Love Shuffle (2009)

I stumbled upon this little jewel of a drama while following the filmography of Hiroshi Tamaki, the actor who basically introduced me to Asian dramas. Soon enough, I found myself forgetting about Tamaki-san, caught in the whirlwind of this surprising, thrilling, daring plot.

This is usually referred to as a romantic comedy, but the definition is not really accurate. It is romantic inasmuch as it deals with love, but it's neither cute nor lacy/flowery/traditionally romantic. And although it has numerous comedic situations and dialogues, it touches serious issues, leaving their final verdict suspended, making the viewer be the judge.

The cast is brilliant. Every character comes to life and has a wonderful screen presence. None is either completely good or bad, though. They're over the top, at times obnoxious, often surreal, always human. And because the game they are involved with requires them to interact with one another in turn, each time a different side to each character is unveiled.

It's an adult drama. Not because it shows anything improper, but because it deals with adult feelings, failures, expectations and needs.
The music serves its purpose brilliantly, moving at the same rhythm with the plot.

Definitely a must see, in my book.

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The first two things about Love Shuffle that made me smile happened right as the show started. First, the theme song is Fantasy by Earth Wind and Fire. They are a 1970's Funk and Soul band. The groovy tune began to play and I thought; "Okay, Yes!" whoever picked this song is cool so there is a pretty good chance this show will be too. (Music really has the power to sway) Second, the graphics for the show's opening while accompanying the music were just as cool as the song. I love how the lead male comes jogging into frame and he slaps at a playing card that goes spinning while all the characters gather with a black, white and red color palette. Grooviest opening to a show ever!

Okay..now on to the substance: The other day at work I was describing to a friend the premise of this show. She does not watch any Asian Drama...but now she wants to watch Love Shuffle. I haven't seen a premise where 4 people meet, discussing love and its woes then decide to play a game where they shuffle partners. All of these people are pretty flawed, some way more than others. Each has their own motive for participating; some reasons are benign, some...not so much. Each character is written slightly off from normal which made them seem more real. Does that make sense?

It was fun watching the partners switch and wondering who would end up forming connections. Each partnership and how people related to each other kept me interested all through the drama's run. This show is unconventional which just gives me the warm fuzzies.

At 10 episodes the great thing about Love Shuffle is the story is tight. No room for filler and fluff.. 10 is all you get and the writer and director did a good job of making 10 all you need.

Watch Love Shuffle. It's grown up, it's silly, it's quirky and strange...And those are the elements that make it pretty Kick Butt!

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