Jina
United States
A delightful and entertaining drama that still holds up in 2021
This surprising hit web drama from 2015 still holds up in 2021. Despite being a very low budget production, it got everything right with the actors, drama, humor, and its surprisingly poignant themes. (No wonder it has a cult following and also inspired a Korean adaptation 2021 drama Mr. Queen and launched the careers of many of its actors.) If you like parodies of costume romantic comedy dramas and want hilarious entertainment, this is a great one.
PLOT: The playboy Zhang Peng, while escaping from ex-girlfriends, jumps into a pool to save a different girl. However, he gets kicked in the head and sinks further into the pool...and ends up back in time in the female body of Zhang Peng Peng, the consort of the Crown Prince Qi Sheng. Grappling with this new reality, Zhang Peng Peng tries to stay alive among palace politics and assassinations while also indulging in his desire of women around him and resisting his slowburn interest in Qi Sheng.
Things to know/think about:
First: this is a VERY low budget drama compared to "low budget" dramas from recent years (2017-21). A typical low budget drama nowadays would be the 24-episode dramas like "The Romance of Tiger and Rose" or the first season of "The Eternal Love." However, the production makes it work for them and makes it part of the comedy. The clothes are fairly plain (or has a modern-like style) yet so bright, several neon-like colors as the clothes or decoration on the pavilions and rooms. Literally, the "war" outfit that the princes wear are so strange and hilarious with its carved out abs.
Second: the actors are fantastic, especially Crystal as Zhang Peng Peng. She's flawless and acts so great in this comedic role of a man in a woman's body who's lustful after other women while also upholding his/her own morals and virtues. I never got pulled out of the acting and was laughing along or crying along with her. Absolutely fantastic and believable.
Third: the themes of love and gender are decent! Zhang Peng Peng has to go through a journey of acceptance since there was no sign of him returning to his modern times. At the same time, he/she was also falling for Qi Sheng, so it brings up some interesting point about love and body acceptance. I don't want to spoil anything too much but it felt well done for a 2015 drama and 2015 China c*nsorship. I suspect that this drama, if it had attempted to air now in 2021, wouldn't pass c*nsorship and wouldn't air at all. There are even very sexual and sexy scenes that aired!
Overall:
This is a silly and entertaining romantic comedy drama that is at times profound. It's definitely not meant to be taken very seriously but everything just came together and worked really together. The actors, the couple's chemistry, the female main character's steadfast goal in staying alive and her growth as a character is tremendous.
You might like this if you like time-travel dramas, soul-switching dramas with a twist of a man's soul in a female body, a cold male lead, a comedic and smart female lead, concubines who are supporting characters and not conniving but more like friends, slapstick humor.
You might not like this if you expect a very serious plot or a very serious political plot with war and fights and action. All of that is in the background and the production doesn't have the budget for a full scale fight.
PLOT: The playboy Zhang Peng, while escaping from ex-girlfriends, jumps into a pool to save a different girl. However, he gets kicked in the head and sinks further into the pool...and ends up back in time in the female body of Zhang Peng Peng, the consort of the Crown Prince Qi Sheng. Grappling with this new reality, Zhang Peng Peng tries to stay alive among palace politics and assassinations while also indulging in his desire of women around him and resisting his slowburn interest in Qi Sheng.
Things to know/think about:
First: this is a VERY low budget drama compared to "low budget" dramas from recent years (2017-21). A typical low budget drama nowadays would be the 24-episode dramas like "The Romance of Tiger and Rose" or the first season of "The Eternal Love." However, the production makes it work for them and makes it part of the comedy. The clothes are fairly plain (or has a modern-like style) yet so bright, several neon-like colors as the clothes or decoration on the pavilions and rooms. Literally, the "war" outfit that the princes wear are so strange and hilarious with its carved out abs.
Second: the actors are fantastic, especially Crystal as Zhang Peng Peng. She's flawless and acts so great in this comedic role of a man in a woman's body who's lustful after other women while also upholding his/her own morals and virtues. I never got pulled out of the acting and was laughing along or crying along with her. Absolutely fantastic and believable.
Third: the themes of love and gender are decent! Zhang Peng Peng has to go through a journey of acceptance since there was no sign of him returning to his modern times. At the same time, he/she was also falling for Qi Sheng, so it brings up some interesting point about love and body acceptance. I don't want to spoil anything too much but it felt well done for a 2015 drama and 2015 China c*nsorship. I suspect that this drama, if it had attempted to air now in 2021, wouldn't pass c*nsorship and wouldn't air at all. There are even very sexual and sexy scenes that aired!
Overall:
This is a silly and entertaining romantic comedy drama that is at times profound. It's definitely not meant to be taken very seriously but everything just came together and worked really together. The actors, the couple's chemistry, the female main character's steadfast goal in staying alive and her growth as a character is tremendous.
You might like this if you like time-travel dramas, soul-switching dramas with a twist of a man's soul in a female body, a cold male lead, a comedic and smart female lead, concubines who are supporting characters and not conniving but more like friends, slapstick humor.
You might not like this if you expect a very serious plot or a very serious political plot with war and fights and action. All of that is in the background and the production doesn't have the budget for a full scale fight.
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