Happy Merry Ending (Movie) (2023)

Disappointing but the music is nice and the actors are beautiful

The good.

Loved the lyrics and the singing. The actors are a pleasure to look at, especially Byun Sung Tae. I could gaze at that dreamy face all day long!

The confusing.

There are at least three characters introduced with some depth and we (the audience) start caring about them. But then there isn't any more. The viewer is just left wondering. As an example, Lim Ho Yeon (surfing instructor) cares about the main character (Lee Seung Jun). He appears in quite a few scenes, and we see what he is feeling. He seems like more than a side character, yet we never get anything satisfying. Same goes for certain behaviors we see. As a viewer I want to know the "why" behind these behaviors. But we never get the why. So it ends with the audience unsatisfied.

The bad.

There are portions in the last half that are just meandering.

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Nice, very nice...

Happy Merry Ending is an edited film version of the webdrama I have not watched. The editing is smoothly done so the cuts between the episodes are not obvious: I could not notice any. The film is nice, nothing outstanding but the actors have good chemistry, the music is very nice and the kisses are correctly done (WOW! a surprise for a K bl!)

Two men meet at a wedding: the singer is a former trainee who was abused by his producer which left him scarred and the pianist is a full time cafe owner. The pianist falls for the singer and pursues him but the producer comes back and throws the spanner into the works. The singer gathers the courage and sends the producer away, stands up for himself but chases the pianist away as well.

The main plot is opposites attract. The pianist is open, cheerful and happy while the singer is the opposite: depressed, lacks confidence and trusts nobody. Slowly the pianist breaks through the singer's walls pushing gently but never crossing the line and always asking for permission. I found that attitude refreshing: No is a No and he accepts it. The pianist seems pushy but he is actually very gentle and respectful.
The drama in itself is nothing new as it goes through all the usual phases: they meet, fall for each other, date, kiss, the ex shows up, break up and get back together. There is a tiny blink-and-you-miss-it subplot with the rotten and creepy producer and the slight criticism of k pop industry.

Everything is very nice about this film version of the drama. Nicely done piece of fluff and respect.

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