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SKITC

Probably within reach of a coffee

SKITC

Probably within reach of a coffee
Marry My Husband korean drama review
Completed
Marry My Husband
2 people found this review helpful
by SKITC
Feb 20, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 5.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 2.0

Park Min Young's Impossible Dream & Fanfic Request for the Villain

The signature song in the Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha" is The Impossible Dream. It's a complicated context for those unfamiliar with the production, but the main character has gone mad and forsaken his lands and status to pursue a prostitute he thinks is a maiden, to acquire junk that he believes is magical and to battle a knight who, in reality, is a physician trying to get him to regain his senses. The song is meant to be an inspiration to never give up your passions no matter how crazy they may be.

Yeah. Uh, well. Actually...

It turns out that some passions are actually crazy and bad and should not be pursued.

Exhibit "A" is Park Min Young's performance in "Marry My Husband".

Her character, Kang Ji Won, has suffered prior to a time loop, the following:
-abandonment by her mother
-orphaned at a young age by her father
-bullied by her peers in high school
-abused by her manager at her job
-tortured by her mother-in-law
-suffered financially due to her husband's bad investments
-unable to get pregnant because her husband is sterile
-unnoticed by her colleagues
-passed over for promotions
-betrayed by her best friend
-cheated on by her husband
-diagnosed with terminal cancer
-murdered by the betraying best friend and cheating husband

The only misfortunes that Ji Won has not suffered would be a short list. She's not blind. No indication that she's deaf. Baldness? No, she probably got that too thanks to the chemo. Uh, shortness? No. Bonus points to the writers for really kicking this character as low as probably any character has ever been kicked. And then stomping on her just because.

Somehow. SOMEHOW. Park Min Young takes this nearly inexhaustible list of tragedy and what should be a classic fairy tale princess overcoming the odds to triumph over evil kind of character and not only makes Ji Won not very sympathetic and not totally endearing and not an admirable and cheerable heroine but, instead, kind of a evilly stepmothery ice queen. It's such a total flop of a performance that it not merely overshadows, but practically obliterates the wooden and uninspired performance by Na In Woo. On what planet did this production team decide that the damsel in distress should be clomping around in 5 inch stilettos and haute couture fashion in every scene? Why is she so humorless? When there is a ripple of trouble in her relationship with Ji Hyuk, why does she immediately drop anchor and run for the hills? But most of all, when Ji Won is out for revenge and is settling her scores with Min Hwan and Soo Min, it feels like Park Min Young really feels it. She can sell that. But the scenes where she's being nice and friendly and supportive with Joo Ran and Hee Yeon? Nope. No sincerity. No feeling. No sale.

There's some awful performances from other actors too (Lee Gi Kwang, Cho Jin Se and BoA) but it must be pointed out that Lee Yi Kyung is great. Gong Min Jung nails it here like she has in everything. She's deserving of bigger and more demanding roles. Choi Gyu Ri is very fun. Ha Do Gwon is solid. Jung Suk Yong nails his cameo. So while there's plenty of bad here, there's plenty of strong acting as well.

The star, however, is Song Ha Yoon as she is a breathtaking supernova as the dastardly Yoo Min. It is a scintillating villain as a character, but the performance as this character is astonishing. She is extraordinarily insecure and incisively intuitive and to see how these traits twist her and consume her is both a horrifying and entrancing experience. The hope is that somewhere some genius has written a convincing fanfic account of a way in which Yoo Min somehow by some inconceivable multiverse jump, turns out to be the hero. Because that it would be a show worth watching beginning to end and every second in between.

As for "Marry My Husband"? Recommended but only for every moment with Song Ha Yoon. Very not recommended for the rest of it.
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