Sweet Teeth (2021)

Old-fashioned Sweet

Sweet Teeth is a drama adapted from a novel (世界微尘里-A Speck Amid the Dust of The World). The drama tells the story of Zeng Li, a down-to-earth girl and someone who didn’t have the courage to love due to her past. However, it all changes until she met Ai Jingchu.

The drama narrative revolves around Zeng Li and her two best friend’s love story. There are 3 couples in this drama:
1. Zeng Li (librarian) and Ai Jingchu (dentist): both of them start off on the wrong foot but eventually fall for each other
2. Wu Ying (doctor) and Liu Yucheng (traditional Chinese medicine student): Liu Yucheng basically fall in love at first sight with Wu Ying, and starts to pursue her
3. Ma Yiyi (Influencer) and Deng Haoran (entrepreneur): both of them have known each other for a long time because Deng Haoran is Zeng Li’s stepbrother. And round and round, their feelings towards each other sparked again.

The storyline is not new, it has all idol drama cliche tropes: the cold yet brilliant male lead, the scatter-brained yet warm female lead, slow motion, drunken love confession and more. Though the storyline is not new, the script is written in a very heart-warming way that it lulls you into the drama. Two complete strangers, getting to know each other, learn and understand each other and eventually fall in love.

The pacing of this drama is so fast, but looking at its only 22 episodes it makes sense how they are trying to squeeze everything. The love story between all the three couples progresses really fast, to a point that you don’t really feel the chemistry between the leads, they are only together for the sake of the script (unless you read the novel before). However, in the second half of the drama, you can start to feel the chemistry between the couples. This drama does not have any really heavy conflict, most of them are sweet moments!!

Wu Xuanyi acted as Zeng Li in this drama and I can say that she pulled it off. She did a good job in pulling off the typical 傻白甜, sweet and silly girl. However, she did exaggerate her acting too much in some scenes, that I cringed at some of her scenes. On the other hand, Bi Wenjun is kinda stiff and robotic in the first few episodes, however, it gets better in the later episodes. The supporting actors in this drama did a really commendable job. All of them acted so well in their own role, to a point that they outshone the main lead. Nevertheless, while watching it, you’ll slowly fall in love with every character.

As a part of the Iqiyi Sweet On drama lineup, I feel that this drama has weaker cinematography compared to other Sweet On series (for now). The shots and sequences are taken simply and beautifully, it evokes a warm and home-y feeling. However, there are also lots of shaky shots, weird close-up shots, and choppy editing.

The drama soundtrack definitely plays a huge part in this drama, as it elevates the whole drama atmosphere. The soundtrack has an ecstatic beat and flow that goes really well with the drama. It is also very memorable.

Though Sweet Teeth has some cliches, its supporting actors, well-written and heart-warming script makes it unique and special. While watching it, you can feel a warm glow, as if you are basking on the beach watching the sunset.

If you looking for a hearty laugh, fluffy love story and interesting supporting and side characters, this drama is definitely for you!!

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