Seriously, after finishing the movie, just before the credits all I could say was 'waah, Daebak!' The writing and scenarios were gold. You think you know the plot, but then PDnim/writernim twists it and you're left laughing out loud. I was genuinely shocked at times, and I think that's what catapulted this to a 10 instead of a 9. It's not really a funny cop movie. The ensemble cast was perfect, with Jung Jaeyoung leading naturally in his "quirky yet straight man" role. Son Byungho's charisma shone through even when he had few lines. The rest of the cast played their roles to the hilt- milking every gag, compressing tension -adding an absurdist feel to the film. If you like comedy then you have to watch this. The romance is light but you won't miss it -I promise this even though romcoms are my favorite genre.
Bottom line: Going By the Book is a slightly twisted comedy featuring an affable and quirky hero (who's actually a villain -sorta), that you have to see!
The drama was pretty decent. But as usual with dramas that are given extensions (2eps)- the last few episodes get somewhat wonky. I watched this for Shin Hyunjoon, and I was excited for a romcom. Towards the middle, the laughs get fewer and the feels get bigger, maybe even too big. Having just completed it, I feel a little confused about certain elements. But after a few days it'll be fine I'm sure. So while lots of people are upset right now, with time it'll calm. The leads are great actors, and when they soul-switched -some thought Kim Jungeun was "over the top," but hello they switched souls -it's supposed to be over the top and funny. There was laughs, crys, feels, anger, shock, hope, and cameos galore. It was also nice to not hate the second leads. The downside, elements seemed to be contrived for the extension (but its dramaland- everything's contrived anyway), and so the last episodes seemed hasty or rushed. By ep14 I thought I finally knew where the drama was going, I was wrong. And while being surprised is generally a good thing, this drama would've been better sticking to the plan.
Overall, the drama had 2 great leads, some big laughs, and some big feels. The storyline goes a little awry towards the ending.
The drama was very captivating. Even though the story revolved around high school students, you were still invested in the characters and plot. That's one of its strengths -it never tried to make a grand story, instead it focused on a classroom and its teachers. And it did it well. Its other strength were the stories of friendship (and bromance). You couldn't help rooting for them! ^^ The students were mostly newbies, but they did very well. Their rookie status is probably what made them believable as high schoolers. Jang Nara and Daniel Choi delivered great performances, as well as the other cast members.
I just rewatched this spontaneously. I didn't think I would, but I really wanted to see something with Hwang Jung Min in it. He's so great, he takes a simple guy and infuses him with life. The drama has a slow start, but really starts picking up halfway through. And you can see the cast improve throughout the drama. Really a cute story.
The drama was decent. Its main problem was that its too long, so some plot lines seem to be either recycled, or invented b/c they need airtime. The couple is really cute though. I'm wondering what the point of that "Samchun" was though...he's in the show for 2 episodes and then disappears. Overall, a good drama with cute moments.
