Party A Who Lives Beside Me (2021)

just some notes and stuff

THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS!

first to start off, the acting was not the worst but it wasn't rllyy good or anything, but its watchable and kinda funny/fun at times lol. i still don't see the leads as couples, I just still see then as friends which shows the writing is eh. he yu cheng literally just likes the person who spends the most time with or whatever, but he devotes to ppl quite quickly. i find some things they do so stupid and irritating like at the end where the leads were killing each other but not literally. and some things don't get resolved directly. the fl literally got peoples approval/recognition just bc shes fl and had a few good things done. like the office position in aoke 🤷‍♀️....but its not the worst drama or super bad or anything. its just watchable and a little interesting lol

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simple, funny and not stupid

this was a very simple and refreshing drama with zero complicated plot, stupid annoying ex, breakups, annoying parents or anything of that sorts. loved their acting as well. Well, at first when i watched half of the first ep i kinda got annoyed but later i loved every minute of this drama. the male lead's character was really amazing since it was not like those typical cold, arrogant, smart-ass ROBOTIC (too perfect to be true) -_- guys we see in most dramas. the female lead was also very good as she was not like those naive stupid common sense less leads. highly recommend this if someone wants a simple, light hearted drama. its something you can sit back and enjoy without getting frustrated.

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An interesting and different business comedy

Despite the terrible subtitling, which really needs to be replaced by a better version, and the strange goose honk sounding voice of the FL actress (dubbed?), I thought the story was interesting even to last episode, where suspense was still ongoing.
I watched it on YouTube, where some songs were also bizarrely erased while the dialogue was not but less clear to hear then. Anyway, the music was really not so good that it would make me look up the OST.

There is not a big variety of settings and some images come back many times, it looks very low budget. Nevertheless, the views of Shanghai apart from the expected Pudong skyline did show some interesting views of converted warehouses, waterside or countryside places in or about the metropolis, decrepit neighborhoods, and rather decent new buildings.

The small cast is good, and the actors and actresses have enough enthusiasm to make up for these quibbles. Both leads Wang ZiXuan (playing Ye Xuan) and Xie BinBin (playing Lin ZeNan) and the secondary couples leads Zhu Ran (playing photographer He YuCheng,), Zhai GuanHua (playing restaurateur Hu Yani), Liu ZhiHui (playing accountant Guo Tianlei), Ke Ying (playing LiNa), Yang DingQi (playing 88Ed studio director), Nikki Chen (playing Lin XinXia) and other main supporting characters draw audience into the interesting business story and light romance.
The magic of numbers comes again in this 520 story, but just as a discreet nudge to audience that get those meanings and jokes. I was surprised that a Floor 4 would be shown and that the two lead characters would dare to live there, although that was of course the reason for the cheap rent price, where 4,000 rmb was repeatedly mentioned for the small 2 room unit.

The expected romance and comedy are not the biggest draw for this drama, although it is nicely carried out with less “skinship” moments than loving support ones. The usual amount of slow motion closed lips kissing, catching stumbling damsels in distress, and carrying one on ML's back are also expected. Nevertheless, there are some very funny sweet moments, like the cat-like coming and going across Ye Xuan and Li ZeNan’s balconies, although one about climbing over a gated wall looked like it was a nod to Eternal Love 1-2-3 (the drama with Liang Jie as XiaoTan) and I briefly wondered whether this would go in the same fantasy direction since we did have once again a really tall, empowered ML looking rather cold to start with, and a rather shorter and less athletic, newcomer FL with a warmer outgoing temper. But no. (Ye Xuan was no pushover, she had some self-defense training!)
Some scenes that were certainly meant as slapstick humor like the redoubtable mother wielding a leek as beating stick, commercials TV ads blunders or blind dating made me smile, although they were not exceptional. The appearance of the well-respected director Sha WeiQi (who made a few dramas I also enjoyed, like A River Runs Through It and To Fly With You) first puzzled me, then I realized, and it was a sweet surprise!

Still, other elements that relate to real life Chinese work culture are, I think, very well included. I came out of this fairly enlightened about the practices of outsourcing and sub-contracting tasks to a Party B by a Party A that was the legalese which inspired the story and its title, and about some real life dangers of conducting business and construction work in China where reputation must be particularly protected, but where people still strive to keep an optimistic outlook and trust in friendship to overcome hurdles.

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so FUNNY

I would recommend this as comedy and career themed because the romance can only be found towards the end. So, if you're so hungry for romance then I wont recommend but I assure you even if this is not much of a romance, it won't bore you cause the interaction between the leads are so funny and cute.
Our ML is so tall but is acting so cute and it is effective, he is so funny yet still handsome. Our FL is so beautiful without the bangs hehe.

What I really like about this is because it's not superficial, the story is not a top notch but the plot is really relatable in reality. It's common but NOT. This is because it s not about the CEO and the heroine, it is about two ordinary hardworking office worker. The romance is really lacking maybe because of the script but they are acting so well together from the beginning to end and that satisfied me. I can also relate to both of them who works because it is an opportunity not because it is their dream, its like me who's taking my degree in college even if it is not my dream. I don't like the switching job part but I'm happy because they found what is the things they really want to do. In life, you might not have the highest paid job but it is okay as long as you are happy, in this drama the worker of 88 Ed including the main leads are earning low salary but they are happy because of the bond and trust they have for each other and they are having a good teamwork to achieve their goals.

I just don't understand the characters of Wu Kai and Mr. Zong, I don't know but I don't like them. And the thing about romance, the leads became gf/bf towards the end of the series then suddenly there are many unexpected couples w/o a sign of having a crush to each other from the beginning. Although, I think that Lei and the girl is cute too. This Mr. Li(ML) is just so caring and always want the best for his girlfriend, he is just so cute, his eyes and mouth are the best because his expressions are really effective to crack me up.

Well just watch and enjoy but don't expect too much because the story is really simple and I enjoyed it.

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best entertainer

with out expatiation u won't fail
all are well organised
actors are done their best
especially (Wang Zi Xuan)
in the whole drama she shine like an Angel
over all awesome
this one is also added to my all time favorite list
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Rom-com de bureau assez "classique" mais très bien interprétée

Grow-up drama sur 1 FL qui débarque comme stagiaire dans une petite agence de pub à Shanghai, loue 1 appart (dont le ML, directeur du marketing d'une grosse boite de pub, est proprio).

Ils vont peu à peu se connaitre, s'aider, devenir amis puis lovers (ép. 19 ou 20 !!! Très très slowburn). Une 2nde romance assez cute, avec des personnages + intelligents et plus vifs.

Quelques défauts :
- la réalisation est étrange, avec des scènes "sautées" qui reviennent longtemps après en flashback, des coupures bizarres, etc.
- des coïncidences "dramaland" peu réalistes,
- l'évolution psy des personnages pas toujours crédible.
- les engsubs sont visiblement parfois inadaptés (meilleurs sur Youtube, mais les épisodes y sont dans le désordre :( :( )

MAIS :
- très bons acteurs,
- CL attachant avec bonne alchimie & complicité,
- ton résolument Comédie.

Série très sympa dans l'ensemble, qui donne envie de voir d'autres œuvres avec le CL.

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