A) I even noticed the music in a positive way, i.e., not thinking to myself, “I'm sick of hearing this song.”
B) Halfway through, went desperately searching for the entire O.S.T.
C) Found it and played it on repeat in my iPod for months.
The sweet and thoughtful “I Will Promise You” was the first song to grab hold of me. Jang Geun Suk’s gentle crooning over the playful, melodic acoustic guitar chords reminds me of waking up on a rainy Saturday morning. You know, the kind of morning where you get up slowly, make yourself a yummy breakfast and snuggle up in your favorite, most comfy pajamas for most of the day? Yeah, it totally took me there. And the upbeat and flirty “Hello Hello” is the song you play as you leave home on a bright and sunny morning, ready to seize the day and give it your best!
I found that all of the songs on the soundtrack took me to someplace, and they painted a vivid and wonderful background for the drama. Which is good, since the plotline for Mary tasks the characters with creating an O.S.T. for a fictional drama within the drama.
Now that I’ve waxed poetic about the music, I’ll move on the actual drama details. :)
This drama is like junk food. It’s the kind of drama you watch when you’re in the mood for something cute, but not necessarily ground-breaking or deep. It’s good when you want to watch some eye candy with brains and emotions; when you want to watch a youthful, fun drama with a decent plotline and fairly witty writing. You can’t walk into a drama like Mary with high expectations about character development, moral issues (but it is successful with regard to some of that), and dynamic plot twists and turns. You really just have to take it for what it is. Quirky and kind of cute.
The actors are very likeable in their roles and do a good job portraying their characters. Moon Geun Young is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE in the character of Mary. It’s all I could do to resist putting her in my pocket. She and Jang Geun Suk have wonderful chemistry, despite the fact that they dress like homeless people. I chalked it up as being a part of their eccentric charm.
Geun Suk is a moody, stoic, slightly arrogant and detached rocker--a role he’s played before, I think--but he’s also pretty funny with good one-liners and shows growth as the drama progresses. Kim Jae Wook is the misunderstood and terribly awkward business man that also grows through the series. As I am someone who is commonly (and tragically) a lover of the secondary male lead over the primary, my heart went out to him.
The only warning and major dislike I have is that the parents in this drama drove me BANANAS. Their rationale for their actions was just absurd and outdated, frustrating me greatly. The thought of the parents alone have stopped me from re-watching this drama, unfortunately. If they weren’t so irrational, I’d rate this much higher for re-watch value.
The “re-watch” value for the music, however, is a 10, hands down!
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Story: It's obviously not the first drama to do the arranged marriage thing but this time it's not just to keep a rich boy away from a poor girl like most I've seen. Mary and Moo Kyul only enter into a fake marriage when her dad wants to marry her to his friend's son, in part to pay his debts and give her a better life. I liked that they didn't start the arranged marriage to rip a couple in love apart. It was a fresh story line for me. Of course, characters do fall in love and parents try everything they can to separate them but the story isn't overly angsty. This drama was really pretty funny too. I think I've laughed more in this drama than others I've seen. The love story was perfect and you get to see a lot of the main couple together. Usually characters who love each other will spend most of the time pushing the other away or denying their feelings so you don't get to see a lot of the really sweet moments, but this drama delivers in that area. There were some episodes that dragged and left you wondering what the hell some of these characters are thinking/doing but that was only a few.
Acting/Cast: I loved all of the cast for this drama! JGS was perfect for Moo Kyul. I just saw him in You're Beautiful and thought this character suited him so much better. He's good at playing everything! He's good at serious but Moo Kyul had a lighter side to him that was really funny/playful and cute that JGS pulled off amazingly! Mary was really great too. At times I didn't feel she was as old as she was supposed to be but then others, she would whip out some words of wisdom and seem really mature. Also, Moo Kyul and Mary had really great chemistry. Whether they were friends or a couple, it was completely believable. Kim Jae Wook was good in this too. I like how his character sort of lightened up throughout the drama and he didn't seem quite so stiff. It didn't flow as well as Moo Kyul but it was there. Of course the 2 fathers were absolutely annoying, but what's new. The ex-girlfriend wasn't too bad in this either. She wasn't excessive in trying to win back Moo Kyul so that was refreshing. And I loved Moo Kyul's band mates and Mary's friends. Always supporting them and lightening the mood.
Music: The OST was awesome! I love every single song and I usually don't pay any attention to the music. But seeing how Moo Kyul was a rocker, it was kind of hard not to. JGS has an amazing voice and did 3 of the songs, I believe.
Re-watch Value: Yes a hundred times!!! Like I said above, I wanted to start re-watching immediately after completing the drama but I'm going to make myself wait a little bit.
Overall: 10,10,10!!! Although parts of the story dragged and you had moments of wanting to jump into the TV to explain some misunderstanding that was causing unnecessary drama, everything else about this drama makes up for it. All in all, great story, memorable music, amazing cast and characters...what more do you need?! Definitely a must see!
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In Jung (the guy from Coffee prince; secondary) is really, really sweet.
Parents - super annoying (what else?)
So yeah, Moo Gyul and Mary fake a marriage so that her dad doesn't marry her off to a total wealthy stranger. Dad is one step ahead. He forges her signatures and makes In Jung her lawful husband (who doesn't care as long his dad sponsers his drama in exchange :P).
And then comes the super-awkward moment where she catches her fake husband in bed with her real husband (surprising not dwelled upon). Hahahahaha.
[Special credits to JGS's laugh. It's like he trembles and laughs with his head down, shaking his shoulders and suddenly looks up and gives the most serious look in the world. HILARIOUS.]
LOL @ Mae Ri's look when she's begging Moo Gyul to let her borrow his name for 100 days (long story). As he said, it's like the cat from Shrek! :D
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I want to start with the story first. Maybe I should start with a warning though. If you plan to watch this show, make sure you have a lot of time. It's not one of those shows where you can only watch one episode a week, or day for that matter. I was stupid and started watching it at 10 pm after not getting sleep the night before. It's so addicting though that I stayed up until around 5 p.m. the next day watching. Thankfully, there's a little bit around the 9th episode that's slow enough for you to stop watching and finally get some sleep. (Also, if you're trying to calculate the time and wonder why I took that long to watch the episodes, it won't add up. I like to rewind the good parts and re-watch them. This show had a lot of re-wind moments.)
Okay, so now to get to the story. While the plot is somewhat hard to believe, that a man wants his wealthy son to marry a poor girl so desperately that he'll do anything to get them together, the way that the story was told was beyond entertaining. It's not just cute, you actually laugh out loud, then rewind because you can't believe what just happened, then rewind one more time just to laugh again (but hug a pillow this time to try to suppress the laughter so people won't think you're crazy). The introduction of the characters to one another is very charming. The two main leads meet each other in a way that seems unlike how you'd want to meet your ideal man, yet somehow they make it work through an oddly interesting way. The characters are realistic in that they don't fall head over heels for each other immediately and they react like normal people, sometimes so bluntly that you wonder how they're gonna get together, yet you're still cheering for them. They're very laid back, yet have the most suspenseful moments. The two male leads have the best rivalry I've seen so far. They're so comedic together! I hate when a show favors one male character over the other to the point where it's obvious who the girl will end up with and unsuspenseful, or the rival gives up too easily that there's no competition. Well, it might be somewhat obvious who she'll end up with, but there's a lot of moments that make you wonder, and the opponent is charmingly pitiful? There's definitely suspense. There's a little bit of a point in the middle (I think episode 9), where the story gets too mushy for me. I can honestly say though, out of all the shows I've finished so far, this has the least boring/filler parts which all add up to less than half an episode. That's the part I hate the most in a lot of shows. Even at the end of the show after two of them get together, during the little bit left that usually gets boring because people are just matched up together, etc... (which also was not the case for this show), they managed to make entertaining. I think I can even say those were some of my favorite parts. You may be wondering why I only gave it a 9 then, if it's all that great. I'm a very picky person. I haven't seen a story that deserves a 10 yet. I felt that the story wasn't too deep (maybe my opinion is somewhat skewed since I just watched Goong, which had a very deep story). The opponent however seemed to have a sad story in this show - he'll probably get a lot of girls afterwards. >____> Just saying... Anyways, the plot by itself deserved about a 6 at most; the way the story was told, however, with all it's twists, turns, charm, and oh-so-irresistible cliffhangers boosted it to a 9.
The cast I gave a 9, because the actors fit their roles very well. Jang Geun Suk plays the role of a charming, down-to-earth, laid back, character with few cares very well. It's hard to explain, because he wasn't pretty to me at first, (I hate long hair on guys), but he has some sort of likeability factor that I can't put my finger on, but it has something to do with his actions I think. His actions are some mixture of cute, funny, and cool? - something that's hard to get. I can see why he's so popular after this show. Heck, I even added him to my favorite actors list. Moon Geun Young's cute voice and face make her seem sincerely innocent even when her character's actions don't seem to match. She's one of the non-annoying female leads that even girls find cute. Kim Jae Wook was really believable as a rich and elegant man, from his actions to his posture. I had to take a second look since he was so different from his minor character in Coffee Prince. I think that for this show, I'd give him the best actor award from the cast. During his lowest point, I really pitied him since he seemed so genuinely down that I was afraid for him. His character was very 3-dimensional. Kim Hyo Jin was not the annoying opponent that many lead characters have to face. In fact, I think she had the least annoying character of the female antagonists I've seen. Upon first meeting her character, she seemed so cool that her character seemed like someone you want to be, not go against. She lost a little bit of her strength in the middle, but regains it later. I like her fearlessness, style, and coolness (for lack of a better term). I only put a 9 down for the acting and cast, because, despite being funny, cute, cool, and overall, likeable, they lack an important thing for me (with the exception of Kim Jae Wook's character). I'm not sure if it's the story or the actors, but I was never brought to tears by this show. There wasn't a heart-clenching moment where I felt like they would die for each other. I know not everyone will need this, but that's one of the moments I look forward to in dramas, if not, "the" moment. I have had many, many laughs and cute moments from this show that I have rewound over and over again, but sadly, my tissue box has gone unused and weeps without me. :(
Edit: That's why I lowered the overall score to an 8. I really need one of those moments for the story to be complete.
*Edit: There is a moment in the beginning that I almost cried for the girl, but it's not from romance so it doesn't count in a romantic drama. >:(
The music was a 9 for me. I think it's hard to compete with Secret Garden's OST (my favorite OST), but this track did have many catchy songs. I'm not sure if it's from hearing the songs a lot or if it's because of the placement of the songs that I like them and have started singing along to them, but something has made me like them, because I didn't when I originally heard them. Take the song "My Precious". At first, when I heard it I was startled by a bunch of mixed feelings - not good ones either. I felt a little odd since part of it sounds like the song from Willy Wonka, a little embarrassment from being Asian myself, and hearing the accent during the English words, and to be honest, a little fear from Smeagol's famous words "my precious". Towards the end of the drama, however, I found myself singing along while getting ready for the next episode to load! :D
I hate re-watching shows, like I always state. I gave this show a 9 though because it's suspenseful and so incredibly funny from start to the very last minutes of the finish. (The one point was docked off simply because I do not like rewatching shows since that in itself will take out some of the suspense of a show).
I would definitely recommend this show to people despite it not having a heart-clenching sad moment because it's one of my most highly rated show so far, all the characters are likeable (even the dad, I forgot to put him in there), there's no side stories whatsoever, it's suspenseful, and not just cute-funny but real-funny. This is definitely a must watch.
Edit: I rewatched the first episode of this drama and forgot about the intro. It's a weird intro, don't mind the short weird intro in the beginning, the drama is nothing like that.
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This review may contain spoilers
Woooahhhh...It's soooo hard not posting spoilers... really. REALLY HARD.
This is my first review, so please forgive me if it is not up to par with the others..
I've been going through a Jang Geun Suk phase (okaaayyy, I still am! *puckers up to avatar*) and because I think he's a charismatic actor and LOVE to hear him sing, I decided to watch Mary Stayed Out All Night...
Since the only drama I watched with him in it was You're Beautiful, it was a pleasant shock to see how different his appearance was and how he still remains so handsome *drools*!! (Seeing him in Beethoven Virus is another pleasant surprise as well!!)
Dragging myself back from JGS's external talents *nails clinging to the door*, let's talk about Mary staying out all night.
I can't say it was perfect. I still have to watch that perfect drama... it's kinda like looking for that elusive perfect burger (if you guys know where the perfect burger is (and drama) please hit me up with a message! Was it close to perfect? Well, it had it's aspects for perfection:
The actress playing Mae Ri: PERFECT for the role. Just absolutely Brilliantly PERFECT. I cannot picture someone else in it. She was quirky, fun, entertaining, endearing.. She looked like a cute kitten (MAOW)and I LOVED how loyal she was. I keep trying to look back and see if she irritated me, if she made me want to throw a tantrum and scream even for a second, "YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR MY JGS!" and the answer is, reluctantly, stubbornly, mumblingly, no.
I am glad I saw her cast in this and witnessed her such high quality acting skills. Her voice even suited the role! Can you believe that??
Our JGS playing Kang Moo Gyul: He wasn't perfect- I lavu him but, I cannot lie- but he had his moments of perfection, but otherwise, he played a very SOLID role. I suppose the issue is, he had some traces of You're beautiful that I kept seeing in his acting, but then, it might be his acting style and no actor can completely change their acting style (Unless you're Gerard Butler- What do you mean you ask? Dudes and dudettes- The Phantom of the Opera and then Leonidas from 300?? If that's not a switch, I dunno what is!)
I enjoyed how relaxed Moo Gyul was was and how hardworking he was. I liked how he expressed and showed me what a free spirit he wanted to be, yet still showed his vulnerability.
The supporting male lead- Robot Director (forgot his name O_o): Close to perfect. He was supposed to play a quiet, intense role and he did. He felt stiff and robotic, and he showed how his mind worked.
I really enjoyed how he wasn't the villain in the drama and was trying to find his own path.
The music in this was PERFECT... I've downloaded the songs and listen to them often.Usually music is sad and depressing about how he/she got away, how you have to get over the person, how you don't get loved back... but the songs I remember from here are beautiful, warm, sincere and just make you melt into marshmellow cotton candy chocolate goodness.
Listening to "My precious" makes me feel like I've been swept away to a field of grass and I'm laying on the grass, feeling the early morning sun's rays gently warming up my skin, sinking into my being delicately, as if I am indeed, precious.
It reminds me of the feeling of KNOWING you are loved. Such a wonderful wonderful song.
The Storyline/drama: This was good, but like every plot, some aspects just dragged on for no reason. Close to the end it felt like there was not enough content so they had to add things and make more drama... But then, why not lengthen the sweet moments between the couple? Hehe, now you know what I'm going for!
Would I watch this again? Most probably. It's better than other drama I've watched, but I'd fastforward through parts to get to the good stuff :)
Do I recommend this: Heck Yeah, it's sweet, it's funny, it has it's heartache moments and the music is just so heartwarming.
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It started out incredibly cute and promising and then it went so wrong. I am not sure why the writing went downhill faster than a snowball in hell. All I know is that the first few episodes started out and I could not wait for the next one. Then all of a sudden I was watching and thinking; I just want to turn this off, watch repeats of Secret Garden and thinking "Hey, maybe Hyun Bin's sparkly track suits will blind me enough that I can go back and watch MSOAN and start to like it again?"
This could have been so great and it so was not. The acting was good. The leads were super cute. Kim Jae Wook was wasted. Bummer.
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This drama also shows reality about relationships. How we should learn to TRUST our partners. How you should reach out especially if you know that your partner have misunderstood you, importance of loyalty and being able to wait faithfully.
The soundtracks for this drama are totally AWESOME. It's really true that you can play it all day - everyday without even getting tired on it. I even downloaded the music videos with eng sub for all the songs to make sure not only I know how to sing the songs but I also understand the songs.
All in all I will definitely recommend people to watch this drama since it is truly entertaining and worth watching =)
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First of all, I can see what people are saying about Mary. She gets annoying. But, I think she was a good fit. I wish her abilities and talents were highlighted a bit more. Maybe she wouldn't come off as useless and ignorant in some parts. I'm not sure. And don't even get me started on her dad. Most annoying character ever!
With Kim Jae Wook's character, I was a little confused through most of the show because I never fully grasped his intentions with Mary. Either he wasn't good at expressing emotion and motive as an actor, or it was poor directing.
Jang Keun Suk's character was beautiful. This role was a great fit for him and played it excellently. There were even times he would be in the background, still in character doing something weird. Mu Gyul is full of passion, indifference, love and disgust. There were, however, parts where I felt his character changed suddenly, and other parts where I thought he didn't change enough. It was kind of awesome watching Mu Gyul and Jung In towards the end of the show.
The soundtrack is killer! Mostly due to Jang's musical talent. Go and get it even if you don't watch the drama. So good!
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Acting/Cast: The acting in this drama was Decent. The chemistry between the main leads is what kept me watching. The Cast did a great job overall in my opinion except the second male lead. He was stiff and I felt a robot could have shown more emotion. No wonder he didnt get the girl.
Music: Amazing. If there is on sole reason to watch this drama it is for the OST. I loved every second of hearing it and never got bored of it like I do with most dramas. Have been singing Hello Hello for DAYS!
Rewatch Value: I dont really like rewatching a Drama and this one story line was so Meh that unless I am in a major slump with nothing to do I wouldnt rewatch it but for me that is true with almost all dramas.
Overall: It was good but not great. Watched when I got bored over the couse of about two months. Good time filler but not amazing entertainment. I would though defentily take the time to listen to the OST.
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Just finished the last episode and I have to say this one didn't get better over time. The further down the line, the less interesting this drama gets, I felt it was becoming difficult to relate to pretty much any of the characters. I initially choose to watch this drama because of the female lead Moon Geun-Young's performance in Cinderella's Sister which I thought was great. However, it was not meant to last past the first half of this series.
Out of all the characters, there's just Kim Hyo-Jin's performance and a brief appearance by Yun Yu-Seon which stand out. Geun-Young's character Mary doesn't seem to suit her too well, but at least she has decent acting abilities. I was not impressed at all with Jang Geun-Suk nor with Kim Jae-Wook and the latter reminded me of Micky Yoochun's performance in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, bland, plain, boring and apparently void of emotions. The other actors either fail to make themselves notable or just didn't get enough time on the screen in order to show their capabilities. I like it when supporting characters' stories are explored, that didn't happen in this drama.
The music was alright in this drama, which is good because it plays a fairly important role in the story. I felt though that they could have given some more time for Kim Hyo-Jin (Seo-Jun) and Lee Sun-Ho (Lee-Ahn) to also show some acting. The drama production plays a central role in the story after all.
The story was decent I suppose, but I was never really happily surprised by the twists and turns throughout the drama. None of them were particularly inspiring or elevated the drama to a new level. Some of them were even meaningless altogether. Nothing to be in awe about.
I wouldn't want to go as far as saying that one should definitely avoid this drama, I'm sure there's plenty of people who would still enjoy seeing this a lot, but for me this was a disappointment.
5/10
http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/l0q67/marry_me_mary_mary_stayed_out_all_night???_???/
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