Like for Likes (2016)

This is a movie that I can say it fits all tastes, preferences and ages. It was very delightful to watch and had exceeded my expectations as I thought it's just another sweet rom-com which it is but I didn't think I'd be laughing and smiling while watching it. I wasn't the only one laughing and smiling the whole cinema was :)

This is a story about 6 people (who are somehow connected to one another). No Jin-Woo (Yo Ah In) is a famous star in Korea who can't forget his "love at first sight" lady. Jo Kyeong-ah (Lee Mi Yeon) is a beautiful drama writer who is always about work and don't like things to get personal. Ham Joo-Ran (Choi Ji Woo) is a woman in her 40s flight attendant she is whinny but very naive and cute and she feels that her life is over because she is old since all her friends already got married and she is still alone but she's not pathetic and doesn't feel sorry for herself. Kim Ju Hyuk (Jung Sung-Chan) is my kind of a man, he is someone who can easily be your best friend before becoming your boy friend. He is sweet and very dependable what girl wouldn't fall for him?. Lee Soo-Ho (Kang Ha Neul) is a pianist who is an anti social for personal reasons, and has never fallen in love or opened up to someone other than the people he already know. Jang Na-Yeon (Lee Som) is a sweet girl who has some issues at work and finds comfort in Kim Ju Hyuk as a friend. 6 persons 3 couples, though the story is full of cliches I can't say it's unique and I can't say it's unpredictable BUT what I can say is that with all the cliches and predictable plot this is slice of life pretty much realistic story about people who found each other and fell in love with each other. I loved all the love stories here and I can't choose which couple I loved the most as I liked them all but I think I have one that left me with more smiles and special feelings among the 3.

Acting: I know why they keep giving YAI older actresses the man has an awesome chemistry with them! I can't believe this is the guy I'm watching in Six Flying Dragons, I had to remind myself over and over it's him because he was totally different. I know it's a given that he'd be different but still it doesn't mean I won't be impressed by this change. Only great actors can give you the feeling that they are different person every time they take on different role and YAI is a master in that. Lee Mi Yeon and Choi Ji Woo what can I say about these two wonderful actresses? I love both them and to have them both in one movie is a dream come true. If you have never seen dramas for these two lovely ladies I suggest you start now it's never too late. Kim Ju Hyuk I haven't seen anything for this guy but I will surf his profile and start adding his work because he has earned enough credits with me here. Kang Ha Neul I've seen him many times before but this is my first time actually appreciating his performance. Lee Som never seen her before but I would like to see her in more dramas.

I'm glad I decided to drag myself to the cinema in this cold winter with my bad mood and chose this movie to watch because it completely changed my mood within seconds. I was smiling and laughing as sweet as it was. If you are looking for light hearted, romantic, sweet, funny and touching movie with great cast, full of cliches but still enjoyable then I suggest you add this to your list. The movie's title "Like Me Please" we all want to be liked and loved don't we? ^^

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Nothing more, nothing less

This is a great background movie, but just simple if watched thoroughly.

As the title mentioned, I thought that there would be a real emphasis on the use of social media (in this case, Facebook), as to how the plot would progress, especially on its introduction. I was confused on the interconnection of the characters at first, and even though I was able to know more of them as minutes went by, I felt "down" since I initially felt that there would be more interaction amongst their individual plots by the usage of the social media platform. Social media in itself here in this context felt afterthought. This is my breakdown as to how it was utilized for this movie between the 3 subplots:

a. Jin-woo and Kyeong-a - I will "dissect" them first since the bulk of the movie focused on their relationship; Facebook was somewhat helpful in that Jin-woo used it to stalk Kyeong-a's timeline. I think this is passable in terms of its relevance to the plot since we have to admit that we use social media to visit or even stalk a person's timeline/page, as what Jin-woo did here. Also, since this is where most of the scenes were focused, I have to say that I found this subplot to the better of the 3, and the acting and chemistry added more substance.

b. Su-ho and Na-yeon - in contrast to the first subplot, I felt that this was the most underutilized in terms of screen time, yet it had the most sense in terms of the usage of social media as the platform for their relationship to bloom; it was gutsy for Na-yeon to have the "first move" to Su-ho, knowing that he is a "relationship virgin" and as much as it felt rushed in terms of their progression as a couple, their ending was adequate and what I wanted it to be.

c. Seong-chan and Joo-ran - this is where it got tricky for me since I actually thought that they were exes, thanks to how Seong-chan acted childish when he saw Joo-ran as the stewardess on his flight, but then it was revealed that she was just actually his landlord and I felt weird about that. They had cohabitation after some circumstances, introduced Joo-ran to a Facebook friend for a date, and then realized that she had feelings for him after all, standard romantic movie plot blah blah. Nothing new, nothing old.

The climax of this movie which is the airport scene, felt too rushed again since the outcomes of their own stories are already evitable, but it was wise for Jin-woo to use Facebook to be able to confess his love to Kyeong-a since that is the main point of using social media as this movie's plot. Other than that, the other 2 plots were able to end their respective stories in a simple, predictable, and adequate ways. Shocking.

I think the saving grace for this movie was the acting and chemistry between the actors on their respective plots, otherwise I just played it in the background while doing something else, yet I was still able to understand the plot (as simple as it is) and just waited for it to end. I would have liked it more had more interaction between the 3 subplots especially in the ending, or somewhere in the movie happened, but this is just a personal preference.

This movie would be recommended as a background movie, or if you're in a mood to watch something just to pass time, as the plot is simple (though I'm disappointed for the not-much emphasis of social media as per its title), doesn't need any complicated scenes to make impact, and the ending, as cute and cheesy as it is, was predictable and okay.

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