Baby-faced Beauty (2011)

The plot was very unique -a "baby faced" 34 year old women has to lie about her age in order to get a position she wants in the fashion world- and I thought it was a really cute drama. However in the middle I got a little bored with all the design competitions, as they got repetive and a bit old. Also the conflict with they guy's father and her father was a bit exasperating.

The acting was very good on all parties, and I thought the male lead was so perfect at being annoying and immature one minute to really sweet and thoughtful the next. The music was fine and I would probably rewatch this drama if I ever have more free time, althought I would skip a couple of the middle episodes. I thought this could have been done in fewere episodes for more of a "wow" factor and it would have made the plot less draggy in the middle. If you're looking for a not too serious and cute drama this is the way to go.

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My ratings for this are all over the place, which isn't a surprise given that my thoughts on Baby-faced Beauty is equally as scattered. In an attempt to organize my opinion, I'll just run through the given categories.



Story: I gave this a 6 for story instead of the intended 5 because the story is what initially drew me to BFB. Age is an intrinsic part of how Koreans socialize with one another through their actions and communication. And so it was interesting to watch a 34 year old designer-wannabe struggle to play the role of the complacent youngster who's just a tad bit too opinionated when drunk. However, and this might be just cultural difference talking, her deference bordered on aggravating spinelessness. It didn't help that her immediate environment is populated with the most unlikeable people I've ever encountered both fictionally and non. These people were spiteful for the sake of spitefulness, including her own family, and although some characters are redeemed towards the end, I needed to tap into my reserve of perseverance to endure that long. The story towards the end begins to flag, hitting a rut in which actual narrative tension is replaced with design contest after contest after contest. This might have had to do with the extension given to BFB: it also seemed that during this extension the writer remembered that there was supposed to be a romance, and so decided to throw in as many rom-com cliches as possible to satisfy that aspect of the show. The extension did this show no favors.



Acting/Cast: Really, this rating belongs to Daniel Choi. This show belongs to Daniel Choi. This goofy smile that spread across my face every time he was onscreen belongs to Daniel Choi. My heart belongs to Daniel Choi. The number one reason why I didn't drop Baby-faced Beauty was because I couldn't bear to drop Daniel Choi, who was delightfully immature yet sincere as Choi Jin Wook.



Overall: I wouldn't say that this drama is bad, and there were many moments that I thought were downright great. I finished the last episode with a smile on my face and the happy warmth that usually indicates my love for a show. However, taking into account the MANY times I wanted to give up on this show and how I had to force myself to trudge through for just one more hit of Daniel Choi, the best I can say is that Baby-faced Beauty for me was just watchable.

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