1
bbchops
Dallas, TX
This review may contain spoilers
Complete lack of chemistry between the leads spoils this one.
I took a chance on Soul Mechanic (“Fix You” on Viki) solely because it had Jung So Min in the lead and although I was ultimately disappointed with the drama, it wasn’t because of her. Jung So Min can play beautiful, shy and vulnerable with the best of them, but in this part she was also asked to express the anger and rage of someone in need of serious clinical help. It was shocking to watch in places, but she inhabited the character so completely that it was utterly believable (at least until the final few episodes, during which the script had Woo Joo somehow heal herself and get her life back together). Jung So min was lovely as usual. Her long wavy auburn locks were mesmerizing, and her quirky wardrobe with its long billowy dresses fit her personality wonderfully (although it was a tad hard to swallow that a struggling artist could afford those clothes and that apartment).
So what was the source of my disappointment with Soul Mechanic/Fix You? Well, for starters there was absolutely no chemistry between the lead characters Han Woo Joo (Jung So Min) and Lee Shi Joon (Shin Ha Kyun), which for a romantic comedy pretty much kills it. As I watched I couldn’t tell if the problem was with the actors, their characters, or the script. It just wasn’t there. Part of it could have been the cringey doctor patient relationship that the script tried to lamely explain away toward at one point. Part of it could have been that—even by kdrama standards—the romance between Woo Joo and Dr. Lee was incredibly tame (lame?), almost entirely platonic in nature. And part of it could have been the age difference between the actors Shin Ha Kyun and Jung So Min (15 years). They just didn’t look natural together. Speaking of age gap, I found it hard to swallow that Dr. Lee’s Dad was actually old enough to be his Dad. The two actors differ in age by 17 years, but they looked more like brothers. It was jarring and really affected the credibility of the story.
This is a weird show. It’s good in places, but ultimately unsatisfying. Fans of Jung So Min will see something they haven’t seen before, but some of it is not pretty to watch. Others will want to skip this one altogether.
So what was the source of my disappointment with Soul Mechanic/Fix You? Well, for starters there was absolutely no chemistry between the lead characters Han Woo Joo (Jung So Min) and Lee Shi Joon (Shin Ha Kyun), which for a romantic comedy pretty much kills it. As I watched I couldn’t tell if the problem was with the actors, their characters, or the script. It just wasn’t there. Part of it could have been the cringey doctor patient relationship that the script tried to lamely explain away toward at one point. Part of it could have been that—even by kdrama standards—the romance between Woo Joo and Dr. Lee was incredibly tame (lame?), almost entirely platonic in nature. And part of it could have been the age difference between the actors Shin Ha Kyun and Jung So Min (15 years). They just didn’t look natural together. Speaking of age gap, I found it hard to swallow that Dr. Lee’s Dad was actually old enough to be his Dad. The two actors differ in age by 17 years, but they looked more like brothers. It was jarring and really affected the credibility of the story.
This is a weird show. It’s good in places, but ultimately unsatisfying. Fans of Jung So Min will see something they haven’t seen before, but some of it is not pretty to watch. Others will want to skip this one altogether.
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