Sunny Happiness is one of these rare t-dramas, 25 episodes and NOTHING exploded. the last 4 or 5 episodes do get a little "one life to live" but it fits with the plot, which is very entertaining, so it's cool. another thing that really grabbed me was that this is probably the ONLY believeable reason i've ever seen for a contract relationship. there was good reason to pretend and good reason to actually make a contract, so that was refreshing.
Mike and Janine turn in really impressive performances for this type of story. they are emotional w/out being over the top and they are believeable. the supporting cast, like yong yong's family tend to be relegated to traditional t-drama antics and they do thier fair amt of wailing, but it never quite reaches the epicness of say fated to love you or hi my sweet heart.
the one thing (or more specifically four things) that i really just never got into were the two other couples that got a surprising amt of screen time. Wang Lan and her producer were dull to watch. there didnt seem to be any emotion in it and the same for the brother and his chick. little bro is cute as a button, but he just never gets off the ground. it's like he's groggy throughout. in all honesty i'd give their sceenes a minute or two to grab my interest and when it didnt i would fast forward.
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I do thing it coulda ended in 20 eps and not 25 but overall I found the storyline compelling and
Change Janine and Mike He's performance / chemistry is outstanding. If you're looking for a campy sort of drama this is probably not for you but if your looking for a drama exercising family dynamics and building of relationships this might be the drama for you.
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The plot was very sentimental-and my heart flew around my chest at the happy moments. This drama as well revolves around romance, but I'd say mostly family. It's all about family. At first it starts out as a funny and comedic rivalry. It then continues to unmask secrets in the characters' past-which brings me to character development.
The character development was REMARKABLE! It showed the past of the characters very well. It was amazing to see the moving pasts of the characters and I enjoyed it very much. I can't describe itin the most, so I recommend if you are reading my review and have not yet watched "Sunny Happiness"-watch it right now! You won't regret it!
Overall, I enjoyed this drama in most ways. I recommend it to everyone and I probably would watch it again.
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But first the cons:
Foundation of the breakup: To put Yun Jie (Mike He) in the situation about not knowing about his child, the writers basically throw the mom character under the bus and make her entirely unreasonable. It just makes no sense and the viewer will think he's a jerk and she's horrible... I think the viewer has to let it go or it colors your views from there after.
Makjang: This drama was so grounded in how it dealt with so many things that it really didn't need to rely on the cliches, even if it dealt with them better than most dramas. Unfortunately in the last four or so episodes, we see the writers put a few story arcs into the drama that were silly and unfortunate.
The Mom: The main focus of the story is on Yong Yong and Yun Jie as it should be. The drama did bring up issues of single parenting, but in the end I think they missed an opportunity to do better in this area and as already mentioned, used this character to heighten drama in contrived ways.
Secondary Stories: I think they could have done more with the mom and her guy. I have mixed feelings about the brother (Li Yi Feng). Part of the story is his resentment about his brother, his romance with another gal and a very, very late love triangle. As someone who is not a fan of triangles, I'm happy it was half over before going that way but could have done without it.
The Pros:
Tone: Anyone familiar with T-dramas knows how they can be over the top. I found this drama refreshing because even though you think after the first episodes it's going to be another one of those dramas, it really isn't. Every plot point is about these two people getting to know each other, like each other and eventually fall in love. My big issue with a lot of T-Dramas is how often the characters have conversations that mean nothing. In SH, almost every conversation has purpose.
Chemistry: I think Mike He and Janine Chang have a chemistry that works. This is not a steamy, intense romance. This is a get-to-know you romance. You might not think so because of something that happens in episode 1, but it is. I really do not like instalove romances so this really worked for me.
Acting: I was fine with all the actors. I think Mike He is generally a solid but not great actor, but here I think he's done his best work (of what I've seen thus far). His expression when finding out about his son was just spot on. Loved Janine as well.
Family: Early in the drama, her family does something silly, and I worried that the writers would have our gal in a Cinderella type situation....No, it is not like that at all. The family members of both leads are not perfect, but there is no over the top shenanigans. (Well, 2nd sister but who doesn't like her?)
Writing: I appreciate that the characters are not perfect. Yun Jie is one of the best written male characters I've seen in a T-Drama. He is not perfect, and he's not an over bearing jerk stock character. He is a decent guy with flaws who makes mistakes, often realizes it but stays true to himself. I often have trouble getting through T-dramas because they are too long with not enough story. Again the last four or so episodes had some contrived situations pop up, but I completed this drama in around 4 days. I think I appreciate that even when "big" things happen, the reaction is sometimes so grounded. (An example is how they handled her confronting him about the orphanage. You understand where she is coming from, but he is actually very reasonable in what he says as well. The viewer can understand both sides. ) Basically this is a no drama drama. Also, there is comedy but I would not necessarily call this a rom/com.
After all this, I don't really think I'm doing a great job describing it. I think if you are in the mood for a very character driven romance drama, this might fit the bill. (I found it subbed on You Tube). In the end I took a point off for throwing in a silly curveball late in the drama and some noble idiocy. I also took off half a point for the lazy writing in not coming up with a better set up to him not knowing about his child. Overall though, I found this to be one of the better T-Dramas I've seen thus far.
Edit: I almost forgot. I don't really remember an OST because I saw on You Tube so the beginning and ending credits are cut off; however, I actually usually hate the background music (horrible piano music quite often) in T-dramas. The music here was much more muted and was in the background where it needed to be though I did notice it a bit more toward the end of the drama. So my score on the music is about the use of background music not OST, if they even had one.
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OK! Now that I got that out of my system here is what I thought about this drama. The story was awesome. I loved it! The best part was that Yun Jie did not have a conflict concerning his emotions toward Yong Yong and his ex. There were a lot of experiences that happened in the drama that made it different, but there were so many similarities to other dramas that it made it very predictable.
Now the music was ok, but there were parts where it sucked. I really enjoyed it when the music kinda conveyed a sense of humor along w/ the scene. The actress playing Yong Yong was amazing. I loved how she showed emotion but was holding it back. I want to see her in more dramas b/c she was the reason I kept watching (well besides Mike).
Even though this drama was kinda slow I will prolly watch it again in the future. IMAO I think others will enjoy it as well.
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Honestly, I sat down and watched this whole drama in two sittings because it proved to be incredibly interesting. I didn't even dare look at the last episode because I wanted to see it all span out slowly.
I've always been a fan of Mike He and he proved to me again that he can make some great plays. The chemistry was good, squeezing out a tear from me eyes a few times and it proved to be very entertaining to watch. Though, there were spots where I doubted the portrayed feeling, questioning the motives of the characters and their actual goals. Some proved to be a bit too laid back, some too easy to handle.
This is the first time I saw Chang Janine in a drama and I got sold to her quite quickly - she really is incredibly pretty and her acting is good, even though her character was a bit messy at parts.
Overall the story was incredibly good - nothing too much as it is usually found in dramaland, what gave a bit of a real-life-story feeling at certain parts. Yet, there were flaws in the overall storyline, showing gaps that made me confused and even check if I had actually missed an episode or part of an episode as some things just came crashing down out of nowhere.
Yet, the drama proved to be overall a good watch and I don't regret it even if it feels strecthed out at parts.
This is definitely a hit for people that like dramas that don't have super huge villains or explosive out of nowhere tragic situations. It is rather a wishful-thinking story, but it does prove to be realistic enough to be easier to relate to, even if you wouldn't really see the contract-marriage in real life!
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Some of the plot lines felt like filler material - really, I just cared about watching Yun Jie and Yong Yong and could have done without all the other elements, but the main relationship was great and I loved watching their journey together. Mike is one of the few Taiwanese male leads who give consistently decent performances - he may not be very versatile, but he has nailed down the sterotypical male lead role down to a tee and is usually great at generating chemistry with his costars. This was probably my favorite performance from him though, and a lot of that had to do with the way his character was written as well.
Janine Chang was the highlight for me and this performance was really my introduction to her - I loved her subtle, understated performance. The character isn't original by any means - we've probably seen many similar female leads, but there was a sincerity to Yong Yong that just made her really likeable for me.
Is it bad if I say this is probably my favorite Li Yi Feng performance considering how many works he's had after this project as the main lead? I don't think I will ever be sold on him as a male lead - acting aside, he also lacks charisma and presence, but as the younger brother to Mike's character, he's cute and earnest, which is really all the role asks for. It's funny - it took me several years to realize that he was actually in this drama, and when I did, I was a little flabbergasted that his career blew up in such a huge manner.
This was a really sweet drama that had a poignancy we don't see often from most T-idol dramas. It went a little under the radar in terms of popularity seeing as it isn't anything original, but if you enjoy the genre, I would suggest giving this a shot.
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And why?
Firstly, the story:
The story is one that I have the tendency to actually look up, meaning that the kind of premise used in Sunny happiness is one that I love to watch. A contracted marriage AND a baby on top of that. It all just scream interesting to me. However after a episode in, one realizes that it will take the drama some time to actually get to the point. Sure i get that we'll need some time to get the story about all the characters and how and why they act the way they do, both to the people around them and to each other. Plus the fact that the series has a lot of characters, you know, as many taiwanese dramas tend to do. Putting all this aside tho when we finally get introduced to the actual story we've been waiting for, the party seem to get started!
But alas no. After the long time of waiting and getting to know everyone, we get disappointed about the fact that the drama has no originality and takes from it's predecessors. I mean i remember the first taiwanese drama that I ever saw, and that was "Fated to love you". and while watching Sunny Happiness I saw all these similarities between the two shows, so much that when the big Thing happened a was pissed off. Nothing was different, all was the same and when i understood this, I couldn't watch the show as anything else but a rip off from other things I've watched so far. So to finalize it all. I would say that the story had something going for it because I (ME) love this kind of plots, but when one get's deeper into it you see all the faults that the story makes and in the end it just feels like a waste of time.
Secondly, the characters:
The characters is better than their story, not to mention that the differ from the characters in Fated to Love You. Sure there is your stereotypical rich and mean guy meeting your typical poorer but extremely strong girl, and already there we see the difference between the two shows. Fated to love you uses the shy and insecure female character instead of Sunny Happiness strong and independent one, and only that makes it a little better situation. The character of Fang Yong Yong alone however, is not my favorite one, after all she is not the most interesting character. She acts the way one would expect her to and she has no problem with her attitude towards other people, tho she always acts out of love and justice towards people around her. And for all that expectedness, I feel her to be a boring character. however good a job the actress did with her.
The second main character is better by far, Xiang Yun Jie. Sure, he's much more from the typical character list, but he was both mean and sympathetic at the same time. Once you got into everything you kind of understood that he wasn't a mean person, only that he was strict and tough as a person. I do like that there wasn't so much drama in his character. He saw everything as they were and acted accordingly. And thanks to his character I had the power to watch all the way til the end.
Of course we also have to mention the so called "love rivals" because when don't I. This time our love rivals are the ex-wife and the brother. Let's start with the Ex- wife. After having enough of Yun Jei's ways she separates from him and raises their child alone, with Yun Jie not even knowing about his existence. And when their son finally meets his father, she realizes that she may have feelings for him still. And bla bla bla. Anyway I don't have so much problems with her as i expected. Sure I was bored whenever she and her problems were onscreen but her as a character, not so much problems there. Because she isn't a person that wishes bad on anybody. She is a fare and considerate. Compared to our second love rival. In the beginning you think that he will be a cute and caring character as like being a little brother looking up at his older brother. Guess what, not the case. He is scheming and always treating people badly to reach his goals. Just like he uses love to get his hands on thinks so that his brother will lose to him. This could work if one could buy the reason to why he acts that way. But I really can't see why he must be such a bad person just because he is seen as the lesser capable one of the sons. After all he seem to be less picky than Yun Jie and so that is kind of proof that he isn't as capable as the him either. He's just all over the place and he is hard to pin point at times too, so he's not one of my favorites. However the actor that played him did a good job, I'll give him that.
I do remember liking the music here but looking back I have no clear memory on how it sounded and if the songs themselves were good or bad so that's a bad thing in and of itself. If i can't even remember the music that means that the music didn't have the capability to actually leave an impression on me at all. The thing that I did like tho is that the music didn't have singers in them, which i've noticed is a common thing in taiwanese dramas and a thing I find to be rather meh. So background music that only relaid on tones and melodies was a much better choice here, making room for the watcher to actually hear the feelings in the scenes.
And finally we're here again. With the big question about the rewatch value. And as i have a tendency to do, I will be my usual self and say that this series wont have me watching it again anytime soon. And looking at the things that I've mentioned so far that wont be such a hard thing to understand. I mean The story failed in keeping me invested all the way, especially sense it made such a bold move of just F:ing everything up. The characters a mediocre and aside from a few of them, they seem to be rather one dimensional and only having few certain character traits. Sometimes breaking free from them to have some kind of character development and that's it. Music breaking free from the taiwanese drama norm but being unmemorable is just as bad as anything else. So as you all can see. me watching this again would for real only be a waste of time. I know the characters already, I know were the story is going and i know how everything end so there is really nothing left for this series.
However much i've complained tho, the series isn't super bad and I can definitely say this, Sunny Happiness in one of the better Taiwanese dramas I've seen. So there's always that. It's really up the the person reading this review whether to watch or not. As I always say. It is up to you, if you wanna watch, do, if you don't, don't.
I do hope this review helped a tiny bit either way.
Happy Watching!
Mivaaa
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i didn't find it interesting at all
very predictable & shallow
the character development was very weak
the characters itself were weak & the plot was trivial & repeated
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This review may contain spoilers
I dropped this drama twice, both could not pass the first episode finding many cliches being introduced quite early in this modern Cinderella story: meeting thru an accident, arrogant ML Yun Jie, rude FL Yong Yong, orphan childhood, poor FL rich ML, step family, family jealousy. The third time picking up the drama I decided to continue to episode 2, it becomes more interesting with the introduction of Xun Jie's son and his previous marriage. We then find out another side of Yun Jie besides his arrogant perfectionist CEO role: a soft and caring side longing for his son Xiao Nan. Meanwhile the boy also longs for his supposedly dead father (as told my his mom). And the drama threw Yong Yong between the father-son custody thru fake marriage in order to save her orphanage.The second couple's story is as equal as engaging. Yun Jie's brother Yun Chao tries hard to prove himself worthy in family business with any means, including dating the rich business partner Xin Jie leading to half-hearted engagement since he does not love her. Yun Chao character is ambiguous, we don't know he is an enemy or an ally, he shows kindness during the orphanage deal but also ruthless in other business deals including with Xin Jie, and Yun Hao also can sabotage Yun Jie-Yong Yong relationship.
This drama is amazingly calm and controlled with every scene flows smoothly, without exploding plots to draw angst, without fillers as the focuses mainly on Yun Jie-Yong Yong relationship development. Even as later there is some interesting development of Yun Hao's feeling for Yong-Yong, we never see the love triangle confrontation when FL connects with a male lead while the other shows jealousy. Yong Yong's feeling never confuses her feelings, and Bean Sprout and Fei Lei secret is never revealed until the last episode.
ActressJanine Chang amazingly brought up the genuinely caring character of Yong Yong who is ready to help everyone to the point of self-sacrificing. Her facial expressions strongly support her character development. Actor Mike He successfully brought up an emotional character of Yun Jie the father of a long lost son who does anything to regain the time loss with Xiao Nan. Together Janine and Mike creates a solid chemistry thru various relationship types: from with social class enemies, marriage business alliances, marriage acting partners, true friends, parents to Xiao Nan, to real lovers. Lastly, actor Li Yi Feng as brother Yun Hao managed to deliver a reserved and cynical yet charming character to intrigue us until the end
Music is nicely done, but not outstanding. Noted OSTs are "That Song" and "Must Forget" sung by Li Yi Feng himself who played as Yun HaoYun
I think his drama has a high re-watch value due to its sweetness of relationships almost between everyone involved. No overemphasized plot with ridiculous character developments, everyone seems mature enough. This light hearted romantic comedy gives a deep value on family relationship in a caring loving way.
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