Hello Mr. Gu (2021)

Relationship is not believable

The usual trope of CEO demanding marriage in exchange for help. Each of the actors does their own part pretty well... they just don't come together as a cast. We are supposed to believe they fall for each other, but he's a jerk and never changes, and she tolerates it because he's had a "tough" life. The one saving grace of this show is that she finally does dump him because he's a jerk. Sadly, they do get back together, in theory because he's finally addressed his psychological issues, but it's not believable. I ended up reading episode summaries rather than watching, and skipped large chunks after about episode 10 or 12.

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Your typical cliche drama of a contract marriage...

This drama's genre is marriage contract, so you know that more or less there will be a similar storyline. It's a pretty cliche drama overall, from the start of not liking each other to the forced contract marriage, aka female lead is in need of money moving in together, slowly liking each other, finally together, bumps in the relationship, plus 2nd female lead liking male lead, sabotage, company fail, break up and finally get back together! This is basically the drama in a nutshell.

Was there something special ? Yes and no... I felt like in this drama they had very cute and sweet moments.Definitely many accident kissings/pecks of the lips. 2 to be exact but then it goes for a long time before they kiss again. Their relationship is pretty cute and full of fuzzy heart beating moments.

However they really lacked the communication! like the reason they broke up was due to the male lead not having enough time to spend with the female lead, but in reality the male lead 's company was on the verge of going bankrupt/lose all of their investors. She is more of a simple head, naive girl, while the male lead is more complex. Their way to express love is also very different. The male lead gets me mad for not having enough balls to say I love you to the female lead. Lol the female lead said I love you to the male lead while she was drunk. Also the male lead is so freaking dull when it comes to relationships haha. Like very straight headed and one minded haha, making the female lead mad all the time.

I initially liked the female lead portrayal, she is very clever in making money, she is bold and a talented anime artist, but her character doesnt have too much growth. The storyline is more focused on their relationship and the relationship between her best friend and her older brother. The episodes become more of a back and forth bickering, and at some points got pretty boring. I would say that 30 episodes is too much... 24 would of been better.

Also Im not that fondle of 2nd lead being a green tea.... ( that means in front of the male lead she's all innocent but to the female lead she does stuff to sabotage and make the female lead look bad. And or course the 2nd female has to be in the male lead's company and is basically the male lead's right hand man.

I liked the music! but overall not that bad of a drama but not that good. It's still a decent watch.

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It’s Good, But Way Too Long...

This was a great series for the first 10 episodes, then you stick around for another 10 because you wanna know what happens, then it's kind of a drag to complete the last episodes. I was disinterested probably at about episode 18-20. The storyline gets old, characters are also losing their spark. And I kinda dislike the b*tchiness attitudes of the leading ladies in this series, they could've been much stronger characters, but their conniving attitudes were quite unappealing to watch. But, I have a feeling this suits, as it's a mainland Chinese series with its local culture. It was good to watch once, discovered the male actor Chen, and am hoping to watch his other shows.

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It wasn't a bad show but just cliche. Like you see this storyline so often and you're like I like it because it's familiar but also it takes forever to watch it because it's predictable. So pushing through gets a little hard and sometimes it was actually kind of boring, even the drama they tried to input was boring and some things seemed kind of unfinished but doesn't mean it was bad. I liked it, it was a filler show for when I needed something for my time to flow but it wasn't top drama of the year at all by all means; I liked the leads though, not bad chemistry there and overall just pretty cute and cliche.

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Text book rom-com with a love of clichés

The TL;DR version: it is a very tropey, cliché laden rom-com that failed to hit any heights and ended up meandered for too long before a predictable ending.

The longer version: This show started fine. Very tropey setup with cold, rude CEO ML and feisty college student FL in a contract marriage. The logic behind the plot was questionable but we'll let that pass for now. It was set up and running within the first 2 episodes. Consider the show runs for 30 x 30+ mins episodes, you would think that there is lots of time to develop the characters and watch their relationship blossom but alas, the real confession didn't happen until late in the show and nothing much happened (drama wise) between those two points. It was overstuffed with every colour of clichés that I wish I was a cliché spotter! Time and time again, just when you see the obvious set up and waited for the ML to utter the 4 immortal Chinese words (我喜欢你) and seal it with a kiss, the scene faded to black and they took a collective step back.

They did amped up the sugar moments after the confession but it was all bait and switch as the writer threw even more CP roadblocks in their way and culminated in the predictable plot arc. If you think that I'm talking about the OTP both dying in a plane crash then you should get a job with them because you are way more creative.

I'm not saying that every rom-coms have to be full of original ideas but better ones handle clichés like delicate building blocks, be creative with them. This show used them with extreme prejudice and with little return. It was like they took the "Chinese Rom-com for Dummies" to the pitch meeting.

Acting was patchy. The FL is fine. A feisty college student is bread and butter for young actors these days. The ML suffered from the Chinese idol syndrome. They have the looks and the physique but his acting skills are limited. Stoney face might be ok for the cold CEO role but when the role expanded and he couldn't stretch to meet the demands then we have a problem. The FL's BFF and one half of the 2OPT was problematic as well. It was almost painful to watch her in some of the lovey-dovey scenes with the 2ML. There was little chemistry with the second pairing but they can be cute together. There was a decent amount of skinship with the CP's but not a whole lot of passion. One surprise was the ML's mum. She was a scene stealer and a fount of wisdom and so sweet and understanding. Shame that she didn't have a bigger role.

There was little growth in the characters, more like Jackal and Hyde personality changes. This was especially true for the ML and not in a good way.

The ending was sugar coated and the FL's male junior did the honourable thing but the happy ending was never in doubt. It was a decent conclusion. I'm not too sure why they did the CGI chapel in the end. Seemed a bit unnecessary.

OST was serviceable. Rewatch value is low.

I started off enthused, gradually became irritated (aka almost dropped) and then finally settled on resigned indifference.

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Disappointed

The story started with the typical clinch, contract marriage, ML save FL. Poor FL in debts and ML helps solve issue. All can be accepted becos after all, thats what we expect in a idol drama right ? But since the show has started, shouldn't the ending end well too?

In the last few episodes, the story is seen to be rushing to create problem and solving it below par. Some necessary details of the story are not stated but just added clammy kissing scenes without substance.

Both ML and FL has good visuals. Their acting skills are good too. Just disappointed with the storyline esp the ending episodes.

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Very Cliche

I have watched a good amount of Chinese romance dramas and I always find that the ones who have some cliche but still bring something new to the table are the best. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this drama had all the cliche without bringing anything super new to the table:

- contract relationship
- Second male lead giving up on his feelings and helping the main ML
- main couple knew each other as kids
- female rival that uses dirty tricks to get ML
- break up that could have been avoided with simple communication
- etc

One thing that was different in that the female love rival ends up hurting the ML more than the FL, she ends up hurting his company just for attention which was new because usually, they hurt the FL and her reputation.

Overall it was a decent drama, I wish the cliches were at least executed better and in a fresh way.

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Despite being very awkward, the first half or so of the story is still fun to watch., and the main reason that I kept watching it. Its the same old cliché story of a controlling male and a hard working put poor female lead coming into a contract relationship to pay off the FL's family debt. And then there is the evil second lead trying to come in-between the couple and cause misunderstanding between the two. Finally there is a second lead couple who r cute and fluffy with a healthy relationship. Oh forgot to mention the sad, puppy like second male lead who is of course 'f-r-i-e-n-d-z-o-n-e-d"........

I'm a sucker for contract marriage/relationships dramas, probably that's why I could stomach this for 30 episodes. So to sum it all up the story is out right lame, with cliché plotlines and the acting is really awkward ( r they rookie actors ??) .

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A Spiral downfall—It was promising but the plot ruined it. Lack of Competent 2nd ML~!!

This drama went from extremely good to gradually going bland and plain.

I honestly started this drama by reading a lot of reviews from people and I've contemplated a lot (more than 10 times) before I give it a go. I even told myself to completely break that 'common-cliche-story' feeeback but I never expected myself going that path as well.

I'm a sucker of Cliche Love Stories so much but this drama is either overflowing or insufficient of something or more. It is imbalanced overall and as much as I wanna give it a higher feedback out of consideration, I can only give it a 'So-So Rating' (See my bio to find out how I rate things) after all my contemplation and sincere consideration.

This drama could've been magnificent only IF they didn't overly played the characters and purposely added so much twists and turns that eventually ruined and made the story go astray from it's main plot. The story seemed to be all over the place and some of the 'supposedly' main plot were left hanging in the air and magically got resolved/conquered without proper explanation and presentation.

Anyways, I don't wanna keep it that long cause I don't wanna slander it that much but lemme just give some of the favorite stuff I like about this drama before I completely move on.

First, is the cinematography and lighting. Everything is so vibrant and sweet looking and it truly complements the actors and actresses. Second, The OST and the BGMs. I learned to love them so much throughout the show and wanna give a big thumbs up to people handling the editing; since they did great with sound placements & accompaniments and lastly, for keeping the story a little more mature in contrast to how immature the characters are.

P.S. I felt like I was watching a Teenage Love Story than a Young Adult ones and that bothered me a lot.

Story - 7.5, A Passsing Grade. Like what I mentioned above. The story went downhill as early as Episode 10 and from that point moving forward I've felt like a slump was placed within the veins in my heart. It made my mood a little off and even causes me heartache at some point. Not to mention the characters, specially the ML who is more Young-Minded/immature several times and how bothered I was on how we're lacking a more competent 2nd ML.

Cast/Artist - 8.5, Overall they're good but I feel like they could've done better. Most of the time I was seeing them as an Actor themselves more than the characters they're playing. I know that I shouldn't be too hard on them and should give consideration on how the character is written and portrayed to be that way but I can honestly see through their innerselves trying to squeeze the emotions in just to deliver some of their lines out.

Music - 10, The only Exception. I really wanna commend the Sound Team who made most of the scenes a lot more interesting and fun to watch. I love all of the songs and I'm ready to add them to my playlist.

Rewatch Value - 7.5, I don't want to give them a savagely low grade since I still enjoy this drama halfway but I would never watch this drama the 2nd time around. But I can always recommend it to some people who are interested with the same genre.

Overall - 8, It is BARELY Passing. It is Good but It was also bad and got so tiring and boring 2/3 of it's entire run. Something I wouldn't be tired saying is how they could've have made it better by sticking to their main story plot.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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Why??? How??

Why?? After watching short episode versions I decided to take the time to watch the full drama. My expectations were neutral as the short episodes left you with a big "maybe"...his rom-com could be a fun experience or like nails sliding across a chalkboard. The chalkboard scenario was the clear winner. The FL was ridiculous whenever she was in a scene. Of the hundreds of high-potential young Chinese actresses to select from, the mystery question is more about the casting director than the actress (who was painful to watch). It leaves you wondering if the scriptwriter has ever met anyone in this highly competitive industry. The poor FL would never make it through the academics . Slap-stick comedy, when positioned for effect can be amazing. Too bad the director didn't seem to grasp this concept. The FL's screeching voice, ultra-poor eating habits, and inability to deliver a performance for 30 episodes were, after episode 9 share torture to watch. Usually, in a rom-com, you don't feel sorry for the ML but it is easy to shift to pity and compassion for him as his role was a support role to the antics of this unskilled, poorly directed, or a combination of both series. His portfolio of work is well done....except for this series.

How?? Once in a while, the decision-making of producers, scriptwriters, directors, and agents of actors comes together to create amazing stories frame after frame. Of course, there is always the potential for a "dark side" to balance the "bright lights" of rewatchable stories. It is difficult to hold actors accountable as their role is to speak words they do not write at the direction of men/women hired to produce a final product that attracts large viewership. I looked at scores for this rom-com on 4 different platforms. It did well on some and tanked on others. A swing this large in viewer ratings when averaged together moves this drama to a 5 maximum final score. It is always sad when there is so much untapped potential left out of a drama.

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