Stormy_77
This review may contain spoilers
No Holds Barred Roast Review - I Hear You (could have done so much better)
So this is one of those "forced to become a couple fake couple becomes real" trope shows, where we get an unlikely couple entering into a "fake" relationship because of the female lead's best friend, producer of a dating show called "Love In Progress" and the male lead's cousin, the production company director. The concept is predictable, so we know what to hope for (that they fall in love). What this show does really well is show the toxic culture of fandom in China. The series would have worked had it had a better script (parts are retarded), Characters (some are annoying), acting (inconsistent) or more realistic violin playing. So let's start the roast:-
The violin scenes - I only watched this drama because I was expecting violin music and a good love story. Thanks to watching too much TwoSet Violin on Youtube, I was COMPLETELY disgusted by how unrealistic the violin playing was. The fingering was off, and the bowing had zero reflection to the music. ARGH!!! I guess I'd better stick to The Devil's Violinist if I want to see realistic violin performances. Sad sighs.
Bei Er Duo (Rosy Zhao) - Female lead is a bimbo who relies on looking cute and pouting as her primary way to get along in life. The character doesn't try very hard and is a loser because of it. The male lead actually encourages her to go "all in" if she wants to achieve her dreams. The character is annoying but FL's acting is sub par and she's completely forgettable.
Ye Shu Wei (Riley Wang) - his character is the stoic hero whose heart gets melted. This worked most of the show as he was not required to show much emotion, but honestly his range is limited so he comes across as wooden. There are many stoic male leads that CAN act, the most recent one I've seen was the guy who played Captain Ri Je Hyeok in Crash Landing On You. Please, Riley, I think you're pretty handsome when your hair is done right but you need more acting lessons. Shout Out - His character is Mr. Piggyback ride. He gave so many piggyback rides ALL the time, he must be the #1 Most Piggyback Rides given Male Lead I've ever seen.
Yu Sheng (Yuan Hao) - his character is a playboy but at least the actor is pretty good.
Tang Li (Gratitude Dai) - her character was the playboy's taken for granted doormat until she decided to choose love for herself. #Girlpower, she's tied for best acting in this show.
Le Tian (Zhang Jiong Min) - tutored by the female lead he's the obligatory Friend Zone guy.
Bei Er Duo's Mother (Tian Miao) - she's the one you love to hate. Unfortunately every Asian will recognize some aspects of the judgmental moms like her in real life. The actress is convincing, and tied for best acting with Tang Li.
Mars, The Italian - he's the best written character in the series and qualifies as the Ideal Boyfriend for many reasons. A rival Italian violin maker, he makes us laugh with his misunderstandings of Chinese idioms, but damn, who wouldn't love a guy who's TRYING so hard?? When Tang Li tells him the meaning of the idiom is pretty girls who are kind will have a lot of men chasing them, he asks innocently "Oh, you mean, like you?" My daughter and I both gasped and I swear my heart skipped a beat. Now THAT Is how you successfully execute a pick up line, best one I've seen in many years. I can't find much about who the actor is but his Mandarin is pretty good, he does end up winning Tang Li with his love and sincerity so that part of the plot actually worked really well. I mean, Tang Li stopped being taken for granted and married someone who actually loves her. I wanted them together and they had a beautiful wedding. If it wasn't for this couple, this series would have had a rating 2 stars less.
The fashion - some really quite seriously questionable outfits from a fashion sense. Please, get more budget or sponsors as some of the clothes look like project Runway ran out of time reject clothes that got trashed by the judges, and that's why the outfits are asymmetrical and look poorly finished. The only good costumes were all the ones in the Maid Cafe especially the cosplay ones, at least they got THOSE ones right.
Overall, if the plot, characters, violin playing or even costumes had been better, this might have been a much more enjoyable series. I was disappointed.
The violin scenes - I only watched this drama because I was expecting violin music and a good love story. Thanks to watching too much TwoSet Violin on Youtube, I was COMPLETELY disgusted by how unrealistic the violin playing was. The fingering was off, and the bowing had zero reflection to the music. ARGH!!! I guess I'd better stick to The Devil's Violinist if I want to see realistic violin performances. Sad sighs.
Bei Er Duo (Rosy Zhao) - Female lead is a bimbo who relies on looking cute and pouting as her primary way to get along in life. The character doesn't try very hard and is a loser because of it. The male lead actually encourages her to go "all in" if she wants to achieve her dreams. The character is annoying but FL's acting is sub par and she's completely forgettable.
Ye Shu Wei (Riley Wang) - his character is the stoic hero whose heart gets melted. This worked most of the show as he was not required to show much emotion, but honestly his range is limited so he comes across as wooden. There are many stoic male leads that CAN act, the most recent one I've seen was the guy who played Captain Ri Je Hyeok in Crash Landing On You. Please, Riley, I think you're pretty handsome when your hair is done right but you need more acting lessons. Shout Out - His character is Mr. Piggyback ride. He gave so many piggyback rides ALL the time, he must be the #1 Most Piggyback Rides given Male Lead I've ever seen.
Yu Sheng (Yuan Hao) - his character is a playboy but at least the actor is pretty good.
Tang Li (Gratitude Dai) - her character was the playboy's taken for granted doormat until she decided to choose love for herself. #Girlpower, she's tied for best acting in this show.
Le Tian (Zhang Jiong Min) - tutored by the female lead he's the obligatory Friend Zone guy.
Bei Er Duo's Mother (Tian Miao) - she's the one you love to hate. Unfortunately every Asian will recognize some aspects of the judgmental moms like her in real life. The actress is convincing, and tied for best acting with Tang Li.
Mars, The Italian - he's the best written character in the series and qualifies as the Ideal Boyfriend for many reasons. A rival Italian violin maker, he makes us laugh with his misunderstandings of Chinese idioms, but damn, who wouldn't love a guy who's TRYING so hard?? When Tang Li tells him the meaning of the idiom is pretty girls who are kind will have a lot of men chasing them, he asks innocently "Oh, you mean, like you?" My daughter and I both gasped and I swear my heart skipped a beat. Now THAT Is how you successfully execute a pick up line, best one I've seen in many years. I can't find much about who the actor is but his Mandarin is pretty good, he does end up winning Tang Li with his love and sincerity so that part of the plot actually worked really well. I mean, Tang Li stopped being taken for granted and married someone who actually loves her. I wanted them together and they had a beautiful wedding. If it wasn't for this couple, this series would have had a rating 2 stars less.
The fashion - some really quite seriously questionable outfits from a fashion sense. Please, get more budget or sponsors as some of the clothes look like project Runway ran out of time reject clothes that got trashed by the judges, and that's why the outfits are asymmetrical and look poorly finished. The only good costumes were all the ones in the Maid Cafe especially the cosplay ones, at least they got THOSE ones right.
Overall, if the plot, characters, violin playing or even costumes had been better, this might have been a much more enjoyable series. I was disappointed.
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