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Bong Hwan A! Bong Hwan A! Bong Hwan A!
What an incredible title track to a truly memorable drama. Kudos to the band Norazo for creating such a masterful song that perfectly matches the theme of the show. At once whacky with a thumping beat, it never fails to lift the spirits and bring a smile to your face.I will remember this drama for introducing me to the incredible Shin Hye-Sun. Her potrayal of both the "Queen So Yong" and Jang Bong-hwan was spot-on and made for a hugely entertaining watch. The viewer was left in no doubt as to which character she was playing. In her Bong-hwan mode, she nailed all the manly mannerisms of Choi Jin-hyuk which made for many laugh out moments. Among these were all the cooking scenes with the Royal Chef, when she "lost" her dragon balls, when she stuck her face in the dirty pail, when she visited the kisaeng house and paid for all the women, when she beat the flowers that the King "picked" on the way to see her, to getting smoked on, etc. In fact, her brilliant acting and portrayal of a man somehow overshone the rest of the cast which made scenes without her feel a bit flat on the first watch. Also commendable is Kim Jung-hyun who played the role of the King admirably. He had less to do but held his own when acting with the brilliant Hye-Sun.
The story itself is a bit complex and requires the viewer to pay close attention to the dialogue or it would be easy to get turned off in the later episodes. It is perhaps for this reason that the drama gets better and better each time you rewatch it as you become more familiar with the plot and the key characters' story arcs.
A big shout out to the production team who each contributed their magic to this piece of art. The opening credit animation, editing, clever placement of music and sound effects, lighting, wardrobe and tight editing made for a drama that is more than the sum of its parts.
As for the ending, it didn't bother me as much as some of the other reviewers. Perhaps because of the complex plots and individual character nuances, it was easy to miss out on the finer details of how the Queen was always still in her body and how her personality and feelings were intertwined with Bong-hwan's. To get a better understanding of what the writer intended, read kprinz's excellent review which hopefully will soothe some of the viewers who felt sore at the ending.
Overall, this is a highly recommended watch if you want a good laugh but remember to put your cynical and analytical part of you at the door before watching. You will enjoy it so much more. And remember that Laughter is always the best medicine, especially during these trying times of lockdowns. And if you have watched it, try watching it again. It is a drama that is like fine wine.
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A show about finding happiness in one's life
The show centres around a family of six and their journey to find love and happiness in their lives. Due to the failure of the father's business, the family was plunged into a near poverty state and each of the children had to find jobs, putting their hopes and dreams on hold. Despite the hardships, the family was filled with love and joy for each other.However, the family is soon thrown into chaos because of an incident that happened in the past. They come into contact with a rich family conglomerate who live in a different world to them. The show follows each character's lives and how they cope with the ups and downs of life amidst the clash with the rich family.
Being over 52 episodes long gave the writer time to flesh out each family member's story arc, with the exception of the youngest son, who shined in every scene he appeared in with his rich family counterpart. The dialogue and each character's motivations were largely consistent and well done with only some minor plot holes that was probably due to the emphasis on fleshing out each character. The director and his team did a great job in moving the story along and the editing was top notch as was the exemplary OST which is memorable enough to warrant separate listening sessions.
I initially thought it was a challenge to watch such a long drama but from episode 8 onwards, I became fully invested in each character and wanted to watch each episode as soon as possible, just to see what happens to them.
Lastly, the acting overall in this drama was very good. Most of the actors did well enough but the real powerhouses of the drama was the lead actress Shin Hye-Sun (SHS) and the actor who played her father, Cheon Ho-Jin. I first came into contact with SHS in the hilarious drama Mr Queen. While she was not strikingly beautiful, I found her performance as a womanizer in a woman's body to be spot-on and incredibly entertaining, enough to the point of wanting to watch her previous work. Seeing her display an incredible range of emotions in this drama just left me with great respect for her talent and skill. I laughed when she laughed, smiled when she smiled and cried when she cried. It was that good. The father who is an experience actor also played his part incredibly well and all fathers can identify with how he felt, being the head of his family, and wanting the best for his children's life.
Overall, it is worth a watch as many of the arcs mirror real life and how each of us strive to find happiness and our own golden life.
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