Crazy Second Marriage (2023)

“like a softcore porno but without the porn.” – Love movies, drama reviewer

Love lost and found again is the foundation of this drama. A cute boy with mysterious origin ties the many threads together. It has a good-looking cast of young actors and the lead’s do have some chemistry, but it is not very convincing. It was shot in Xi’an but it has a Taiwanese feel to it. This review is pretty trippy to match the ambience of this short drama.

This show is like a game of pin the tail on the donkey. It lurches all over the place but never stays long enough so that you can pin a label on it. For instance, it is quite racy at time, but you won't see anything explicit. It tests the boundaries but never crosses them. Some of the dialogs are very awkward but you can’t say that they are nonsensical or offensive, just cringey, stilted and non-PC.

The dubbing swings between functional to embarrassing. The acting go from reasonable to super cheesy. Every scene can bring its own surprises, and most don’t even involve the script. Ditto the production value. It can be decent one scene and amateurish the next. So much of this show is vexing. Consider how simple and tropey the A-plot is, this is no mean feat.

Some of that can be attributed to its short run time. Officially, it is only 20 x 10 mins long but once you top and tail them, they clock in closer to 8 mins per ep. Thus, the show moves at a cracking pace. I can imagine the editing room floor being littered with scenes they had to cut out. Editing and flow do suffer because of that. It does settle down a bit towards mid run and we can catch our breath but the home run is back to breakneck speed.

The script is humming a tune that sounds familiar but there are many dissonant chords. Cliches are everywhere. Like single use plastic items after a picnic. You might as well get used to plot holes because they are part of this gurgling witches’ brew. I can foretell much toils and troubles.

With a score this low, my modus operandi would be to cut my losses and drop the show but I couldn't. It is like watching a train wreck. You are mesmerised by the impending doom. You are shocked but also awed. As expected, a HEA ending was airdropped into place in the dying minutes of the show. All’s well that ends well.

This show is dire, but not so awful that it becomes a cult classic. It can even be unintentionally funny. In the end, it is a curio that will soon be forgotten. It did pique my interest and it might do the same for you. Heed my warning, gentlefolks. It is hard to stop once it hooks you. I binged it in morbid fascination with barely a pause. But I can never watched it again.

Maybe this is art. Maybe I’m a bowl of petunias. Peace out.

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