The Sunset Boulevard
If you have elderly parents, grandparents or great grandparents, you sure can relate with the characters in this drama, each is realistically written with a story to tell. This is a story about a phase that all of us will eventually face one day, that is growing old. It’s frightening for many but inevitable, yet the drama has made it funny, blunting the pain of reality, at the same time, capturing all the details, good and bad, happy and sad, as we may eventually come to terms with when we grow old ourselves.Sunshine Home is a nursing home taking care of the elderly from all walks of life. Some are ill with dementia and disability, some don’t have children to take care of them, some don’t want to burden their loved ones, but all have a story to tell. This story is told from the perspective of Ye Xiao Mei (Wu Qian aka Janice Wu). How she has come to inherit the senior home from her grandmother is heart-wrenching. As a passionate manhua (comic) artist, Ye Xiao Mei is reluctant to get involved in her grandmother’s mission. However, she eventually comes to understand what that mission signifies and she knows she has the duty to continue her grandmother’s legacy. And life in the senior home has also become the inspiration of her manhua story.
Ye Xiao Mei is intelligent, independent and strong. When others have given up in dealing with certain recalcitrant elderly, Ye Xiao Mei always finds a way, especially with the help of Guo San Shuang (Bai Jing Ting). With her compassion and firmness, she defuses tense situations involving various players. She has no qualm in getting her hands dirty, helping the elderly in their daily needs, dealing with foul temper old men and picky old ladies, and calming anxious ones. Wu Qian (Janice Wu)’s portrayal is amazing. As an actor, she naturally possesses that firm, no-nonsense attitude with a calm hand that fits perfectly into the role of the director of a nursing home. She is so natural and authentic that I have enjoyed every moment of her performance.
Guo San Shuang (Bai Jing Ting) is originally a health supplement salesman who is desperate to meet sales quota, and has scammed the elderly whom he sells products to. His conscience calls, quits his sales job, comes to help Ye Xiao Mei and lives in the Sunshine Home. Guo San Shuang is cartoonish, to say the least. He is compassionate, intelligent with unlimited resources to solve all kinds of difficult problems for Ye Xiao Mei. His sincerity infuses with silliness melts all hearts.
Bai Jing Ting is such a versatile actor. From a wimpy kid (Ping Pong Life) to a police SWAT (You Are My Hero) to a salesman in this drama, he has it all. His acting is immaculate and convincing. Having an adolescent face with youthful energy, Bai Jing Ting’s Guo San Shuang is lovable and funny. He is comical most of the time with funny facial expressions, silly words and deeds, and he is unabashed. He provides the much needed humor that softens the cruel reality of life.
Ye Xiao Mei’s and Guo San Shuang’s romance is slow burning. In actual fact, there is hardly any visible romance at all, though Guo San Shuang is pretty blatant in counting himself as Ye Xiao Mei’s boyfriend and her family his. Though denying their special relationship openly, Ye Xiao Mei’s feeling for Guo San Shuang is undeniable too but she refuses to give him the joy in admitting she is his girlfriend. Therefore, in a way the romance is mutual but implicit, like couples getting to know each other so well that they don’t need to declare their love for each other anymore. They do things together all the time and they share everything. In time, they become part of each other. They know deep in their hearts, they have each other.
Throughout the drama, sharp tongues are thrown everywhere with piercing comments. The dialogues are hilarious, witty and unforgiving, and yet cute and endearing. The dynamics between the old and the young, friends and friends, are incredibly well written and executed. Being young like a grandson to all the residents here, under different circumstances, Guo San Shuang is often being addressed as “sun zi” which has a double meaning; one means grandson and the other is derogatory. It is this type of humor that makes viewers laugh out loud in the midst of chaos.
This drama boasts some very fine veteran actors. Their acting is natural and convincing as if they are the real characters themselves. Overall, the acting by the whole cast is amazing and believable.
Every character has flaws; some more so than others. How the dynamics between the characters play out help make them (the characters) alive, realistic and relatable. Learning and growing are not limited to the youngsters. Even the elderly continues to learn and grow and become better persons.
The sound track “Fearless” (Go Ahead) is played, appropriately depicting the inner voice of Ye Xiao Mei when she faces the biggest challenge of her life – succeeding her grandmother as the Director of Sunshine Home.
My Verdict
This drama boldly tells a story many shun – old age, dying and death. The writing is heart-wrenching and yet very funny. This is a very realistic story that all of us have to face one day and live through. The characters are real, with people from all walks of life, making a living with all kinds of trades – salesmen, debt collectors, scammers, etc. Some are decent people, some are despicable. The elderly is the group that is often forgotten by society. They are gullible and desperate, hence vulnerable, a perfect target for scammers which is highlighted here.
Though old and frail, at Sunshine Home, they are not lonely; they are being loved, cared for and cherished. This is their haven where they seek solace and maintain their dignity.
Life is bitter, and sweet, at the same time. All it takes is the perspective to have more of, or less of, either. Some of the characters here are positive and their lives tend to be sweeter, even when they meet challenges. Some are more negative, and they are bitter, draining themselves and the people around them. As old people were also once young like us, and we will grow old ourselves eventually, we need to be more compassionate towards them and empathize with them, and that's the message of this story.
A well written drama that deserves to be cherished. A great watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute, but slow-paced
Originally, I came to watched this for Janice Wu (Wu Qian) because she's one of my top favs! However, I've come to really likeBai Jing Ting. This is the first time I've seen his acting and I have to say he portrays his character really well. He's very good with his body language and facial expression--so funny and makes you laugh. Overall, I think the main leads did a great job!
The story:
The story is unique, or at least it is to me. It touches on some nice aspects about life--aging, our elders, and importance of enjoying the time you have. I have a soft spot for old people, so watching this was bittersweet as it made me miss my own grandparents. The show has some cute moments, but the downside is I felt the pace was slow and drawn out. I noticed some people say they got bored and dropped it. This show is more casual, but still refreshing and cute enough to keep me to the end. If you like to see a slower-paced story that involves a lot about all the (main and sides) characters and their development coupled with a slow-gradual romance on top, then this might be the show for you. It's funny, sweet, and maybe even a little sad if you have a soft spot for old people (like me). The romance isn't fierce, but very casual and "realistic" meaning the main characters don't just fall in love right away and have an unspoken relationship that quietly blooms into love. I think it's cute and different from the usual rom-coms. I think this show would've been better if it was more condensed into 24 or so episodes rather than 41.
Edit: Finally finished this series. Definitely need some tissues with some of the episodes. It was very wholesome and sweet. Makes me miss my grandparent. I actually really liked this show and glad I decided to watch it all the way through. It touched on a lot of points about life. If you have time to watch something a bit different than the usual dramas, give this one a try!
Was this review helpful to you?
Quietly charming with great comedic moments and a touching plot
I really enjoyed this one, startling even myself.Bai Jingting was the reason I started this drama, and he was an absolute joy, at his comedic best in this show. I was living for his hilarious physical comedy, and also the sleazy loan shark wardrobe on him most of the time. Those round sunglasses! Loved them. This was my first drama with Janice Wu, and she was really enjoyable too! We could really see the character development and maturing of Xiaomei through her depiction.
The general messaging of the drama was super touching, too, and not usually something I go for. But the depictions of problems facing an aging society, and what that means for care homes and caregiving and care workers, felt very spot on and real to life. The different issues facing different residents of the retirement home, from getting scammed, to alzheimers, to difficulties with in-laws, felt tastefully addressed.
All in all this was a chill watch to enjoy on weeknights after work, and it never felt too high-stakes or stressful, even if some of the individual storylines were a little emotional. The pacing slowed a bit in the last half, but I never considered stopping it, a rarity!
Was this review helpful to you?
a drama for everyone to watch
First things first, I watched this because Bai Jing Ting and Janice Wu. I came into this drama knowing nothing. I heard nothing about it and I didn't watch any trailers. I really like the both of them and I thought a drama with those two would be an amazing watch. I was not wrong and was super excited to say that this is such a heartwarming drama even to me as a teenager.Pros:
- good plot
- great acting
- something new in each episode
Cons:
- slow-paced
- little to no romance
- crying (it might just be me since I'm get overwhelmed with emotions.
This drama is a feel good drama with realistic problems which the main character (Janice Wu) tries to solve. This drama brought up all the bad and good times with my parents and grandparents. Watching this drama, I feel like I understand what my parents or grandparents do even if I don't agree with it. Again, although there is little to no romance, there is a feeling of first love throughout. I recommend this to everyone (even if it's not your cup of tea, just try it) and I would rewatch this 100%.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
romance my arse - slight spoilers/warning!!
this drama delivered half of what I was looking for... a slow paced, peaceful family drama.THE STORY:
the overall story is quite simple. a young woman, Ye Xiao Mei, takes over the nursing home left by the late grandmother and looks after the elderly people there, which is when she meets Guo San Shuang, an opportunistic salesaman who sells 'health' products to the elderly. slowly they become closer and work together to look after the elders.
with this set up, you know there will be many sweet, fun moments, as well as some bittersweet ones, which is what made me able to watch 43 whole episodes.
now.....let the ranting begin because I have two main issues with this drama that I just have to talk about.
firstly, we have the fact that I was DECEIVED by the romance. now I love slowburn romance, so I was thoroughly enjoying what I thought was a slow 'buildup' to an eventual relationship but I was played. it wasn't slowburn, it was just slow. the chemistry was decent, but there where not nearly enough scenes to satisfy me. in fact I argue that there is not even enough romantic scenes to deserve the romance tag. for 43 episodes I watched the fl play hard to get, but you could not actually feel that she liked him at all, until the very damn end.
my second complaint is with the redemption arcs of the parents of the main leads. as you'll realise from the start, both of the main leads where raised by their grandparent, whilst their parent was absent. I hated both parents with my entire heart and soul, because they came to of nowhere expecting to be involved. they where entitled, shameless and completely undeserving of being parents. they ruined their children lives, and still have the audacity to demand forgiveness on account of being their parents still. what peeves me off even more is that the tone of the drama is that 'you should always forgive your parents because they are your parents' and I dislike this message because in this case the parent's sins do not deserve forgiveness. the sins don't match their redemption whatsoever.
ACTING/CAST:
the entire cast was good, and where honestly a delight to watch. watching the elderly go about their lives was quite heartwarming and they where all really good actors.
the main leads where also pretty good, although I never really warmed up to the fl's character.
MUSIC:
I don't really have much of an impression of the music in this drama, but I don't remember it bothering me.
REWATCH VALUE:
I definitely wouldn't rewatch this entire drama, I just have it as a semi-nice memory at the back of my mind.
with the knowledge that there is not much romance, and some characters are incredibly unlikeable, if you are still interested id definitely say you should give it a go.
Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting but slow
I started watching this because of it's interesting premise. It's different from other c-dramas. It tells the story of a retirement home owner and the interesting characters of senior citizens (with their family problems) that live in the retirement home. It's an interesting look into what getting old looks like (for those who are lucky enough to reach retirement age). This is not a love story, although the ML and FL kinda got together, but it's never really been the focus. The acting of the casts are superb, both the young and older actors. I find that the drama is sort of cut into chunks and several episodes focus on one senior citizen's story and his/her family issues. This is where some episodes get really boring and I lost my attention on the story part of a character that i don't like. Overall, it's an interesting family drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Gave It My Best Shot
I got barely through 13 episodes and dropped it. The storyline barely has any cohesion, the characters are all over the place, random other characters come and go, and it's very depressing. It might be interesting for families who want to watch other families struggles and the complete disconnect between the younger generation and their older counterparts. I feel this series would have gotten a better reception in the 1990s. It's supposed to be about a nursing home when in reality it's about an assisted living facility for the elderly. I wanted to watch because of BJT and his fantastic acting in YAMH but sadly this never came close.Was this review helpful to you?
