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Birth of a Beauty korean drama review
Completed
Birth of a Beauty
1 people found this review helpful
by Pandiko
May 3, 2015
21 of 21 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
It's obvious that they tried to make many parts comedic, but those seemed flat and the silence from within me left me with a feeling of awkwardness trying to find the right moments to laugh but never finding a reason to do so. The romantic moments were cliche once again with long periods of staring; I have to admit that the back hug was kind of cute in this one though. The most romantic parts seemed to be between Min Hyuk and Sara, which sort of gave a Richard Gere/ Pretty Woman feel. Judging by the poster where he's not even included, I don't think that this was what was intended. I continued to watch the show, however, because of the popularity of this show until episode 6 where I found a new reason to watch. This show may not have comedy or romance despite being a romantic comedy, but it has the best grudges, characters full of hatred, and a strong sense of revenge; many times I thought this could fit into the thriller genre. The power struggle is entertaining to watch and leaves you wondering who will come out on top, hoping it's not Tae Hee's judgmental and unapologetic grandmother. As a side note, and I usually don't mention this because I'm not a very fashion-conscious person, but I thought the clothing looked outdated and they have a good looking cast but the hair stylist put too much product in Wang Ji Hye's hair to the point that it looked oily and they could've done more to Han Ye Seul's hair to make it shine or look glamorous since she's the birth of a beauty (Pinocchio had a good hairstylist). I don't even know where to start with the acting. Joo Sang Wook seemed like a good actor and sometimes his actions reminded me of So Ji Sub in Master's Sun. I think he would've acted better though if he played this role alongside a different actress such as Gong Hyo Jin because while Han Ye Seul is beautiful, her acting skills weren't too believable to me many times, especially when she tried to act cute, innocent, or does what I consider a fake laugh. To her defense, it's hard to be cute and pretty. When she tried to act innocent though, she seemed to just open her eyes wide and stare blankly, and instead of the simple-minded cute that I think she was trying to go for, it came off as a little dim-witted. A weird thing is that unlike many actors who can play cute but not serious parts, her crying was actually okay; if they added fake tears and an eye irritant to make her eyes a little pink then her crying facial expressions would seem realistic I think. Because of her narrow range of emotions, I'm a little hesitant to watch Couple or Trouble now which was supposed to show that her acting skills improved, but seems iffy to me since she should be more experienced in this drama that's filmed eight years after the praise she got for that one. Wang Ji Hye and Jung Gyu Woon's jealousy and apparent desire for revenge are a major part of what made this so interesting to watch, but while I was a big fan of Wang Ji Hye from Protect the Boss, I noticed that she has a weird look that she overuses sometimes - I still think her hissy fits were entertaining though. Jung Gyu Woon played crazy quite awesomely and reminded me a lot of Light Yagami from the anime, Death Note. Lastly, I'd like to mention Han Sang Jin. Even though Joo Sang Wook is handsome and a good actor, he had the same problem that Ji Sung had in Kill Me Heal Me- despite cute or romantic lines he's fed and facial expressions to match, he didn't have that quality about him that makes you hug your pillow really tight and hold your breath while your heart is beating in suspense for the next moment on screen. Surprisingly I did feel a little bit of this when Han Sang Jin was on screen, and maybe if he was younger or didn't look his age I would be squealing over him right now. He played both the few romantic parts he had and a villain quite well; I think his innocent-looking face made him that much scarier. As for the music, I'm pretty sure I've heard Lee Hyori sing the "I'm a Beautiful Girl" song on Family Outing before even though it didn't come out yet; it sounds just like it though. Other than that, the music didn't seem memorable and I don't really rewatch shows. I'd recommend this show if you like dramas, because there's a lot of entertaining scheming and plotting with alliances formed almost every which way, but don't mind the female lead's acting and that it's not really romantic or comedic despite being a romcom.
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