YazQuan
Atlanta GA US
Everything in this series works!
"Lovestruck in the City" is a rarity of a romantic comedy -- one that's actually funny. I was still laughing about the drunken palm blast even while writing this review.
PROS
1. Kim Ji Won is the reason I picked up this series and she really showcased her chops playing two very different aspects of a single character. I wanted to spend a week at the beach with one of them and hug the other. The candle lighting scene was so raw I felt all the feels. Her realistic portrayal of a woman who feels so much, yet shows a flat, cold front when overwhelmed rang true.
2. So Ju Yeon was pitch perfect and may have impressed me so much simply because I adored how she presented her character - a woman who is who she wants to be and makes no apologies, nor tolerates disrespect.
3. Ryu Kyung Soo did a marvelous job making a low key, taciturn character multi-dimensional. I was really rooting for his character and...
4. Han Ji Eun's shallow-at-first-glance, yet terrifying teacher character had the most interesting and surprising character journey of the series. Han Ji Eun took a tough, intimidating persona and made her 90% of why the comedy worked, and still delivered one of the most touching scenes of the show.
5. Kim Min Sook brought gravity to a character that could easily have been relegated to comic relief otherwise.
6. Park Jae Won wasn't my favorite character, his tenacity bordered on obsession, but Ji Chang Wook put all his emotions on the line to make it work.
7. Breaking the fourth wall - well, almost: by using a reality show interview style we got a view inside the heads of the characters and their perceptions of the story. It was fascinating to contrast what they claimed was their persona versus what they showed us through the action.
8. The scriptwriter crafted an original, nuanced, touching, and witty show that held enough turns to keep it interesting for 17 episodes. It's really, really hard to tell so many stories and be fair to all the characters; this is the most successful effort I've seen.
9. The director gave the cast room to develop their characters. The result of that is why my rating is so high. Also, that long shot of Oh Sun Young after her final meeting with Kang Gun was a heart punch.
CONS
1. Unlike some other reviewers I wasn't bothered by a pop-up romance in the 17th episode. It had been teased in the 16th, so it wasn't a total surprise, plus it showcased a previously underutilized character. What did bother me was the zero backgrounding of who these two characters were to each other and what was behind their familiarity.
2. Obviously the two leads are going to get together in the end, but it felt abrupt when it happened, a 180 from where the FL's character was previously. Maybe I just needed a little more transition on how the FL's character leapt to that point from her adamant push back until then. Perhaps even one brief shot showing her reluctance crumble.
So many things worked so well in this series that it deserves an 8+ rating overall and I'm baffled by the lower scores. I enjoyed every episode and would definitely rewatch the series.
PROS
1. Kim Ji Won is the reason I picked up this series and she really showcased her chops playing two very different aspects of a single character. I wanted to spend a week at the beach with one of them and hug the other. The candle lighting scene was so raw I felt all the feels. Her realistic portrayal of a woman who feels so much, yet shows a flat, cold front when overwhelmed rang true.
2. So Ju Yeon was pitch perfect and may have impressed me so much simply because I adored how she presented her character - a woman who is who she wants to be and makes no apologies, nor tolerates disrespect.
3. Ryu Kyung Soo did a marvelous job making a low key, taciturn character multi-dimensional. I was really rooting for his character and...
4. Han Ji Eun's shallow-at-first-glance, yet terrifying teacher character had the most interesting and surprising character journey of the series. Han Ji Eun took a tough, intimidating persona and made her 90% of why the comedy worked, and still delivered one of the most touching scenes of the show.
5. Kim Min Sook brought gravity to a character that could easily have been relegated to comic relief otherwise.
6. Park Jae Won wasn't my favorite character, his tenacity bordered on obsession, but Ji Chang Wook put all his emotions on the line to make it work.
7. Breaking the fourth wall - well, almost: by using a reality show interview style we got a view inside the heads of the characters and their perceptions of the story. It was fascinating to contrast what they claimed was their persona versus what they showed us through the action.
8. The scriptwriter crafted an original, nuanced, touching, and witty show that held enough turns to keep it interesting for 17 episodes. It's really, really hard to tell so many stories and be fair to all the characters; this is the most successful effort I've seen.
9. The director gave the cast room to develop their characters. The result of that is why my rating is so high. Also, that long shot of Oh Sun Young after her final meeting with Kang Gun was a heart punch.
CONS
1. Unlike some other reviewers I wasn't bothered by a pop-up romance in the 17th episode. It had been teased in the 16th, so it wasn't a total surprise, plus it showcased a previously underutilized character. What did bother me was the zero backgrounding of who these two characters were to each other and what was behind their familiarity.
2. Obviously the two leads are going to get together in the end, but it felt abrupt when it happened, a 180 from where the FL's character was previously. Maybe I just needed a little more transition on how the FL's character leapt to that point from her adamant push back until then. Perhaps even one brief shot showing her reluctance crumble.
So many things worked so well in this series that it deserves an 8+ rating overall and I'm baffled by the lower scores. I enjoyed every episode and would definitely rewatch the series.
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