This review may contain spoilers
The problem with family dramas is that they target every possible demographic and because of that 100% enjoyment is impossible. However in My Father is Strange many things that were clearly not targeted at me were still somewhat interesting. This show had really great couples, characters & a heartwarming family atmosphere. The overall package is pretty wholesome. The 2 main couples in Once Again perhaps packed more punch, but this drama had a much better family narrative & overall felt more joyful. I loved how this show barely featured love triangles, despite having so many couples. (there were secondary love interests, but it was not annoying at all)The reason why this is not a 10/10 for me is that the second half felt quite a bit draggy, especially Mi Young's love line and the big secret thing.
Family dramas are silly and a little makjang-ish by nature and despite My Father is Strange having many tropes that normally annoy me greatly, the delivery was moderate enough to keep my nerves loose.
The acting is absolutely top notch, the actresses playing the sisters did an especially outstanding job.
The drama did a good job cheering my up over the past few days. 8/10
Was this review helpful to you?
Lots of life lessons
Whew! I just finished E52 and it was quite the ride. I can’t say I love every minute of it because I find the last few episodes were a bit too dramatic for me but I am pleased with the overall story and production. I fell in love with big sister’s romance so much that I would likely rewatch those scenes whenever I need a good laugh. Lee Yoo Ri is the overall winner of this drama, she was such a natural at the funny scenes without even trying but it was her melo/crying scenes that truly showcased her talent. I’d be surprised if she didn’t get any award from this drama. Ryu Soo Young was the perfect actor as her partner, their on-screen chemistry was off the charts! Somehow watching both of them always leave a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. Every time. The other siblings’ story were so-so while the in-laws provided some comedic touch which I welcomed.Such a kind father and loving mother with a realistic portrayal of their love to the kids, I think, is what drew most of the viewers here. There’s some screaming but not the loud kind. The drama covered many sub-topics, one of which was bullying and I thought the closure for that was tastefully done. I have not seen so many weddings in one drama but if truth be told I would have liked to see one more added to it, lol!
I would recommend watching this drama but I advise that you do it slowly, don’t rush like I did and you would be guaranteed a satisfying entertainment that you will go back to time and time again.
Was this review helpful to you?
You know how many characters I hate in this drama? Zero.
Story
The story starts very simply almost too fluffy and cute and gets even better with time. Loved the twists, loved the characters' reactions to them which were not too extreme. It's a heartwarming drama where you just wish you would be part of this family. The relationship are well-written and make sense from beginning to end, you don't even hate the in-laws.
Acting/Cast
Loved all the characters and the relationships. Heads down to Lee Yoo Ri (family melo queen) and Lee Joon who are literally the light-stealers of this drama. You like every character and all the cast but cannot deny that they definitely shine.
I definitely recommend!
Was this review helpful to you?
DO NOT HESISTATE, JUST WATCH IT
52 episodes, nahhh not my cup of tea but when I dived not even one second of every single episode of this drama was boring. and guess what I binged it in a week. Yeah, it is sooooo good. people hesitate to watch long dramas because it tends to lose its gripping story and has many side stories and unwanted plot fillers but MY FATHER IS STRANGE has proved this wrong. I didn’t think 52 episodes long family drama would be such an exception, because I tend to get bored in 16-20 episodes of K=drama. This is my 3rd drama with 50+ episodes and it went beyond my expectation leaving me behind wanting more of the drama.PLOT VIEW
The story is of a family which is joined by an infamous actor Ahn Joong Hee. Firstly it seems like a warm comical family drama but as it advances there comes a secret with more comedy and love stories. The drama is full of sibling fights, couple drama, in-laws drama, parental love, and life lessons also. The main story “MY FATHER IS STRANGE” remains awesomely written with the supporting love stories of every couple being just fantastic. Every character had equal importance and was given enough screen space. The Byun siblings are just awesome, they fight with each other and also, for each other. They cannot see their sibling getting hurt by others people that is the kind of bond I have always wanted to see. This drama shows what a family is like, as we say “The family that eats together stays together”. it is good to see they have breakfast together and everyone helps and understands. Ahn Joong Hee bonds with everyone in the Byun family, Byun Hye Young's ultimate chic dramas were the highlight but we couldn’t care less about Byun Ra Young = Park Cheol Su or Joon Young - Yoo Joo's love story. They were equally entertaining. Although Yoo Joo felt evil in the initial episodes she had drastic character development. the parents and kids indifferences were really contrasted and show the natural thinking and love of the parents. The different professions of sibling, acting, judo, law, civil servant were really well picked. and shows the bad and good sides of their industry.
ACTING
I am loving every cast of the drama for they did a phenomenal job. but here stating my favorites
Lee Joon's bad actor characterization. showing loneliness and lack of love is beautiful. he is now my favorite actor.
Lee YuRi's badass lawyer's portrayal is phenomenal. she bickers with family and in-laws but also cares for them deeply.
Jung So-Min's quick wit, strong, yet shy character were pure. her forbidden love was full of warmth.
Ryu Hwa-Young was the youngest sibling but the most troublemaker and lovable. her equation with the Cheol-Su father was fun like watching tom and jerry.
Ahn Yeo-Seop watched him for the first time and he just nailed his character of a rich runaway boy. his soccer scenes were few but I loved him.
MUSIC
Music is beautiful, I couldn’t pick any favorites because I enjoyed every single song. The translations and its meaning are even more beautiful. The last dance sequence at the end is beautifully choreographed and everyone rocked the stage.
REWATCH
I want to have amnesia so when I rewatch this I would get the first-time feeling once again.
AFTERTHOUGHT
Not just humor and romance but it has a lot of hidden life lessons. Which are not in dialogue but in the actions and behavior of the characters. Also, the rules of the house were nice, it gave a disciplined environment and because of this the family gets together than running away.
Was this review helpful to you?
The pacing of each episodes and the plots are well written. The scripts are awesome.
I really love Lee Yu-Ri in this drama, I can relate myself with her. The meaning behind being a strong independent woman. Girls power!
Very worth watching and easily relatable.
Thumbs up!!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Long, but totally worth it!!
I really enjoyed watching this K-drama!First of all, I just wanna tell you that when I first started watching this K-drama I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy watching it or if I was even able to finish it because this drama is much longer than any other K-drama I've ever watched. It turns out, I was not only able to finish it but I also loved it so much.
Honestly, before I've watched this drama I wasn't very aware of this group of actors even though I already knew some of them. But their acting didn't disappoint me at all, it was actually perfect.
Throughout the whole drama, there's a lot going on with each family member. You'd think that since this is considered a family drama, there wouldn't be much going on but actually, the drama shows what's going on with each family member so you always know what each character is going through in every episode.
In spite of being considered a family drama, there's a lot of romance involved with each love story being very different from the other. Aside from that, this is a great drama if you just wanna laugh since there's a lot of funny moments.
Was this review helpful to you?
52 episodes... Worth it!
When first coming across this Drama, I felt like 52 episodes were waaaay too much. But the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, and they basically all said that we shouldn't judge the story by the amount of episodes so I decided to go for it, I watched it alongside my mom and my brother (who doesn't really like K dramas) but this one waaaas good!!!! It slows down a little towards the end, but it's not a bad drama at all. In fact it's waaaay better than so many mini series I've watched out there. There were many lessons and the ending is just perfect. I loved it!!! And there were so many heartwarming scenes, maaan, I loved it ! It was great !!Was this review helpful to you?
However, 1 couple from this drama didn't really leave an impression on me compared to the rest of the couples. Nevertheless, that didn't affect the storyline.
Was this review helpful to you?
At no point in the show did I feel like I was being fed fillers. The actors , especially the eldest daughter, played such a great job, and the ending was really heartwarming. It only focused on what the whole show was about and did a great job by trying not to cram everything into one episode and inadvertently tripping over their feet.
A must watch show, atleast once.
Was this review helpful to you?
I will admit, I did not care for Jung Hwan's mother storyline and would skip around when [SPOILER Hye Yeong moved in with them since I could not stand how petty/mean/annoying she was to Hye Young; although by the end of the show I found myself liking the mother-in-law, which can show how well done this kdrama is. END SPOILER]
I also did not pay attention to the grandma and aunt/uncle/cousin's house and would skip their parts. But, despite that, I could not give this drama anything less than a 10. The feeling it left me with is rare, and it became one of my favorite dramas. So, even though there were two storylines I skipped, the core story with the rest of the couples/parents/characters I adored. Those two parts made up maybe 20% of the drama or less, so if I account for the rest it is a solid 10.
Now, don't get me wrong, this show is cheesy, but who doesn't love happiness and rainbows? If you are looking for a heavy, serious, cinematic drama, this isn't it, but if you want one that will make you smile, laugh, want to go hug your parents, and scream/cry/catch feelings, then this is for you.
If you are holding back from watching this drama due to the length, please do not let that stop you from enjoying this gem.
Now, go watch it on Viki or YouTube (it's on the KBS channel!)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I was hesitant to watch this drama because of the title and also it had 52 episodes. I thought a family drama would be boring but as I saw the first episode, I was proven wrong. From the very first episode, it kept me hooked. It was funny and emotional drama. I loved every cast in it and I loved the fact that each character had its own shine and character development throughout the drama. I loved the four siblings and I loved the fact that even if they fought with each other, they stuck with each other through all the hard times. All the couple in this drama were so sweet. I loved every couple but I think the Nutcracker couple was the most sort out and outspoken couple who could understand each other. Also I loved her mother in law. She was irritating sometimes but she was the most entertaining character in the drama. I also got emotional at some scenes when they had family problems.
So I recommend you to watch this drama. You will not be disappointed for sure. Although it had 52 episodes, you will want for more as start watching this drama. I wish there was a second season with the same cast. ❤❤
Was this review helpful to you?
This is a show to be savored, not binge-watched
I tend to be a binge-watcher, so I had troubles with this show at the start. There were so many characters, and so much going on, added to the fact that each character was not too terribly likeable. There seemed to be an abnormal preponderance of evil parents, and I seriously got tired of every character saying something about they wanted to die, they wished they were dead, they almost died, etc. It seemed to me they threw that phrase out too cavalierly.However, I think that if you slow down and watch one episode at a time, with a breather between each episode, you will quickly get drawn into each story. There are multiple story lines, and the writers were clever in having each character tie to another in a twisty-turny, round-about way. I imagined them sitting in an office with a giant white board, making a flow chart to keep each character straight. As mentioned, there were multiple characters that were not very likeable at the beginning of the show, but as we saw their growth through their relationships with one another, I felt like every person redeemed themself. An advantage to so many episodes - you have a good amount of time to flesh out the characters, and that was done really well here.
This is a melodrama with periods of lightness. There were multiple times that I felt that I couldn't take another tragedy. Kudos to the writers for two particular things - 1) No obligatory time jump, and 2) a satisfying, unrushed ending.
ACTING: First and foremost, Kim Yeong Cheol as Byun Han Soo, and Kim Haw Sook as Na Yeung Shil were absolutely brilliant as the parents of this family. I felt that everyone did an excellent job, but they were standouts. On a basic level, I just love seeing Ahn Hyo Seop in anything, so that was a treat.
FAMILY DYNAMICS: They did a wonderful job of showing this family, warts and all. Each person had their own demons to fight. They showed the strength of the family, and how each person was stronger for being in the family. The siblings often fought like cats and dogs, but at the end of the day, they loved one another and supported one another unconditionally. I loved all the scenes around the table for meals. It was so special to see more and more people come to the table, room being made for them in the family, and there was even a comment about how empty the table seemed when someone was missing. Toward the end, I was so grateful to have spent time with this family.
MUSIC: The music was very melodramatic for the most part, but there were a few good songs, especially as related to the main couple.
REWATCH VALUE: It's too long and my list of "to watch" shows is too extensive to rewatch the show.
NEGATIVES: It is never okay for an adult to use violence on their child (I'm not talking spanking here).
So, if you decide to give this show a try, take your time with it and allow yourself to settle in with the family. You'll be glad you did.
Was this review helpful to you?
