1
manicmuse
NYC!
Too fun to be this short : (
"A Business Proposal" is a classic addictive RomCom. Yes, It's filled with tropes galore, but it's also self-aware, which I loved, including a drama within a drama that reminds the viewer to not take the cheesy plot too seriously. Nothing in this drama is original. As the title suggests, It's the cliché Rich Boss Poor Employee cliché complete with a contractual relationship that starts getting real. What feels different about this drama is that it doesn't waste a lot of time on repetitive obstacles, and most of the time is spent instead on the amazing chemistry between the leads.
It stars Kim Se Jeong as Shin Ha Ri. A quirky-klutzy but smart and hardworking employee who I loved! She's hilarious and ridiculous but still felt real and relatable and was thankfully not a passive doormat. This was my first time seeing her in a drama and I'm an instant fan. Seriously, she's so good that I will definitely watch whatever she is in next. I already started watching "The Uncanny Counter" to kill time waiting for the next episodes of this each week, and I love her in that too, but she's a perfect rom-com leading lady. She is matched with Ahn Hyo Seop as Kang Tae Moo, the typical cold and arrogant boss leading man. He plays that role really well and was a great straight man for Ha Ri's antics, but it was his vulnerability when he starts letting down his guard that really got me. I was immediately sucked into their rom-com banter. Even watching them just look at each other I could feel butterflies, and I am definitely adding them to my list of favorite Kdrama couples. Their story is everything I've already seen in a million KDramas before and I was still excited, that's how good they were together. I also liked how the love story escalated without wasting too much time (Tae Moo's favorite saying) but then again, I didn't realize there were only 12 episodes. I feel gypped. I wasn't ready to let this go!
Another great thing about this drama is that it almost felt like getting 2 romcoms for the price of one. Each lead had a BFF and they had their own cute love story with amazing chemistry. I also really loved the friendship between Young Seo and Ha Ri and between Sung Hoon and Ta Moo. Special shout out to Kim Min Gue's dimple who deserves its own credit for being a valuable part of the cast. There's a great underlying theme about the family you create beyond the one you're born into. I also liked that even the rich and privileged lead characters were given some depth and not just reduced to what you would normally expect from a typical sheltered heir/chaebol character.
The supporting cast was fun too. Some characters are extra over the top and borderline annoying (OMG Young Seo's cousin's voice was so excruciating), but the silliest moments still usually make me laugh. One of my favorite characters of all was Lee Deok Hwa as Ta Moo's drama-addicted matchmaking Grandpa. He looked like he was having fun too, playing a sillier spin on the kind of role he's played so many times before. The only characters who were a buzz kill were the Chef and his petty Girlfriend. They weren't bad, they were just... "meh". I'm glad their screen time was limited.
Would I watch this again? Definitely. I already rewatched many of the episodes while waiting for the next episode. There's something comforting about a lite drama like this that's so easy to binge and is still fun to watch even with such a basic plot. Next time I'm in the mood to watch attractive couples with great chemistry I'll queue this up! I will be tempted to fast forward to my favorite moments and skip the filler, but even the filler is pretty funny.
Overall, after being disappointed by so many recent dramas, and not being in the mood to watch something deep or gutwrenching, this drama exceeded all of my expectations. I watched knowing nothing about the webtoon, so I can't compare them. Is the plot logical? Absolutely not. Will that matter while watching? I doubt it. Sometimes it felt like I was watching "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" Jr but take that as a compliment. There's a reason so many of these tropes are in so many dramas again and again, and "A Business Proposal" embraces that unapologetically, and with cute animation to help set that mood. I am genuinely going to miss this drama. I wasn't prepared for it to end but I'm so glad it ended with me still enjoying it and didn't drag on and become stale and disappointing. This drama stays consistently silly and sweet from beginning to end but also has heart and its own original flavor thanks to the cast. There's also mild food porn, so I wouldn't attempt to watch while hungry. I'm hoping to find another drama this cute, since real life has been too heavy lately to appreciate a heavy drama, and this was the perfect escapism.
This is 100% a guilty pleasure drama, but I feel no shame that I enjoyed every episode.
It stars Kim Se Jeong as Shin Ha Ri. A quirky-klutzy but smart and hardworking employee who I loved! She's hilarious and ridiculous but still felt real and relatable and was thankfully not a passive doormat. This was my first time seeing her in a drama and I'm an instant fan. Seriously, she's so good that I will definitely watch whatever she is in next. I already started watching "The Uncanny Counter" to kill time waiting for the next episodes of this each week, and I love her in that too, but she's a perfect rom-com leading lady. She is matched with Ahn Hyo Seop as Kang Tae Moo, the typical cold and arrogant boss leading man. He plays that role really well and was a great straight man for Ha Ri's antics, but it was his vulnerability when he starts letting down his guard that really got me. I was immediately sucked into their rom-com banter. Even watching them just look at each other I could feel butterflies, and I am definitely adding them to my list of favorite Kdrama couples. Their story is everything I've already seen in a million KDramas before and I was still excited, that's how good they were together. I also liked how the love story escalated without wasting too much time (Tae Moo's favorite saying) but then again, I didn't realize there were only 12 episodes. I feel gypped. I wasn't ready to let this go!
Another great thing about this drama is that it almost felt like getting 2 romcoms for the price of one. Each lead had a BFF and they had their own cute love story with amazing chemistry. I also really loved the friendship between Young Seo and Ha Ri and between Sung Hoon and Ta Moo. Special shout out to Kim Min Gue's dimple who deserves its own credit for being a valuable part of the cast. There's a great underlying theme about the family you create beyond the one you're born into. I also liked that even the rich and privileged lead characters were given some depth and not just reduced to what you would normally expect from a typical sheltered heir/chaebol character.
The supporting cast was fun too. Some characters are extra over the top and borderline annoying (OMG Young Seo's cousin's voice was so excruciating), but the silliest moments still usually make me laugh. One of my favorite characters of all was Lee Deok Hwa as Ta Moo's drama-addicted matchmaking Grandpa. He looked like he was having fun too, playing a sillier spin on the kind of role he's played so many times before. The only characters who were a buzz kill were the Chef and his petty Girlfriend. They weren't bad, they were just... "meh". I'm glad their screen time was limited.
Would I watch this again? Definitely. I already rewatched many of the episodes while waiting for the next episode. There's something comforting about a lite drama like this that's so easy to binge and is still fun to watch even with such a basic plot. Next time I'm in the mood to watch attractive couples with great chemistry I'll queue this up! I will be tempted to fast forward to my favorite moments and skip the filler, but even the filler is pretty funny.
Overall, after being disappointed by so many recent dramas, and not being in the mood to watch something deep or gutwrenching, this drama exceeded all of my expectations. I watched knowing nothing about the webtoon, so I can't compare them. Is the plot logical? Absolutely not. Will that matter while watching? I doubt it. Sometimes it felt like I was watching "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" Jr but take that as a compliment. There's a reason so many of these tropes are in so many dramas again and again, and "A Business Proposal" embraces that unapologetically, and with cute animation to help set that mood. I am genuinely going to miss this drama. I wasn't prepared for it to end but I'm so glad it ended with me still enjoying it and didn't drag on and become stale and disappointing. This drama stays consistently silly and sweet from beginning to end but also has heart and its own original flavor thanks to the cast. There's also mild food porn, so I wouldn't attempt to watch while hungry. I'm hoping to find another drama this cute, since real life has been too heavy lately to appreciate a heavy drama, and this was the perfect escapism.
This is 100% a guilty pleasure drama, but I feel no shame that I enjoyed every episode.
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