that he is cheating on her. A visiting psychiatrist helps her. They meet regularly in Seoul as anonymous "dinner mates", which allows them to confide in each other without a mask.
This Dinner Mate series should have been called the oblivious, selfish exes.
I know that the return of the ex years later and who wants to retrieve their lover, is a usual cliche of the dramas, but there, we have 2 exes who return at the same time, that's too much!
Moreover, in real life, it is UNREALISTIC! An ex who comes back to bother me 5 years later, I kick him out and that's it! The screenwriters should show a little more creativity and realism, seriously... Not to mention the boss who encourages the ex in his reconquest of FL when she knows what pain the FL had to overcome during the breakup. Is she really a friend?
The "psychological" side of this drama is not credible, neither coherent. It is a good things to approach this type of subject, but it takes research and a good domain's knowledge to write correctly about mental illnesses and therapies.
That being said, the actors are EXCELLENT, the 2 leads are mature, intelligent, interpreted by brilliant actors who keep us hooked to the screen despite the inconsistencies of the story. The secondary couple brings a note of humor, freshness; they are very cute.
The OSTs are great!!
The realization is dynamic (without length), with neat framing and very beautiful images.
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Série où le talent des acteurs compense à peu près les inconsistances de la story.
Plot : 1 FL dynaique part à Jeju Island et s'aperçoit que son boyfriend la trompe. Un psychiatre de passage l'aide. Ils se retrouvent régulièrement à Séoul comme "dinner mate" anonymes, ce qui leur permet de se confier sans masque.
Cette série Dinner Mate aurait dû s'appeler les exes inconscients et égoïstes.
Je sais que le retour de l'ex des années plus tard et qui veut récupérer sa/son lover, est un cliché habituel des dramas, mais là, on a 2 exes qui reviennent au même moment, ça fait trop !
De plus, dans la vraie vie, c'est IRRÉALISTE ! Un ex qui revient m'ennuyer 5 ans plus tard, je le mets dehors et basta ! Les screenwriters devraient faire preuve d'un peu plus de créativité et de réalisme, sérieusement... Sans compter la boss qui encourage l'ex dès son come-back dans sa reconquête de la FL alors qu'elle sait quelle peine a du surmonter son amie lors de la rupture. C'est vraiment une amie ?
Le côté "mental ou psychique" de ce drama n'est pas crédible, par cohérent. C'est bien de vouloir aborder ce type de sujet, mais il faut des recherches et une bonne connaissance du sujet pour aborder les thérapies.
Ceci dit, les acteurs sont EXCELLENTS, les 2 leads sont matures, intelligents, interprétés par des acteurs géniaux qui nous tiennent accrochés à l'écran malgré les incohérences de l'histoire. Le couple 2aire apporte une note d'humour, de fraicheur, très cute.
Les OST sont super !!
La réalisation est dynamique (sans longueur), avec des cadrages soignés et de très belles images.
=> Un bon drama, à voir surtout pour la performance des acteurs.
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It's not something new, at the same time, it's sophisticated
I came to this drama because of Seo Ji Hye, and I made the right choice. This drama is something I need to refresh my mind in the midst of stress.I've watched almost all Korean RomCom dramas from 2014-present, and let me tell you, the story itself is not something new. There is a sense of familiarity between Dinner Mate and dramas like Another Miss Oh, or other dramas that involves shameless exes trying to get back together. However, at the same time, this drama has a fresh feeling to it. It's the perfect drama for people who loves watching typical RomCom without feeling bored.
As for the actors/actresses performances, they did a great job. I particularly enjoyed the 2 ML's acting. Song Seung-Heon's acting is as detailed as expected. Usually when doing an act of uneasy feeling, actors can come off as flat, or even awkward, however, Song Seung-Heon did a great job portraying it. Lee Ji-Hoon too, he did an excellent job portraying a man with obsession disorder who has a painful and pitiful backstory. I just wish he got offered more interesting roles as a main male lead.
I rarely state anything about music in drama reviews, however, one of the most impressive element on this drama is its soundtracks. This drama has one of the best soundtracks in my opinion and I've saved multiple of their songs on my playlist.
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Warning: Stay away from this, it is not suitable for your mental state, time and data
There was a lot of pulling drama. The whole story which should have been completed in 8-10 episodes was forcibly made into 16 episodes. The ex-boyfriend-girlfriend shit was beyond limits. The first half of the story is interesting and the second half is uninteresting. There are also some irrational flaws in the story, like Keanu could have told everything to the protagonist in the first meeting but he kept things to himself. If I look at the entire episodes, I will give 1-2 ratings. Because I liked the first half, I give it a 5 rating. Many people say that it is a heart touching drama, but nowhere didn't it feel like an emotional journey for me. The characters had confused and complicated emotions. Because of which, watching this drama, I did not feel love or relief, but felt tension.I have mixed feelings, but I'm less happy, more annoyed with this drama because of the way it's pulled off really irritate me .
Sometimes high rating/famous dramas are not good, I also watched this after getting influenced by ratings and people, now feel like I wasted my time. When this drama was released, my heart felt that it would not be good, and I ignored it. and my instincts were right
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This review may contain spoilers
This is my first review. Honestly, the only reason I finished this show was because of how good the first half-ish was. It started going downhill at around episode 9/18 (Each episode is cut into two episodes. Episode 1 is episode 1 and 2, etc.) The biggest problem I had with it at this point was that it was a flaming bus of a drama. Nobody knew what was going on. People did things just to do them. The ex-girlfriend and boyfriend coming back to their lovers to cause havoc got old really fast.The first half of this show was amazing, though. Two people intertwined by fate and destiny keep meeting over and over to have a meal. It was beautiful. I had the feeling I was seeing one of the best stories, if not overall dramas, I've ever seen. And that thought just crashed and burned in disappointment at the strange turns this drama took. If the second half of this show was a drama by itself, I'd give it a negative score. But the first half was so good like I said that the overall score is above average. Watch the show if you want. It might be different for different people.
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