Because This Is My First Life's rightful successor
Melo is just one of those dramas you finish and you want to rewatch immediately. The cast is fantastic, the chemistry between all of them insane, their lives and stories completely relatable to anyone in their early 30s. It also deals with such heavy topics in such a light-hearted way that it feels a lot like life. Sometimes we come across problems that we cannot prioritize because we have work, relationships and people important to us to care about. Melo is all about sharing our problems with those people and growing together with them. Another thing I loved was the meta commentary. You will find references to drama productions we all know and love, jokes about product placement, some aegyo-bashing, self-references to the drama’s low ratings (it has now become an underground hit with young people thanks to its wonderful soundtrack) and even previous works of the cast.Was this review helpful to you?
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Started Off Great but finished extremely Underwhelming
Be Melodramatic set is self up pretty strong within the very first few episodes introducing a wide range of unique characters, with a large main cast and even larger supporting cast. Early on the drama does a great job in setting a boundary between both the main cast and supporting cast in terms of screen time, however later on this boundary becomes irrelevant and the supporting cast overshadows the main cast's story.The casting and characters for the drama was perfect, every single casting was spot on for each character's individual personalities and each cast member interacted perfectly with each other allowing for a more natural feeling. Chun Woo-hee put on one of the funniest lead role performances I have seen, I always looked forward to the next scene she was involved in. Jeon Yeo-been was great as always. Han Ji-eun, Ahn Jae-hong, and Gong Myung all also did fantastic with their roles. The concept of Han Joon-woo's character, Hong Dae being dead but still getting regular screentime through Lee Eun-jung's "hallucinations" was a really smart idea which was executed pretty well.
The supporting casting was great but it was a major hinderance later on during the drama with some of the supporting cast's romance taking over a quite large amount of screentime. There was no need for both Baek Ji-won and Jung Seung-kil's characters to get that much screentime for their romance toward the end, especially when the large main cast has to resolve their own conflicts, romances, etc.
The biggest issue which dragged this show down heavily from being a great drama was its complete mess that it devolved into midway through the series. There was far too many plot lines ongoing and too many relationships being developed which causes quite a few bits of whiplash. Another big issue was the drama spent too much time developing the relationship between Han Joo and Jae Hoon only for them in the very last episode not end up together. Han Joo going with some random guy and Jae Hoon going back to his abusive cheating ex girlfriend. Not only that but Han Joo insults Jae Hoon claiming that he was the problem in the relationship with his ex girlfriend. That left a seriously bad taste in my mouth and an almost slap to my face for the time wasted being invested in the big pay out.
One concept I did like about the ending was how Jin Joo and Beom Soo writing their final parts of the script reflecting their real life friends. Overall the story that started off so strong ended so very underwhelming and almost disappointing. The OST for the drama was great, with Your Shampoo Scent in the Flowers by Jang Beom June being an instant favorite of mine. The production quality was standard and didn't really wow me in particular.
Wish this drama followed through with the way it started it off, but unfortunately it did not. If you like dramas centered around best friends then Be Melodramatic is drama you should watch but with low expectations.
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After The Happily Ever After
the charming point of this drama was that it was it's own behind the scenes.. it was as if the characters were making their own drama..this drama starts off with the aftermath of everyone's 1st love and the truth that not all 1st loves work out...
I've been complementing this drama ever since the 1st ep in the comment section, and now I'm kinda out of words ;)
basically this was a great slice of life with so many useful interesting side characters and a healthy dash of "love triangles" in each relationship...
I added lot of this drama's characters to my favorite lists, they are all so diverse❤ and the girls (+ Hyo Bong)! it was as if I was living with them, as if I was a part of that beautifully knitted friendship.. I'll sincerely miss them...
The ost of this drama was another charming point, they really did a great job fitting each scene. and I think overall the ending was done well, in a world where I hate almost all endings, it was satisfying...
and I really highly recommend this, it's fresh and different with ALOT of beautifully hilarious comedic scenes! tbh, now that I remembered that point I think that was the best thing about this! this literally had THE best "laugh out loud until you cry comedy" and I LOVED that!
my rewatch values are 1 or 10, and I already want to revisit my girls❤
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So weird, yet so very perfect
Fresh and unique. Extremely fast paced. Not one moment is dull.You have to pay attention because the writing is so clever and quick witted. Honestly, the dialogue zooms by and you have to read as fast as a cheetah.The humor might be a little weird, deadpan, and sarcastic, but that's probably why I liked it so much. I am not the type of person to laugh out loud, but I ended up doing just that while watching this drama. Honestly, there were lines that were so clever and funny that I rewinded to watch the scene again. Not only that, but I shed tears IN THE FIRST EPISODE. This drama tugged at my emotions within the first episode and continued to do so as the drama continued. Nothing like I've watch before, and it is so weird. So, so weird. But I truly loved it.
MUSIC: 100% in this category. There is one song that has like 7 different renditions and each one sounds amazing and fits the mood. I could not get that shampoo song out of my head.
ACTING: Can I call it acting, when it feels like the actors are the characters themselves? It felt so natural, never felt forced or cheesy imo. They all did an amazing job.
I'd definitely rewatch this. So many laughs. And it was incredibly unique and meta. I could've watched 50 episodes of this. I finished it in a couple days, and I was sad I had to say goodbye.
(I will admit tho, I found the last episode to be a bit weak, hence the 9.5 instead of 10. They could have ended the series way better, but I am hopeful for a season 2 so maybe they did not feel the need to exactly make the final episode feel like a final episode.)
All in all, Be Melodramatic is added to my Favorite Drama list. Watch it. You will not regret it.
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All the characters, including the minor ones are interesting. All the sub-stories are cool. It's great how the drama starts, it's great how it ended and the quality stays consistent throughout. Normally I prefer dramas like WWwSK, or Fight for My Way, but this was a nice relaxing experience without the epic/cathartic moments that those kinds of dramas are known for. It was very funny, but not embarrassingly funny, It was just unreal enough to be interesting.
The casting is basically perfect, even more so than in R88. I hope that I'll see more of these actors in the years to come. The OST was good, though it could have been a bit less repetitive. +
Just to say some negative things: They took the fart jokes way too far and there were some dramaception moments that felt a bit immersion breaking.
Overall it's an easy 10/10, I hope it becomes a cult classic outside of Korea. Looking at the ratings leaves a sour taste in my mouth, I hope it's not because of the gay character, but with Korean viewers you never know...
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I really liked search WWW, and I thought that I would never see a better trio of female leads for the rest of my drama viewing life.
Then Be Melodramatic happens. These women might not have the same snap to them as the Search WWW cast, but the dialogue here is second to none. Every time they are just sitting around the couch and gossiping or philosophizing, I was completely sucked in to the conversation. That's not even something I am normally in to, but the writing is so damn good here.
Everything is here. Clever writing. Comedy that doesn't involve putting the character in a funny situation, but actually is derived from well written and delivered lines. Very little cliches, and when there are, they are very self aware. At the end, ven some character development that you aren't expecting for a side character. In your heart you wanted to go one way, but the writers dragged you another, and it actually worked, and you aren't left bitter at all about their choice. That is rare for a drama. Usually when the writers do something you are rooting against, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. They someone turn that on it's head.
Not much else to say here. This is a 10/10, and of the 87 dramas I have now watched, this is only the 3rd perfect 10 I have given out.
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It's an absolute masterpiece But...
If you're more into just Swoony romance and Rich chaebols in your shows then you might not like this one.Also The show didn't do great in ratings(averaging around 1 percent viewership) because it's not part of the major TV broadcasting studio like KBS(ratings range in 2 figures).
And smaller studios (like JTBC) ratings range in around 3 to 5 percent on a good day.
Despite that, it's a criminally underrated show.
It's A very character driven show. And the leads are very relatable. The drama described itself the best, as the main lead is writing the show which is the story we the viewers are watching.(Things will be fine when you are Thirty)
But it's never really a fourth wall break. Rather Just a peak at the fourth wall which makes it more fresh
It's deeply poignant in places and hilariously funny throughout its run.
Like seriously funny, the show uses dry humour but it doesn't feel as dry as British dry humour and has a very nice balanced feel to it.
The OST is so organically a part of the show and is the most fitting with the shows story and brand of funny.
The monologue by characters are really thought provoking.
If you liked "age of youth"(hello my Twenties) or Reply series (Answer me series). You'll love this one for sure.
If you didn't. Well.. This one's not for you.
Also the PPL in this one's is actually really funny as most of the time it's under some reference (since one of the lead works in marketing).
It's it's own brand of genius.
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Better luck next time
I am the kind of person who prefers a bit of "unrealism" in a drama, it actually helps in developing interest and curiosity for upcoming episodes. It being too realistic was the problem. MDL ratings can be unfair too, 8.5 for this one is bit too much. They created way too many plots for themselves. It tried really hard to become "Because this is my first life" or "reply" but it was nowhere near them. My favourite storyline was that of Somin and Minjun's, although a very short one. And of course the OST, liked it alot more than drama itself.Was this review helpful to you?
Sometimes, unlike what they say, people don't change. When facing the same problem over and over again, it's hard for one to deal with that issue of theirs. However, if only they have others to walk with them and hold on, they can pass through that problem safely and sound and they can continue their life. Because to move on, you need energy, you need courage, and more than a friendly attitude, you need sincere friends.
This drama gives me a big burden in the beginning. As I watched more episodes, I thought there were fewer problems. Now I know I was wrong. The problems kept on coming to the characters. They never get used to it. But they will to walk through it and move on.
This drama is very meaningful to me. Every time I cry when I watched this, I feel both bad and good feelings. The weird part is that...the gut that I had was consoling me.
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Now go to the real review of the drama production. Gosh, so good! The cinematography fits the concept. It looks pretty yet resembling the tone of our everyday life. The OSTs are all so touching. The plot is enjoyable, although I find that the plot is not really mattered when it comes to this drama. The character itself is very charming already, you would want to watch this because of the characters. They don't fall into the mainstream stigma of each character. Instead, they bring the characters to come to life by giving them the most natural attributes I've ever seen in Korean Drama. Not to mention, the casts play these characters so well.
In conclusion, this drama taught me lots of thing and it does warm my heart.
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Large Cast of Characters
There are so many characters in this show and that could either be positive or negative. The Reply series did it well but here, for me, there were so many characters that I didn't care about, like the side characters of the Senior Writer or even the two main leads. With that being said, this isn't that much of a character-driven drama, but those characters who did have personal growth turned out to be my favorites (Eunjung, Somin).There's sort of a drop-off with the plot as well and some lost opportunities for exploring but this show packs its punches in many of the right places, especially in the beginning where everyone is being introduced.
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