Story
A perfect combination of reality and life presented in the best manner it could be presented in. The writer managed to keep the story true and realistic with real life issues (based on experience it's all real) and yet kept it fresh and fun to watch. This drama carried out a strong message "it's better late than never" "the present is really a present (gift)". Try to live your life without regrets, live your life first for YOU before anyone else, appreciate the time you have now and live it to the max. This is the 1st drama that made me think of my own life and gave me hope and refreshed my memory with my past life and made me think of my present and future. This drama has boosted my energy and gave me positive insight even with all the issues that were discussed in the drama there is always bright side to everything. For once no villains no insane characters.
Acting
The whole cast were so true and natural to their characters but Choi Ji Woo and Lee Sang Yoon are the show's strongest point!! They had an amazing on screen chemistry they seemed so true so real and so adorable. They managed to present such normal average characters and bring them out into life in a very delightful manner (and people say it's the character that makes the actor) that's not true at all even with such plain characters those two have managed to show us how wonderful of actors they are.
Rewatch?
Definitely YES I would rewatch it over and over again because I need something as positive as this to boost my energy and remind me that it really is never too late.
Overall
Are you a drama lover? This drama fits everyone's taste because it's a slice of life and yet it has everything that we as drama fans love and would wanna watch. If I could I would personally go and thank everyone who helped making it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Dramas with moms going back to school have been trending recently (not that I'm complaining). And with that thought you might consider Twenty Again to be unoriginal. But it's not. In fact, it's amazing. On the surface, it's a middle-aged woman, her failing marriage and her petty attempt to save it. But it is so much so much more. Just what you expect from a TvN drama. The plot is predictable yes but it never works against the favor. You might consider you'll get bored while watching this show. That's what I thought. But before I knew it, I had breezed past all episodes and had joined the chorus of the post-drama depression. The approach of the show and the mood in which it is presented is very easy going. A husband cheating on his wife is the plot for every 50 episodes family melodrama in Korea. But Twenty Again presents it with a more creative, more youthful edge. You see everyone's side, feel everyone's side and realize everything happened for a reason. There are no bitter feelings for revenge. I never once felt mad at the husband or felt sad for the wife. Both gained so much from whatever they went through. It was worth it.
Coming to characters. Choi Ji Woo was the reason I started this show. I have seen her previous dramas (most of them classic) and I was very curious as to how she'll pull off this character. She did a solid job. No Ra's journey of self-discovery was absolutely beautiful, even if the overall tones for it were very light. I cannot imagine anyone else for this part, she was flawless.
The male lead, I loved him in My Daughter Seoyoung. He is so handsome. But he played a role I have never seen him in. He did not over-utilize that dimple (a first for me to see) and he played an agitated character. It was nice to see him play a role like this. The husband's role was wonderfully done. That balance between not liking him but still not disliking him was so marvelously done. The supporting cast was equally good. The son, the friends (such wonderful friends), son's girlfriend (she annoyed me but I get the need for her role). I felt Na Soon Nam and Park Seung Hyun needed more screen time and more depth though. They were great.
The ost was decent.
Overall, it was really good. I love the kind of vibe TvN dramas give me. They always experiment with new ideas, sometimes even setting trends. It makes me feel like they make dramas because they love making them, they understand them. Instead of making dramas based on what we want, they make us understand what we want. That's just amazing. And Twenty Again lived up to that.
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I was a victim of my expectations with this drama. When I read the synopsis I was very excited because I thought I'd be watching a refreshing story told from the perspective of older characters. Sadly, I got the same old story --with typical problems, misunderstandings, and plot cliches-- awkwardly delivered by older leads.
On the surface, the story focuses on Ha No Ra. A woman whose world threatened to crumble at 38 after her husband asks for a divorce. In an effort to save her marriage, Ha No Ra decides to go to college so she could "match her intellect" to her husband's. At its core, it promised an interesting and powerful story: the loss of a woman's individual identity after becoming a mother and the struggle to find her place in the world now that her child has grown up.
The first half of the drama was interesting because it dealt with the issue of her identity crisis. However, halfway through the drama, it became evident the subject wasn't to be touched beyond the shallow surface. Like many k-dramas, the story suffered from unnecessary plots-points, poorly handled subject and misunderstandings that got drawn out way longer than they should've. There were so many problems that could've been avoided if the characters had simply talked to one another, that it soured my experienced and ultimately annoyed me.
Though the story took a turn I wasn't expecting, rather than surprised, I was simply disappointed.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Frustratingly dishonest
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The three main characters are an acquired taste. I didn't like any of them at first, then they sort of grew on me. "Sort of"… as in my endearment fluctuated as constantly as their change of hearts did.
Ha No Ra (female lead, played by Choi Ji Woo): It took me a couple of episodes to get used her character. Maybe it's a cultural clash, but her childish tantrums were jarring and a total turnoff. Since she was an older woman, I expected her to act more maturely. That is not to say she shouldn't be fun, just that I expected her to at least think before acting. Instead, she responded in the typical k-drama female lead's fashion: she screamed, stomped and pouted whenever something didn't work her way...
Cha Hyeon Seok (male lead played by Lee Sang Yoon): Out of the three leads, he was possibly the most engaging and the reason why I kept watching. That's not to say his character was perfect. Far from it. His constant fluctuation between running melting hot one second and cold as ice the next got old fast. His immaturity also wore down my patience. However, the moments when he was sweet and caring were doubtlessly the highlights of the show.
Kim Woo Cheol (played by Choi Won Young): He was an interesting character because he was consistently flawed. He was also always held accountable for his actions. Though he played the part of an antagonist for the most part, he was never consciously cruel and he did come to regret his thoughtless actions. Though he was a good character, he wasn't very memorable.
SUPPORT CHARACTERS: Shallow but likable
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There's really not much to say about them. They contributed to the story, some more than others, but remained shallow. Frankly, I would've preferred to have seen fewer characters but with more screen time.
PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: Served hot & cold with a side of childish
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The romance was childish and immature. There were some very sweet --albeit cliché moments. But they were often followed or preceded by cold words, jerk actions and tons of misunderstandings.
In a nutshell, the courting between the leads felt like watching two emotionally stunted adults try their hand at accepting and confessing their love for one another. So you pretty much get the hypothetical (although in this case, somewhat literal) scene of the guy pulling on the girl's pigtails because he wants attention, and the girl screaming at the guy to leave then thinking he's a cold jerk for leaving...
OVERALL: On the fence...
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Honestly, I hesitate to recommend this show. On the one hand, I've seen worst dramas and I did finish this one without skipping any scenes (though I was tempted). On the other hand, the story didn't deliver on its promise and quickly turned into a generic plot delivered by childish (sometimes cringy) characters. Though it did have powerful moments, they weren't enough to elevate this drama to more than an "okay" show.
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The acting is okay. Ha No Ra seems annoying at first, but you get used to her really fast as the story moves on. Hyeon Seok seems really arrogant at first, he pulls and pushes No Ra the way he wants and that made me cringe a bit. I'm not a hardened feminist and don't usually pay much attention to these kind of things in Kdramas but Hyeon Seok... Yeah. In my opinion, the chemistry between the main characters is better in the first half of the show, then it dulls a bit.
The side characters remain vague throughout the show which is a big minus. But an interesting thing is that "the bad guys" are portrayed very human, they are just people who made selfish mistakes in the past. They realize what they have done, regret and are given a second chance.
This show could have been way better with just a few little changes in the plot. All in all, it's a pretty usual Kdrama with the usual Kdrama things in it, some things are not highlighted that much (such as love rivals) and that's a relief, it makes the show more realistic. That's a real good thing about this show, it's pretty realistic.
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Story: This drama had a kind of feeling that I had never seen in other drama. A woman whose life had been around a man who hadn't pay any attention to her has to look forward and start to do things she didn't do before, what she really wanted to do. She came through a lot of hard things, but she finally get enough strenght for being the woman she wanted to be, not a controlled one.
Acting/Cast: All the plot was impressive (except for Na Eun).
Choi Ji Woo was incredible, there're people who didn't like how did she act, but I think they maybe didn't like the character. I really put myself in her position and I understood how did she feel, so it'll be good if you feel how had she live.
Lee Sang Yoon was so good too, but I have to say that at beginning I hate a bit his character, the way he treated Choi Ji Woo's character was wrong, but he became so loveable when episodes kept passing.
Choi Won Young, as always, he didn't disappoint me. I really hated his character, specially in one episode I thought what Ji Woo's character did was the best she did in her character's life. But at the end I felt pity for him...
Park Hyo Joo's character... I didn't like her, even to the end of the drama I disliked her, she was sooooo egocentric (I don't know if this word might be the right one).
The young couple, Kim Min Jae and Son Na Eun. Kim Min Jae's character was a bit boring, and how he treated his mother, no comments; but after he became someone who was okay to reliable. BUT! Son Na Eun's character and acting was the worst of the drama. She still has to learn a lot for act, the good point is that she doesn't appear too much (I don't hate her, but I prefer her not to act, only until she learns well how to).
Music: I think the OST was excellent, they even used an old Korean song "Wrongful Meeting", which was appropiate with the drama
Rewatch Value: I might see it one day again, it had many good scenes.
Overall: An excellent romantic comedy drama, which is a different drama of what I had seen before, this woman has many strenght inside her. The plot was excellent, and the music was very good too. Maybe a 10 is exagerated, but it's my opinion. I really hope you can love this drama as much as I did.
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Another problem for me had to do with Choi Ji Woo's acting. It just wasn't good here. Probably had to do with the director so I don't hold it against her. Choi's portrayal of Ha No Ra was wooden like the character she played in The Suspicious Housekeeper, lacking emotional depth for a character that has been through so much. Facial expressions were also problem with her character. It failed to draw me in and allow me to grasp the character fully. Kim Min Jae's character also was a miss for me. They should have had him play a minor character and got a better young actor to play the part. He like Choi lack proper facial expression and emotion.
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There is nothing complicated about the drama, no one loses their memory and the misunderstandings are kept to a minimum. I think this is why I didn't take a break from the drama like I usually do. The storyline was sweet and simple, and very easy to keep up with. Although many of the main actors are older characters then the usual Korean shows I watch, they still some how portrayed a childish joy in the adult world as well as the complications and hardships growing up.
I saw that a previous comment/review said that this drama is more then a 38 year old woman gaining her independence. This is about regret, loss and mistakes. It makes a point that we do things we regret, but we don't have to look back and mope over them. An on going theme within the drama revolves around moving forward, beyond the past, and to keep looking on to the future. I think that the story in the drama, although fictional and simple, is inspiring.
I realise that my review is making this drama seem serious and dull, but that's just it - it isn't. It wasn't what I expected when I started watching it, but it was so much more. I would definitely recommend this if you're wanting a break from the normal cliches in drama land. It's like eating homemade food after a long period away, is the best and shortest way to describe it - it's sweet and filling with a sense of warmth.
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The storyline comes to an end very well where all the different angles are taken care of so you don't have to wonder what happened to a character.
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This drama doesn't have any of those nasty, I'm going to get in the way of their love "love triangles". She is a married woman who has been pretty much divorced from her husband for 4yrs (they just didn't send the papers in yet) and he is a single guy who has been in love with her for 20 yrs! ^_^ Her husband has another woman (and honestly I found them quite funny) and even though there is a girl who likes Hyun Suk - she doesn't get in his way ^^
Hyun Suk (Lee Sang Yoon) was so adorably cute in his pursuit of No Ra (Choi Ji Woo), he would sometimes be mean and childish / a bit petty and then get all cute and sweet again - they played and teased each other as if they were high-schoolers again ^^ So cute! Woo Chul (Choi Won Young) was a loser husband but he never made me mad, I laughed during most of his scenes lol. Min Soo (Kim Min Jae) was super sweet after the first few episodes, when I first saw him I didn't like him much b/c he didn't seem to treat his mom very nice - but later that changed and I started to like his character - the same thing happened with his girlfriend (Son Na Eun) I didn't like her at first but then I started to like her later. Soon Nam (Noh Young Hak) was a favorite of mine - even though he didn't get much screen time - I liked his friendship with No Ra ^^ (p.s. this is his third drama with LSY) hehe ;P I also liked Seung Hyun as No Ra's classmate and friend ^^ and oh my gosh! the YOUNG Hyun Suk was such a cutie!!! ^_^ I enjoyed his scenes very much! hope to see him in more dramas!
Music: the music that I remember the most is when they went to that club and they played them "older" music bands ^^ The ost itself had nice songs like: "Cuckoo" by Jannabi, "Oh You, Yeah You" by Yoo Sung Eun, "Fine Day" by Jung Jooil, "Star" by Mamamoo ft.Kim Min Jae, "Wrongful Meeting" by Honey G. One song however caught my ballad loving heart's attention: "You Don't Love Me" by Roy Kim <3
I would definately re-watch this drama! Who wouldn't want to re-watch such a well-made drama again? ^^ I recommend it to any fans of the actors, or rom/com lovers or anyone who likes a fresh cute take on finding yourself again. That's what this drama was to me, Ha No Ra (Choi Ji Woo) re-discovering her lost self, finding her real personality once again and becoming happy.
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