Easy Fortune Happy Life (2009)

Happen to watch this on a whim cause I wanted a break from Kdramas and the synopsis sounded right up my alley...

Story: I really really liked it. It wasn't that predictable with a lot of things happening that I wasn't expecting. It also wasn't so much a comedy but there were some silly scenes thrown in, some which took away from the quality story telling. I loved the ending it was perfect.

Acting/Cast: Oh dear I must talk about Roy Chiu first even though he wasn't the first lead. This was my introduction to him and I'll tell you now, he will win your heart so much so that you'll wish the writers did a last minute switch up of the final loveline. His subtle but natural acting out-shined Blue Lan. Speaking of Blue, his acting was so stiff that his character development although written well, was just not believable. He had all these great emotional scenes and none of it reached the level it could have. He did have chemistry with Joe which made for a watchable romance. Joe is one of the better Taiwanese actresses out there but sometimes the overacting her character called for was annoying. For the supporting I have to mention Xiu Jie Kai who I've seen in a lot of T dramas but always makes his characters so loveable.

Music: Very catchy and fitting but they played it way too much!

Rewatch: This isnt really on my got to watch again lists just because I didnt connect with Blue Lan's character but I'd maybe watch to see the story again.

Overall Easy Fortune Happy Life is one of the better Tawiwanese dramas out there but with a better lead actor it could have been amazing.

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I'll bite; I watched it for Chiu Roy and now I'm satisfied. As usual, he is the god of everything beautiful and sacred in Taiwanese drama and saved this drama with his presence every time he came into the frame. Sigh. Chiu Roy.

Story? Who gives a crap about how good the story was? You read the description. It's exactly as angsty (maybe even more) and cliche as the description suggests. There is some unnecessary comparison between a fallen angel and the male lead, which I found strange because fallen angels do bad things not because they particularly want to, but because they are designed that way and can't fight against nature. The male lead is just an ass.

And the female lead is as wishy-washy and damsel-in-distress like as you'd expect from the drama equivalent of a trashy romance novel. So naive that you wonder "how the heck did she not get kidnapped already?". She's one of those preachy women you've probably encountered atleast once in your life, who preaches about good deeds and right thoughts every time you talk to her. One day, you see her in the park bench singing to birds and throwing breadcrumbs at ducks, still telling any unfortunate old person sitting next to her about all the goodness in the world, because she has no other friends to preach to.

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I came upon this drama after watching Chen Joe's performance in Fated to Love you, which I simply loved. Honestly, I had to power through the second half of this series (27 ep. via Netflix) because for me Fu An's character went from being a spirited, spunky, outspoken 'you don't fool me' country gal to an emotionally tortured woman who no longer seemed to have a backbone to stand up to Da Feng's verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse. It really diminished the entire drama for me. I just could not warm up to their relationship based on all the lies, deceit and abuse by Da Feng. I had a hard time laughing it off because it just generally pissed me off. I also have to admit that I had serious SLS with Mr. Hottie Loan Shark with a sensitive heart of gold Han Dong Jie (played beautifully by Roy Qiu). I felt the chemistry between Fun An and Han Dong was amazing (really wanted them to end up together.. so very bummed) and I just did not feel the same chemistry with Da Feng. It seemed forced. Why do we always go to the bad boys who really is THE BAD BOYS FOR ANYONE??!!

For me Fated portrayed a women's growth from submissive, lacking confidence, weak willed to a strong powerful woman who eventually made her own fate and decided who she wanted to love. Both the main leads really grew up and learned to understand and more importantly respect one another. In this drama I felt the reverse happened to Fu An's character.

Side note: Also I was enamored with Yan Yang's character (Xiu Jie Kai) SOO freaking adorable combined with a dose of hotness. I wish they had given us more backstory to his character.

Overall it was not a terrible drama just not one I will be watching again.

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I put this drama down for a long time. By the time I came back to it, I wasn't sure if it was because I got hooked into something else, or if I didn't like the drama itself. However, after picking it up again, I watched it straight through till the end. The drama is typical Taiwanese cheesiness in all it's glory. The over-acting that makes you cringe, the seven different angles on repeat for the intense moments. And a steadfast Roy Chiu giving his infamous pause-and-nod at all the key points.

This drama is worth watching, if only for Roy's fabulously fluffy hairdo. He's absolutely adorable. The characters roused your sympathy, although they didn't make my heart hurt like Fated To Love You. I do recommend this drama if you like the predictable rich guy meets and humiliates the poor girl who changes his life. There were some sad twists that kept the drama fresh.

Enjoy.

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Originally I started this drama when it first came out but put it on hold until 8yrs later when I saw it was on Netflix. Joe Chen is a very talented Taiwanese actress and one of the reasons why I watched this drama. And she did not disappoint me at all. The acting of the others was ok, except for her brother, Pi Dan. It seemed like they just picked the producers kid or something like that for his part. The story is a bit deceiving in that you think it's gonna be typical rich man/poor woman scenario but the way it plays out can give some false hope in alternate endings. The second lead character is very much the "knight in shining" armor type which is why I think a lot of people are frustrated most of the way through this drama. And the male lead is very much a "demon" type character just as the promo picture shows. But the main point of the drama is not just about the 2 main characters, but also about family and trying to change ones family and appreciate them while you still have time. All together it was a decent drama to watch even if it did take me a while to do so.

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I really enjoyed watching this on netflix. Even though Netflix split some of the episodes up to make 26 episodes instead of the 17. I loved all the actors and actresses through this drama and they did such a great job in bringing all the characters to life. I felt that sometimes that the pace of the story could have gone a little faster than it was but all in all I enjoye watching it. I liked the storyline and the music wasn't too bad. However, this wouldn't be something that I would pull out to re-watch too many times like some of the other dramas that I loved. Even though I enjoued watching but I still felt that it was still missing something.

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I absolutely agree with everything that Adelei said..... The main guy has no redeeming qualities and he treats her so horribly..... I really like Joe Chen which is why I watched it initially, but you can only overlook so much. This is abuse, I'm not sure how people watched this and enjoyed it. I understand they wrote these guys as jerks, but would always have them reformed somehow or show that things were misunderstood at that time. This is not it.
The best part of the drama is Han Dong Jie and Pi Dan....... I don't write reviews and I had to just to warn people. Please do not watch!!!............................................................

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This drama's plot is unrealistic, but I still love it. There are moments in which "it's funny because it's true." The characters' personalities are well-established in the beginning, and it is clear as to whether there is character development for each character. Roy Chiu (Han Dong Jie) and Lan Cheng Long (Yan Da Feng) are super physically attractive in this. Jie Kai Xiu (Yan Yang) has interesting character development and dialogue. Joe Chen (Xie Fu An) has interesting character development, as well. Despite the lack of character development, I still like Jocelyn Wang (Jiang Zhen Zhen) because she is a strong woman. Almost all of the characters are lovable to some extent. Overall, the dialogue is impressive; I hope I get to watch more dramas written by these screenwriters. Also, there are so many Chinese idioms in this; I love that the title of this drama is also a Chinese idiom based on the main character's name. I love the music and the way the music accompanies the scenes in order to induce emotions among the people who watch this. I don't like that the scenes are choppy at times; this might be attributed to the editing.

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