Soula
I think the best thing about this drama was the selection of actors - they all had great chemistry together and they all had the capability to be funny/cute, which as mentioned before, helped balance the drama significantly.
While I enjoyed this drama, the only reason why it doesn't score higher for me is because I simply liked it and enjoyed it while it lasted for all it's qualities. But, I didn't find myself obsessing over it, nor did I find it to be addicting. It wasn't particularly amazing, out-of-this-world, or never-seen-before enthralling. It was pleasurable and left me feeling satisfied though, which I absolutely give it credit for.
I would recommend this to people who enjoyed The Master's Sun and Oh My Ghostess.
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I really enjoyed the fan-girl portrayal - it was fun and kinda made me feel not so alone in having an obsession deemed inappropriate by the society I live in. What *did* unfortunately disappoint me though was that the fan-girling was mostly forgotten once the MCs got together and the celebrity never found out about her, which was kind of disappointing.
In regards to cliches, I didn't mind the cliched plot twist about the MCs childhoods, as many apparently did. It's a romantic comedy *shrugs* it's gonna have cliches. And in comparison to other rom-coms, the cliches included were well handled.
But what really needs to be noted and taken away from this drama wasn't the plot. It was the characters. Her Private Life is truly character driven and it's a mature watch. Forgiveness and acceptance were large topics in this drama that were handled very maturely with little to no drama, which was refreshingly clean and quick to watch. There were also quite a few steamy scenes (our main actors have some amazing chemistry) that I must sheepishly admit had me completely enamored. I also really appreciated that the "love triangle" wasn't unnecessarily drawn out or petty. It was neat and the second leads dropped out gracefully.
The ending....hmm...I think the last 2 episodes were necessary to tie-up loose ends, but they *did* drag quite a bit in comparison to the pace of the rest of the drama. I could have easily forgotten or lost interest to watch the last episode and still had a general idea of what happened in "the end." And for some reason, I get a Coffee Prince feel for the ending. *shrugs*
What kept me watching this drama in binge-style viewing over 3 days was the laugh-out loud comedy (I literally replayed certain hysterical scenes multiple times just to laugh again), the quick pace, and the extremely well selected actors for our MCs (their chemistry was through the roof and I couldn't help but eat it up! :*}). Her Private Life isn't a must-see and it *does* have its flaws, but enjoyable and infatuating just the same.
**Side Note:
I know that some people have often mentioned and criticized how the female MC's best friend treated and regarded her husband poorly as well as found the extreme fan-girls to be beyond extreme and borderline criminal. I acknowledge these 2 points and absolutely deem them valid. I would just like to say that they didn't stick out much to me because the genre of drama has certain tropes, characters, and cliches that I am personally expecting. Honestly, these 2 criticisms, while valid, are the much preferred plot devices compared to some other, more extreme and/or cruel plot devices I've seen employed in dramas before, which is why I didn't mention them in depth above.
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I really didn't like how the writers didn't allow the 2 MCs to get together cleanly after all the drama with the divorce and affair was cleaned up. It was messy and sloppy in how they finally got together in the last episodes. They were just going back and forth for the last 4 episodes that just dragged and dragged.
I liked the initial premise of the story where the wife didn't get to live her life in her 20s because of her life choices and so now she started to go after what she wanted, but then after everything was resolved with her ex-husband, they undid everything in literally the last episode. The writers were like, "yeahhhh the FMC fought for all this stuff the entire drama, but she's now "realized" that those weren't the things she wanted and so she's going to be "strong" and scrap all those things and "be herself"!" *rolls eyes* And to make it more annoying --- the FMC strung along the MMC because she needed to be "on her own" and so she rejected him to just beg for him back in the very end. Everything up until that point I could have looked past. But that's the point where I was like, alright lady, you're a crappy person. No one deserves to be treated like that.
The only redeeming quality of this drama was the college friends that the FMC made. They were adorable and fun to watch.
Personally, no, I wouldn't recommend this drama. I had been looking forward to this drama for some time and am super disappointed that it didn't satisfy my desire for a mature romance.
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For those of you on the fence about watching this drama: Welcome2Life isn't really about the smaller sub-plots throughout the drama, but instead the overall gradual change of our male MC. His pivotal turning point is when he is transported to an alternate reality/universe and gets a taste for a drastically different life (changed by different choices made for some very important decisions made in his past). His longing for the life he had in the alternative universe is what motivated him to change - it was great! It makes sense and the pacing was well written.
What I enjoyed so much was the experience in the alternate universe and the male MC's drive to fix things in the "real" world upon his return to his original reality. The amount of growth his character experiences and the strides he takes to repair things is beautiful. I also applaud the writers because, while the characters were the same people in both universes, their character dynamics were a bit different due to their experiences with each other being different in each reality. The fact that the writers and actors were able to mirror the worlds but still maintain their distinctions was expertly executed.
I would also just like to take a moment to appreciate the final scene of the final episode where both universes are split-screened to show us what's going on in both worlds simultaneously with our MCs and OMG IT WAS THE WARMEST AND MOST AMAZING TOUCH EVER. I LOVED IT.
I will definitely be watching this drama again, but this time, binge-watching it with no delays between episodes.
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K2 started out really promising with a good pace and intense plot, but I think for me, the drama started to fall apart when they introduced the romance between the 2 MCs. I personally don't feel that the female MC, Anna, should really be considered a main character - we barely know anything substantial about her and she doesn't even have that much screen time in comparison to other "main" characters. Which leads me to my main issue with the romance - Anna and K2 really don't know anything about each other. Their romance is only occurring because of human nature's instincts - he likes her because she's a damsel-in-distress and she likes him because he is protecting her from her foes, NOT because they actually know anything about each other that could cause them to realize they like each other. It's not really love. Perhaps infatuation or lust would be a better term to describe their relationship?....These feelings between Anna and K2 are used to drive the entire plot once their "romance" is introduced. And I'm just not a fan of their poorly and shallowly developed romance. I actually saw a lot of parallels between the K2 and Healer, but I think Healer was WAY better, having true depth and well-rounded characters established and explored.
Aside from the weakly written romance, I *did* enjoy Ji Chang Wook's performance and his character dynamics with Choi Yoo Jin. Song Yoon Ah did a phenomenal job portraying a character who was not simply bad or good, but instead had so much gray due to all of her experiences. I actually found myself sympathizing for her and not actually hating her.
The OST was wonderful and so well placed in scenes! I loved just about every OST song (some of the romantic slow songs got a bit old....but that might just be because I wasn't a fan of the romance lol).
Anyways, I would not particularly recommend this drama, and instead, if you are intrigued by the K2 and you haven't watched Healer, you really should go there instead. Healer offers a similar story with politics, a wonderfully developed romance, and mystery without plot holes/convenient plot devices.
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Overall, this drama had a well paced plot, there was a decent balance of lightheartedness and crime-action, and it had a good ending. There wasn't really any romance, but you could see the relationship budding and a true respect for each other developing. I would like to think that a romance is down the road in the hypothetical world of the drama world after the series officially ended. For those of you who absolutely need romance in your dramas, this might not be something that holds your attention. BUT, *I* am one of those people who really thrives off a romance in a drama and I enjoyed this drama quite a bit. The plot was so well-written that I was curious to see what happened in the next episode (there were no lulls in the action which kept me binge watching).
If you're not convinced about whether or not you should watch this drama, I'd encourage you to give the first 3 hours a shot and see if it hooks your attention after our conman and prosecutor start working together for real.
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The story's plot really thickens around episodes 4-6 and that's when I finally got hooked and wanted to binge watch it as much as I could. Aside from the twisted plot that intrigued me, I also liked how Min Jun reminded me of Superman in many ways. I also felt that Jae Kyung and Min Jun were pretty well matched foes and so watching them struggling against each other had me on the edge of my seat.
I did almost, for a split second, have second lead syndrome because Hui Kyung was just so sweet and tender with Song Yi, so I was swayed during a couple of scenarios. But then I remembered and was reminded how Song Yi and Min Jun needed to be together, sooooooo yeah, I stayed on my ship XP
The most heart wrenching things for me were Hui Kyung and his family discovering the truth behind his older brother's death. I truly cried for Hui Kyung and his father.
I think the ending was pretty good, but I kinda wanted an even better ending; the ending is truly happy, but I just wanted a more "happily ever after" ending (you'll understand when you watch). For me, Song Yi and Min Jun went through so much hardship together, I just wanted things to end *perfectly* with no caveats.
This was my first drama with Kim Soo Hyun and I thoroughly enjoyed his acting. His little outbursts when Song Yi was just getting on his last nerve were so adorable. His crying was pretty well done too. I think I preferred Jun Ji Hyun in Legend of the Blue Sea, especially since I think her crying scenes were better in LotBS than in YWCftS, but that's just my personal opinion.
Park Hae Jin was probably my favorite actor in this entire drama because he portrayed Hui Kyung in such a raw manner that I couldn't help but love him and cry for him.
The soundtrack was well placed and appropriate, but not anything that I'm dying to relisten to.
Overall, I'm glad I decided to pick this back up because I really did love it. It's not one of my top favorites, but it's definitely something I would recommend to others, especially to those who enjoy Superman (he's my favorite superhero personally :)).
***As a complete side note that didn't impact my rating, but just something I noticed being in the medical field --- every time someone had a surgery or some kind of extreme injury, they recovered or healed or bounced back way to quickly in unrealistic ways. For example, Song Yi has at least 2 major abdominal surgeries in the entire drama and within days they show her sitting up on her own without wincing or crying out, implying that she feels no pain from the very recent surgery incision....which simply wouldn't happen because she literally had SURGERY - it wasn't just a scratch! I think to make the screen writing a bit more flawless, having more care with those scenes would have made it an even better drama.
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I did enjoy the drama for what it was, but after episode 14, I kinda just wanted to skip to the ending and just see how it ended because I was getting bored. The writers essentially repeated the same conceptual conflicts between the two MC's to draw out the ending and that just made me bored. I also think that having Gil Da Ran deny her feelings once for Gyeung Jun was enough - there was no reason to have her confess her feelings and then when things got tough for her to go back on them, break his heart, and then boom, they love each other again. It was just too much of the same shit and I think there was a better way to go about getting to their happily ever after. Also, Gil Da Ran was way too gullible about Gyeung Jun losing his memories prior to the ending and that just got on my nerves.
Overall, I think the story was creative and the "plot twist" was believable (parents really do that to/for their children, as despicable as it is). I just think the plot and flow of the drama would have been better if they had maintained the comedic aspects throughout the entire 16 episodes and lightened up on the melodrama in the last 6 episodes.
What I did absolutely love was Gil Da Ran's brother. He was so sweet and caring toward his sister and exceptionally suave in his pursuit of Jang Mary. He never failed to make me giggle and wish that he were my little brother.
Something else I really appreciated was how Gil Da Ran didn't just all of a sudden develop feelings for Gyeung Jun and that their relationship developed over time. The writers also did a nice job showing how torn Gil Da Ran was in being unfaithful to her fiance instead of just jumping ship the second she began to waiver.
I also appreciated that Gyeung Jun tried his best to respect Gil Da Ran and Dr. Seo's relationship by not being overly aggressive in his pursuit for Gil Da Ran, so initially their relationship kinda fell into place. I do kinda wish that there were a couple more romance scenes with them though.
I probably wouldn't recommend this drama to anyone unless they were avid Gong Yoo fans, which my mother is, so she said even though she didn't like the ending, it was worth watching just to see Gong Yoo's hunkiness ;D.
Gong Yoo is an exceptional actor and did well portraying both Dr. Seo and Gyeung Jun's characters. He did a great job portraying an adolescent as well as being flirtatious and charming.
I'm not too much of a fan of Lee Min Jung, but she didn't do a bad job in this drama. I think she fulfilled her role decently.
It was weird to see Suzy playing the "bad" character even though she wasn't actually bad, she was just a character that wanted what she wanted and got what she wanted.
Anyways, this review on Big makes it seem like I didn't like it, but honestly, it was a good drama, I just think things could have been done a bit differently toward the end to make it better received and make more logical sense.
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I really wish the synopsis for Cheer Up just had *more* in it so that way the vagueness didn't cause people to look past it. Cheer Up is all about what the synopsis says, but it's also so much more. Cheer Up is also about how people mature over time and through their experiences. Cheer Up is about how people from very different walks of life can be friends and care for each other. Cheer Up heavily supports good morals - if you have to hurt someone to get where you are/want to go, you're not doing it right. Cheer Up also has some sadder points that mostly revolve around how incredible pressure placed on people can make them miserable and cause them to make decisions they wouldn't make if they were adequately supported.
On a more specific level, the love triangle that takes place is sweet and sad at the same time, but don't worry, you won't be sad in the end. The teachers, Mr. Yang and Ms. Nam were such great role models and support systems as well as being entertaining characters to watch. All the loose ends to the story (even though Cheer Up is only a 12 episode drama) were tied up really well and in a good way.
The song, Hold On There, which was comprised of guitar sounds, whistling, and some humming was pleasant sounding and catchy.
Jung Eun Ji did a phenomenal job yet again in her role. For some reason, whenever she cries on screen, I can't help but get teared up too - great job Eun Ji!
This was my first time seeing Lee Won Keun, but I enjoyed his acting and role too! I've enjoyed Ji Soo yet again as well because he did a wonderful job in showing his transformation while working through his struggles. In all the other dramas I've seen Chae Soo Bin in, she's played a "good" character, so seeing her play the antagonist was odd, but I was also glad for her character's transformation. There was not one actor that I found to not be a good fit for this drama.
I will likely rewatch this drama in the future just to watch the characters grow again.
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What I really liked was how the movie included the ending for the two MC's, which the anime hasn't currently produced, so a finished story was really nice to watch. I really wouldn't go back to watch this movie just because the acting wasn't particularly good and the choppiness. Instead, I'd go back and read/watch the manga/anime if anything.
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The ending is actually a happy ending in my book because I let my imagination take the wheel from that last scene. The acting and pacing were both good too!
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I finished this drama and ended up having to watch it all over again because my mother saw some scenes and JUST HAD to watch it for herself to "really understand the ending," she said. XD So I watched it twice in the span of 2 weeks. If a drama is good enough for me to watch twice, especially in such a short time period, I would definitely say it's worth the watch.
CAUTION -- Ji Bai (Wang Kai) might give you a nosebleed while watching this (sexy lion you), so come prepared before sitting down to watch.
Also, I plan on reading the Chinese novel this drama is based on because the story was just THAT good.
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Something I couldn't quite understand plot-wise for this drama was, why did she erase everyone's memory before leaving if she planned to come back after healing? Also I would have liked a better wrapped up ending with more people together being happy rather than the desolate snow covered scene, but that's just me.
The best part for me about this drama was the OST, the female MC's character (she was so quirky and funny), and the Joseon era flashbacks (they were so beautiful).
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The movie itself had some really funny moments, but I probably won't watch again. Not because it wasn't a good story, I just think it was a bit slow in some spots and the overall time spend together between the MC's was unsubstantial to lead to "true love," in my opinion. BUT, the plot was simple with a happy tone, so it wasn't a waste. I was entertained and I didn't worry about dropping the movie part way through, so it was entertaining for the moment.
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