This review may contain spoilers
I must start this off with my necessary So Ji Sub drama review disclaimer. If he is in a drama, I already have a reason to like the drama... a lot. So ji Sub could do 16 episodes on a toilet, or preferably in a shower, and I will watch every single episode happily. So yes, I really liked this drama, but I am well aware of my bias, since I also had a lot of issues with "Oh My Venus".
I'll start with what I loved about it, besides the obvious, and that's not only the main romance, but also the bromance. I think Shin Min Ah is such a great partner for So ji Sub. Their romance is full of clichés, while avoiding some others, but I was glued to my screen anticipating them getting together. They are a sort of "super pairing", and they don't disappoint. They had really great chemistry, a grown up sexy chemistry, even in her fat suit.
Oh yeah, let's talk about the "fat" suit. It's not really a spoiler to say that a transformation is inevitable, but I don't want to give too much away. I will just say that there were moments when I missed seeing her in the fat suit, because I got so used to seeing her character that way. She's very pretty skinny or chubby, and they did a really good job making her chubbier face look very realistic. I also appreciated that the transformation wasn't insultingly instant, and that it was for health, and not just looks. I was worried that the plot would be much more superficial than it was, especially considering S Korea's extreme beauty standards. This romance is less about wooing a guy with a makeover, and more about how opposites can attract.
So ji Sub's bromance with Sung Hoon and Henry Lau was another reason I became addicted to this drama. Kang Joo Eun is in an enviable position, getting to be around the three of them so much. The dynamic between the four of them was extremely fun to watch. I'll add the assistant/manager to the bromance, because he was great too! Of course Henry is extra cute all by himself, and surely a stand out favorite for most fans of the show.
What I really disliked was the supporting leads. Woo Sik isn't meant to be a likable character, but I guess Jung Gyu Woon played the part so well that I couldn't stand him at all (and he's played characters I despised before). I had zero empathy for Woo Sik, or his poor fashion choices. Then there's the equally unlikable Soo Jin. Even with her backstory, I still could not make myself like her even a little bit. Yoo In Young is also not the greatest actress. Although she played bitter very well, the rest of her performance fell flat. Way too much time was spent on their relationship. Plus, I thought them being together at all made absolutely no sense, which made their scenes hard to sit through patiently. Their story had more drama than the main couple at certain points, but I honestly just wanted to skip through their scenes.
I gave "story" a really low score because the plot just seemed too all over the place. The John Kim story was such a big deal at first, but then soon fizzled. Kim Yeong Ho's family issues were so hard to follow, and I still don't get why they were so dysfunctional. Hyun Woo's divorce was mentioned so many times, and it had no real use in the plot (maybe it's a bigger stigma that I realize? If not, it made no sense to keep bringing it up). Then there were matters of life and death that kept happening seemingly to fill the time.
Even the main love story fell prey to the curse of Kdrama Rom coms. That's when a drama is much longer than it should be, so they just throw in a bunch of random cute scenes with the main couple, and hope their chemistry will keep you watching. I waited eagerly for the last 2 episodes, but was mostly bored watching them. There was even an overload of flashbacks, and some obligatory product placement, to help them reach the 16 episode finish line. The romance does end in a pretty cute way, but the extra scene at the end was super unnecessary in my opinion, and proof to me that the writers were kinda winging it. Still, It wasn't all bad, because I totally loved the scarf!
The music was cute, and fit the show well. A couple of the songs grew on me after hearing them on loop, and I still hear them in my head while I type this. o.O
Overall, this drama owes it's success to it's cast (well, most of the cast). It's weird that although I will miss seeing episodes, I would have liked it much more if it was shorter, and it left on a high note. Personally, I'd only watch certain scenes again, or maybe I'd just skip forward through every scene that isn't about the bromance or the main romance. A re-edited version would have gotten much higher marks from me! Do I recommend this show? Of course. So Ji Sub + Shin Min Ah > Bad Writing (#math), and what the writers get right is that they play up the chemistry to the maximum, which is more than enough for most viewers.
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