Becky
North Pole
This review may contain spoilers
The Masterpiece that is Joy of Life
First off I must say I gave this drama 10 stars rating at completion, but due to the score I gave for music at this review, overall rating got pulled down to 9....
There are already soooo many reviews praising this drama on its plot and script (well deserved praises!!!), so I thought I would go in a different direction, and talk on a few points that few would have talked on.
THE CAST
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There are some dramas where there is cast magic (eg: Guardian, Ashes of Love, Once Upon a Time in Ling Jian Mountain), even if the cast magic did not captivate you at first, it works into your heart by middle of drama (eg: Scarlet Heart, Untamed, Love & Destiny)-- Joy of Life is the rare cdrama masterpiece that lacks this. Other then Chen Dao Ming and Wu Gang, the rest including the leading actors felt replaceable.... I love Zhang Ruo Yun! First saw him in Novoland Sky Castle 1 and fell in love with his ice-cold portrayal of the prince. But.... although he performed much better here, and JOL is also a much better drama, I would be remembering him as Feng Tian Yi from Novoland. Maybe it is personal taste, but the cast magic failed to captivate me. Somehow Zhang Ruo Yun does not "own" Fan Xian as much as he did as Feng Tian Yi. Even Tian Yu who put up an excellent performance as Wang Qi Nian did not "own" his role too. For me, only Chen Dao Ming (Emperor of Qing) and Wu Gang (Director Chen Ping Ping) stood out.
Acting wise, everyone is at top game!! Just a few supporting actors who were a bit weak, but nothing that would spoil your enjoyment of the drama ;)
THE MUSIC
---------------
The background music can be quite off-putting at the beginning, for about the first 10, 13 eps. I wish it could have been less... but I guess the production team wanted to emphasize on the fun and comedic moments. This was why I dropped JoL initially -_-" Was excited when I saw Zhang Ruo Yun is leading this, watched it and dropped around ep 4 ~ 6 because I couldn't stomach the bgm..... All the rave reviews and high praise brought me back to this, and I AM VERY GLAD I persisted.
This is an excellent drama: with dynasty politics and schemes that make sense and do not felt too exaggerated, and I especially admire the finale eps. Director and scriptwriter are too good-- after relaxing the pace in the 3rd and 2nd last ep, filling these with extra scenes that are entertaining but adds no value to plot development, they suddenly gear up and gave us a punch-in-guts finale ep! Some might hate this (lol) but I especially love it! The impact of what they want to leave us with, to look forward to Season 2, felt especially sharp by relaxing the pace to comedy and self-reflection (you will understand this when you watch the drama), then sudden "fireworks" at the ending. Not sure if I'm making sense here, not quite sure how to express that ending in words. Looking forward to Season 2 ^^
There are already soooo many reviews praising this drama on its plot and script (well deserved praises!!!), so I thought I would go in a different direction, and talk on a few points that few would have talked on.
THE CAST
-------------
There are some dramas where there is cast magic (eg: Guardian, Ashes of Love, Once Upon a Time in Ling Jian Mountain), even if the cast magic did not captivate you at first, it works into your heart by middle of drama (eg: Scarlet Heart, Untamed, Love & Destiny)-- Joy of Life is the rare cdrama masterpiece that lacks this. Other then Chen Dao Ming and Wu Gang, the rest including the leading actors felt replaceable.... I love Zhang Ruo Yun! First saw him in Novoland Sky Castle 1 and fell in love with his ice-cold portrayal of the prince. But.... although he performed much better here, and JOL is also a much better drama, I would be remembering him as Feng Tian Yi from Novoland. Maybe it is personal taste, but the cast magic failed to captivate me. Somehow Zhang Ruo Yun does not "own" Fan Xian as much as he did as Feng Tian Yi. Even Tian Yu who put up an excellent performance as Wang Qi Nian did not "own" his role too. For me, only Chen Dao Ming (Emperor of Qing) and Wu Gang (Director Chen Ping Ping) stood out.
Acting wise, everyone is at top game!! Just a few supporting actors who were a bit weak, but nothing that would spoil your enjoyment of the drama ;)
THE MUSIC
---------------
The background music can be quite off-putting at the beginning, for about the first 10, 13 eps. I wish it could have been less... but I guess the production team wanted to emphasize on the fun and comedic moments. This was why I dropped JoL initially -_-" Was excited when I saw Zhang Ruo Yun is leading this, watched it and dropped around ep 4 ~ 6 because I couldn't stomach the bgm..... All the rave reviews and high praise brought me back to this, and I AM VERY GLAD I persisted.
This is an excellent drama: with dynasty politics and schemes that make sense and do not felt too exaggerated, and I especially admire the finale eps. Director and scriptwriter are too good-- after relaxing the pace in the 3rd and 2nd last ep, filling these with extra scenes that are entertaining but adds no value to plot development, they suddenly gear up and gave us a punch-in-guts finale ep! Some might hate this (lol) but I especially love it! The impact of what they want to leave us with, to look forward to Season 2, felt especially sharp by relaxing the pace to comedy and self-reflection (you will understand this when you watch the drama), then sudden "fireworks" at the ending. Not sure if I'm making sense here, not quite sure how to express that ending in words. Looking forward to Season 2 ^^
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