ltspada
This review may contain spoilers
Surprisingly funny and often underrated
9/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean Fantasy Romance drama with 32, 35 minute episodes.
I first provide a synopsis then a review.
Synopsis: At a point where she should have had everything in life, a loving family, stability and living her best life in her middle aged years Min Jae-hee's (Hae Jae-sook) life takes a sudden and tragic turn. That all changes though when Jae-hee discovers her husband Kim Tae-joon (Jo Han-chul) is having an affair with a younger woman. Saddened by the fact that she is no longer young and able to start over she decides suicide is the best way out of what she sees as an inescapable situation. Just when she is about to fulfill her dark fantasy of ending it all fate steps in, in the form of a delivery man with a magical perfume that transforms her back into a beautiful young woman with a second chance at life. She becomes a top model, goes by the name of Min Ye-rin (Go Won-hee) and works with a top fashion designer Seo Yi-do (Shin Sung-rok) who is unlikable in nearly every way. He also has a lot of allergies and phobias that makes it so he drives people even further away when he freaks out because someone triggers one. Can life change for both as they interact, conflict and grow?
Review: I hesitated for a long time in watching this because it reviewed so low. When I looked into it more some of the low ratings were not because of the story or acting it was due to one element of the plot line which some felt was "fat shaming." I think there is a fine balance between calling a spade a spade and actual fat shaming. If someone is heavy I don't think everyone should have to pretend they are svelte. I also do not think anyone should have to make believe that people who are physically fit are going to see the beauty inside and be okay and attracted to someone carrying around a lot of extra weight. So, I did not see it as fat shaming I just saw the reality in life. Those that are on the heavier side of average, are likely to find not as many people are going to be attracted to them in a society that admires skinnier body types. Men, and particularly women that are heavy might have self esteem issues because of societal pressures. There was a time and place in history where portly was actually favorable and skinny people were not looked on in a good light. It all has to do with what body type is favored by the majority. If you can get back the early episodes, where her husband is just a jerk who quits loving her because she gains weight, you find that the main characters are not as shallow as he is.
Spoilers**
What I liked
It was funny. Yi-do is over the top dramatic. And it is very comical. He is one of those that seems very rough on the outside but is very caring and kind internally. The designs they showed were actually something I could see people wearing. The slice of high fashion life was interesting. There was a little bit of idol trope with the younger brother. I liked that he was very nice. I really liked Yi-do's assistant and how he became one of Ye-rin/Jae-hee's top confidents and friends. I liked the romance between Ye-rin and Yi-do they had chemistry and it was believable. A magical perfume that transforms her into a younger and more beautiful version of herself was a unique premise and I really enjoy series with magical elements. I liked that the daughter finally realized she had been unkind to her mom and decided her dad did not deserve her loyalty.
What I didn't like
I didn't like the romance between Jae-hee and Yi-do. There was no chemistry between them and it wasn't because she was heavy. It really just did not seem like they were romantically a couple. They seemed like someone that would be really good friends. I thought the personality was too dramatically different when she was Jae-hee. Not only was the appearance different but the personality was different. To me Jae-hee seemed cold and bullish. She was mean to Yi-do a lot of times when she really did not need to be. Ye-rin seemed sweeter and more innocent. Really they should have seemed like the same person but they didn't. I think it would have worked better if they had used a skinnier model in a heavy suit. I also was disappointed, at the end, that her 1 year transformation did not result in her being a healthier version of herself. I mean I liked that he loved her no matter what but I just thought, for her own self, that going off and getting healthy would have been a success/win over her horrible husband. I was disappointed that the Idol younger brother was so disturbed when she turned into the "Auntie". I didn't expect him to still be in love with her in that form but it just made he seemed a lot more shallow. I didn't mind that the ex husband harassed her through a lot of the series but for him to come back, yet again, and break the perfume bottle, and then immediately be captured by the police just seemed like too much.
Overall
I enjoyed this series a lot. It was great comic relief and I enjoyed the characters. I liked the magical element. I would watch it again and recommend it to others.
I first provide a synopsis then a review.
Synopsis: At a point where she should have had everything in life, a loving family, stability and living her best life in her middle aged years Min Jae-hee's (Hae Jae-sook) life takes a sudden and tragic turn. That all changes though when Jae-hee discovers her husband Kim Tae-joon (Jo Han-chul) is having an affair with a younger woman. Saddened by the fact that she is no longer young and able to start over she decides suicide is the best way out of what she sees as an inescapable situation. Just when she is about to fulfill her dark fantasy of ending it all fate steps in, in the form of a delivery man with a magical perfume that transforms her back into a beautiful young woman with a second chance at life. She becomes a top model, goes by the name of Min Ye-rin (Go Won-hee) and works with a top fashion designer Seo Yi-do (Shin Sung-rok) who is unlikable in nearly every way. He also has a lot of allergies and phobias that makes it so he drives people even further away when he freaks out because someone triggers one. Can life change for both as they interact, conflict and grow?
Review: I hesitated for a long time in watching this because it reviewed so low. When I looked into it more some of the low ratings were not because of the story or acting it was due to one element of the plot line which some felt was "fat shaming." I think there is a fine balance between calling a spade a spade and actual fat shaming. If someone is heavy I don't think everyone should have to pretend they are svelte. I also do not think anyone should have to make believe that people who are physically fit are going to see the beauty inside and be okay and attracted to someone carrying around a lot of extra weight. So, I did not see it as fat shaming I just saw the reality in life. Those that are on the heavier side of average, are likely to find not as many people are going to be attracted to them in a society that admires skinnier body types. Men, and particularly women that are heavy might have self esteem issues because of societal pressures. There was a time and place in history where portly was actually favorable and skinny people were not looked on in a good light. It all has to do with what body type is favored by the majority. If you can get back the early episodes, where her husband is just a jerk who quits loving her because she gains weight, you find that the main characters are not as shallow as he is.
Spoilers**
What I liked
It was funny. Yi-do is over the top dramatic. And it is very comical. He is one of those that seems very rough on the outside but is very caring and kind internally. The designs they showed were actually something I could see people wearing. The slice of high fashion life was interesting. There was a little bit of idol trope with the younger brother. I liked that he was very nice. I really liked Yi-do's assistant and how he became one of Ye-rin/Jae-hee's top confidents and friends. I liked the romance between Ye-rin and Yi-do they had chemistry and it was believable. A magical perfume that transforms her into a younger and more beautiful version of herself was a unique premise and I really enjoy series with magical elements. I liked that the daughter finally realized she had been unkind to her mom and decided her dad did not deserve her loyalty.
What I didn't like
I didn't like the romance between Jae-hee and Yi-do. There was no chemistry between them and it wasn't because she was heavy. It really just did not seem like they were romantically a couple. They seemed like someone that would be really good friends. I thought the personality was too dramatically different when she was Jae-hee. Not only was the appearance different but the personality was different. To me Jae-hee seemed cold and bullish. She was mean to Yi-do a lot of times when she really did not need to be. Ye-rin seemed sweeter and more innocent. Really they should have seemed like the same person but they didn't. I think it would have worked better if they had used a skinnier model in a heavy suit. I also was disappointed, at the end, that her 1 year transformation did not result in her being a healthier version of herself. I mean I liked that he loved her no matter what but I just thought, for her own self, that going off and getting healthy would have been a success/win over her horrible husband. I was disappointed that the Idol younger brother was so disturbed when she turned into the "Auntie". I didn't expect him to still be in love with her in that form but it just made he seemed a lot more shallow. I didn't mind that the ex husband harassed her through a lot of the series but for him to come back, yet again, and break the perfume bottle, and then immediately be captured by the police just seemed like too much.
Overall
I enjoyed this series a lot. It was great comic relief and I enjoyed the characters. I liked the magical element. I would watch it again and recommend it to others.
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