Lucky with You (2021)

Tales of messy relationships in a topsy-turvy world

This review will contain A LOT of spoilers. You have been warned. :)

TL;DR: Oddly constructed rom-com that is weak on rom and com. A lack of direction and focus compounded its woes. Not recommended.

As with many contemporary rom-coms, this show started out with a promising idea. A rich, handsome troublemaker being protected 24/7 by an attractive, no nonsense, female bodyguard. Lots of opportunities for witty banters and close quarter actions, you'd think. It was a love-hate relationship from the start.

A decent show can become a problematic one when missteps are compounded. Let us apply the matrix to this show.
* Lack of Direction
What is this show about? Is it a rom-com? A family melodrama? A revenge drama? Business/crime thriller? At times, the show was all of the above and more. It really packed in a lot of subplots as if the writer was throwing mud at the storyboard and see what sticks. With that many threads and plots fighting for space, the main OTP plotline is sidelined without much progression.

* Lack of Focus
Case in point, most of the rescue missions were very elaborate and consumed a fair amount of screen time but it showed little return. It showcased how brave the ML is but also his recklessness and not being a team player. The people rescued or even the team members were just extras on the set. We know nothing about them, and they played no part in the rest of the show. Ditto the elaborate night race. It only served to give the FL street creds but all the people there were all forgotten by the next scene. Lots of other scenarios were thrown at us just to make a quick point and just as quickly forgotten.

* Illogical Plots and Actions
The company just carried on after the thieve of 20 million yuan (half their cash reserve), . The police did nothing. The top-level staff shouted at each other for a few minutes and it was business as usual. Another example, showing up with an expensive necklace for SFL1 in front of a crowd of squealing actresses. Why? The kidnapping in the final episode. (facepalm)

* Too Many Cooks
This is a common problem with c-dramas. When 1 CP is not enough, make it 5!
Let’s count;
CP1, ML (Johnny Huang) and FL (Wang Li Kun). Their faces are on all the posters
CP2, ML’s father and FL’s best friend (a drill instructor)
CP3, ML’s best friend and a waitress at his restaurant
CP4, FL’s mom and dad who are divorced
CP5, ML’s father’s assistant and the company’s accountant
SFL1 is a young actress (complete stranger), SFL2 is a rich b!tch from hell (old family friend), SML (FL’s college era ex-BF).
Collectively, we have crushes, unrequited love, love triangles, autumn-romance, push-pull, separations and more. This sucked the oxygen out of the OTP’s storyline, and the show suffered. (See Lack of Direction/Focus)
All these antagonists/protagonists lead to. . .

* Muddled view of Love
It is not unusual for the love line of the leads to be angst filled but this show brings home the bacon.
Both SFL1 and 2 subplots started with the ML leading them on so that they thought he was interested in them. Old trope but it was done in a very ham-fisted way and highlights the foolishness and naivety of the ML.
SML was a pest and just won’t take no for an answer.
The show suggested that ML5 was using FL5 to further his revenge plot but we are told it was true love later. Really?
Speaking of true love, the show gifted us a tropey romantic scene in the rain with a glowing merry-go-round as the backdrop. There were tears, rejection but ultimately, reconciliation and declaration of love. This is CP1, right? Wrong. CP2 got the special romantic treatment. Who is the OTP in this show?
CP2 was an autumn-romance with an age difference of 29 years! Not that I have anything against age gap love as long as it is believable but the meet-cute was a game of golf and lunch. Put together with the hint that he just wanted a bit of fun on the side, and she giving off gold digger vibes (no hint of that beforehand), it just screamed WRONG. Luckily, she came to her senses but later we were supposed to believe it was true love, again.
In the meantime, CP1 and CP3 are stuck in a quagmire. CP1 did eventually became official at the end of ep.38 (out of 40) with a hug and the CP3 was a nod and a wink in ep.40. The show really have problem closing deals.

* Lack of skinship
Some commentators suggested covid restrictions, but I don’t think so. If you were looking for kisses, there were none. Nada, zip, nuthing. There were a couple of hugs. Actually, CP5 was shown making out in the stairwell once but it was oddly unromantic and seemed to support the coercion theory. I discounted that.
Please, don't even dream of an intimate scene. This show is more chaste than some religious dramas. :)

* Lack of Character growth/whiplash changes
The FL was a cold, calm professional from start to finish.
The ML was an irresponsible rich heir and Johnny Huang did not play that convincingly. In short order, he reformed into a nice, upstanding man. In essence, he played himself as he did in other dramas. Is that growth?

Most of the other characters remained largely unchanged. The only exception is the ML’s father. Oh boy, did he change! He went from a ruthless businessman, controlling father and a boar of a man to become a nice, gentle, fatherly figure in the space of 1 episode. Cue death bed conversion to Born Again Nice Guy™ in ep.35. Never too late.

The show is not unwatchable, there are good bits. I just felt detached and despondent as I watched. The various romantic subplots were flavourless and underwhelming. The business subplots insubstantial. I almost dropped the show a couple of times.

Thankfully, there was a dramatic change in tone and direction in the last 10 episodes. It really felt like a different show, one that finally have a clear purpose and direction. Did someone whispered something to the writer?

The last few episodes were fan service. All the loose ends were tidied up. Unicorns were roaming free. The attempt at some drama/action in the last episode was a bit laughable (see Illogical Plots). Those last few episodes are the saving grace for me, but the damage is done. It was hard to ship any of the CP's and that is the kiss of death for a romance drama.

OST is serviceable but repetitive. Rewatch? When I get a big slice of that 20M yuan.

Take heed fellow viewers, I gave you fair warning with is missive. Watch this at your own peril. ;)

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Good, but not great

OVERALL
There are many things to praise about this drama, despite its average quality. Watch it if 1) you like strong and calm female leads, 2) you're looking for cute OTP scenes, 3) you like when there's a bit of action in your drama, even if it's really just a bit. If 1) you want to see lots of skinship and smexy scenes, 2) you can't stand older woman-younger man tropes, and 3) you're looking for suspense/more intense action, then skip.

THE STORY
I'm going to say it: this drama is really not that great. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can also say that I honestly really liked it! The main reason why I like it is because it's taking cliché elements of C-dramas and changing them just a little bit, so the story still feels refreshing. Female lead is strong and can fight, but she's not like terminator. She's actually pretty mellow and even-tempered. Male lead started out a spoiled brat, but he's not cold, rude and mean like we often see in C-dramas. He's just a bit childish, and that turns out to be his charm by the end. As a couple, they also hit different. Rather than going the route of "age doesn't exist", which we see in age-gap dramas a lot, where the guy treats the girl like she's not older than him and the girl treats the guy like he's not younger than her, in Lucky With You the age gap is there to stay, but it's turned into something positive. Male lead's liveliness and childishness brightens the life of Female lead, and her being down-to-earth and more mature brings the best out of him. It's just really nice!

Another plus in this drama is the interactions between the OTP. They're REALLY cute together. Not in a super romantic, cringey or cheesy way, but in a feels-so-natural-and-real way. And yet another plus is the fact that Female Lead is played by a woman in her mid-thirties. I'm SO happy she gets to play in a drama with an actual plot and isn't being forced to play in those boring "this is life in the 30s" dramas. I hope more like this comes our way!

On the negative side, Lucky With You's romance (which is really really promising) kind of feels lacking. There's almost no skinship in this drama, probably because of some clause or something banning skinship between the main actors. But even without skinship, they could have focused a bit more on the OTP. I feel like a lot of C-dramas forget what they're about and get lost in random stuff (office drama, uninteresting side characters, etc.). This is definitely the case of Lucky With You, in the second half. The ending feels particularly dissatisfying. All in all though, I don't regret watching and would even recommend it, but these are things to keep in mind!

THE ACTING
Fab. The main actor, I've seen him before in Love Designer and I don't know how he does it, but his relationships with the female leads always feel natural. In this drama it's even more impressive since there's zero skinship haha Female lead was fine too, of course, and even the side characters were okay.

THE MUSIC
No comment.

REWATCH VALUE
I think I will rewatch parts of this drama. Not the whole thing, because there are parts I didn't care for, but the OTP was really cute together, and the first half of the drama was binge worthy, so it'll happen for sure!

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