Usually, if the story really sucks I can at least count on the cast, but not in this case. Park Shi Hoo and Song Ji Hyo not only lacked chemistry, but their characters were more annoying than sympathetic, which made them hard to root for. Shi Hoo plays the narcissistic Phillip who spent way too much time whining, or trying to "act cute". There were a few moments where I thought I might start to like his character, but it never lasted for long. I liked Song Ji Hyo as Eul Soon even less. She was so frustratingly stubborn that I eventually lost complete interest in her character. I blame bad writing and a bad performance for that. Since the story literally revolves around these two characters, if you don't like them there's literally no reason to watch!
The only character that I cared about at all was Lee Gi Kwang as Sung Joong. He and his character deserved better.
The rest of the characters are stereotypical and forgettable, so there's a lot of overacting from the supporting cast. Sometimes they tried too hard for laughs, and sometimes they played up villainous and scary moments so much that the attempts at horror and suspense felt more like campy comedy. Then there are random twists in the story that should have made the characters seem more complex, but it just made the story more of a hot mess.
How much of a hot mess? Expect to try to follow multiple ghost stories, murder mysteries that defy logic, a washed-up boy band, an obsessed stalker, and a cursed fate romance that is light on the actual romance and heavy on the series of unfortunate events. All of the major questions do manage to get answered in the end, but that doesn't mean the story made any coherent sense. It's my fault for not dropping it. Sometimes you just gotta let go, of destructive relationships and bad dramas alike.
Overall, I feel pretty comfortable telling people to skip this one. If you want a romcom with ghosts watch "Master's Sun", or "Oh My Ghostess". If you want a romance about a writer that involves ghosts watch "Chicago Typewriter". Want a drama about a jinxed or ill-fated couple? Watch "Lucky Romance" or "Another Miss Oh". I normally don't recommend other dramas in a review this much, but that's how strongly I feel about avoiding this one! I'm starting to think a ghost must have possessed me and made me finish. That's the only logical reason for not dropping this like everyone else.
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PLOT: Interesting start, but loses steam down the middle and ends with a crash.
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The premise of the show is refreshingly original: two babies --a boy and a girl-- are born on the same date and time to different families. Both suffer from unexplained periods of sickness, causing their parents to seek an explanation from a creepy Shaman. Coincidentally, the same Shaman sees both cases separately and reveals that their child has been born with half a fate. Which means, our protagonists are bound to "steal fortune" from each other in order to survive. So whenever one of them gets lucky, the other is met with misfortune.
Sounds pretty interesting, right? Well, it could've been had they focused on that aspect of the story. Unfortunately, the concept got lost and buried by ambitious writers who had neither the plan nor the talent to pull off their convoluted story.
The show suffers from a cast of characters that act and react in ridiculous ways to dire situations, rendering them borderline stupid. We also get a mob of undeveloped antagonists with questionable and vague motives, a painful dose of lack of chemistry between the main leads, dubious acting from most of the cast and a plot so convoluted, you don't know what's going on half the time. Not only do plot-points get abandoned without a reason, but tough decisions taken by characters lack logic and bear no consequences.
Despite all that, perhaps the BIGGEST flaw is the inability of the writers to commit to a tone. That's not to say the story can't be funny and heartwarming, or that horror and romance can't work together. There have been shows that have managed to pull off the change in tone flawlessly. But alas, it is not so with this one.
Though the story kicked out strong, using a dark undertone to build a sense of excitement, the atmosphere was soon broken and the narrative got twisted into a "parody", which turned the drama into one big joke.
So when the writers attempted to re-inject "horror" into the show, it failed to make an impact. Death was treated with so little consequence, it became meaningless. Antagonists where likewise hard to take seriously when the protagonists' reaction towards them was reminiscent of how Shaggy and Scooby-Doo acted when confronted with their own childish enemies... The conflicts were built up, but the resolution was weak and, therefore, wasn't a worthy payoff. Even the melodramatic scenes and romance were over-dramatic and hard to swallow.
Overall, the constant changes in tone were as subtle as a bull strolling through a china store...
MAIN CHARACTERS: A mixed bag
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Yoo Phillip (male lead played by Park Shi Hoo): He's introduced as an unlikable character and thus, it takes a long while to get used to him, let alone warm up to him. In a nutshell, he's extremely lucky, famous, cowardly, self-centered and selfish. Although we later learn that he's not a stranger to suffering and that, underneath his narcissistic nature, lays a man afraid to get hurt by those close to him, I can't promise that you'll like his character. I did find him tolerable after a while, but I think the biggest reason I disliked him had to do with his comical acting. I've seen Park Shi Hoo before, so I suspect the director is to blame. I also might've suffered from a bit of cultural shock because whoever did his makeup, had an incredibly heavy hand. Either that or he was sponsoring a lipstick company... which would explain A LOT.
Ji Eunl Soon (female lead played by Song Ji Hyo): She's something of a mixed bag. Although she's more likable than the male lead, that bar is pretty low. For most of the show, she's stuck in the role of the underdog. Given how much she's suffered, you can't help but root for her and wish her happiness. However, as the series progresses, she stopped making sense. Her actions and reactions took an "idealized" tone that I couldn't buy. Someone who's been through the things she had would naturally feel resentment, but not Eunl Soon... In the end, she's riddled with the same traits other k-drama female leads suffer from. She's insanely goodhearted, sacrificial in nature, suffers from a hefty dose of low self-worth (perfect for the male lead to swoop in and pull her out of her shell), turns passive when it matters and remains incapable of hating (or at least resenting) anyone, even when they most certainly deserve it... All in all, she started out as someone I wanted to root for but I ended up getting frustrated with her by the end.
Sung Joong (second male lead by Lee Gi Kwang): This series will give you second lead syndrome and with good reason. Sung Joong is the most relatable character and the one who makes the most sense. His motivations are clear, his emotions are properly conveyed and he acts and reacts as a normal person would. He's also active in the pursuit of what he wants and he's kind, mature and understanding... However, if push comes to shove he'll fight to protect those he cares about, even if he has to break his word or emotionally hurt them in the process. All in all, his character may not be the most original, but he is consistent. Ironically, that in and of itself makes him feel out of place. He's a sane character trapped in a universe populated by wacky characters. It's like he was conceived for another story but got stolen and forced into this narrative with a hammer. Sung Joong... you deserved much better!
ANTAGONISTS: Shallow, underdeveloped and too many
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As to avoid spoilers, I'll talk about them in general. The main issue I have is that there are way too many opponents for such a short story. However, there's no hierarchy to them, so it's hard to gauge their threat level or even focus on their motivations (or lack thereof). The result is a story that gets more confusing with each passing episode, with antagonists that bring little to the table. Some of them are mildly interesting, but most are quite generic and forgettable. How they end up being taken care of also leaves a lot to be desired in the imagination department.
Take note that confusion and intrigue are two different things, and this one suffered from the former.
PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: prepare for a cringe-fest
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I'm still uncertain of whether the romance was intentionally portrayed as a parody... or if the writers wanted to integrate a sweet story but failed spectacularly. The scenes that were supposed to be romantic were funny at best... but at worst, they rolled into the cringy zone and got stuck there. In fact, every painfully long kissing scene had me praying for it to end.
I don't think the story made proper room for romance. It might've been a lot more fun if the two leads had kept their relationship platonic and focused on building a friendship (or even a rivalry) instead.
Since I couldn't think of any highlights, here are some drawbacks of the romance:
-There's a lot of lying going on in their relationship, which translates in unmotivated lack of trust.
-It's never very clear why they got together. I felt neither chemistry nor real romance whenever they interacted. They just sort of... got together without rhyme or reason. Fate, maybe? (Interestingly enough, even the characters seem to question why they got together... so that says something).
-They had very little in common and no shared interest.
-Their interactions were often quite cringy.
-Second lead was much better but, to be frank, the main female lead didn't deserve him either. He was just too good for this show.
OVERALL: Good concept, terribly painful execution
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The main concept (sharing half a fate) had so much potential it hurts to see it wasted. Despite the original concept it promised, I can't in good conscience recommend this drama since it didn't deliver at least a decently structured story.
Though it started very strong, it lacked consistency which spelled its downfall. The romance felt cringy and out of place; the horror felt childish and cartoony, and the melodrama felt like a bad soap opera at best and like a ten-year old's first fanfiction at worst...
Honestly, I struggled not to drop this one and ended up muscling through the latter part of the story. If the show had focused on only two antagonists, then maybe the story might've been clearer (and cleaner)...
Then again, I would've focused only on the heart of the story --the protagonists sharing half a fate. That would've made for an interesting story without over-complicating it with ghosts, nightmares, possessions, psychopaths, frenemies, stalkers, dysfunctional families, abandonment issues, struggles with self-worth, competitive rivalries and all the other crap they threw our way.
This was a story that lost its way and shattered into mediocrity.
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The two main characters were Phillip played by Park Shi Hoo and Ms. Oh played by Song Ji Hyo. I have never seen them in a drama before but they had a pretty funny relationship through the drama. Phillip was goofy and rediculous as this ex idol celebrity actor and at first I was like this guy is so lame but after a while he just made me laugh. Ms. Oh was pretty dramatic but funny as well. As a romantic couple, well that was pretty interesting and I will give the award for most awkward kiss scenes in a kdrama to these two.
The other characters ranged from really good like Highlight idol Lee Gi Gwang and Tara idol Ham Eun Jung (they were basically the second love interests in the story and Eun Jung played the obsessed psycho fan of Phillip which is totally funny because she is def out of his league lol) to some that where just goofy. But most were pretty good and added to the fun of the drama.
The story is pretty good, kind of a mystery thriller ghost story but really it was more of a comedy. It definitely wasn't one of those dramas where you can guess what was happening, it had twists and turns you definitely won't expect.
One of the final things is the OST, there are quite a few songs I loved especially Love One by Bumkey https://youtu.be/qf6UZ7oRDH0 what an amazing track.
I would definitely recommend this if you aren't looking for something too serious and want to have a good laugh with an interesting story.
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This review may contain spoilers
Starts off interesting but quickly goes down hill. The leads have no chemistry. There was no build to their romance. Both are really unlikable. She is a poor doormat slob. And he's a rich coward jerk. She's walking around with poor hygiene and I am supposed to believe men falling all over her. The plot is all over the place. The supernatural elements really have no rules. For example fortune and fate only applies to the leads. It's really obvious the writers were lazy and use it as a plot device to explain why the leads are destined for each other no matter what.
I won't put spoilers but there isn't enough supernatural elements in the show. It's basically some weird romance story filled with wonky fate and jealous ghost exes etc.
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but those who are new in this drama land and those who loves to watch light hearted, comedy , romantic drama this is good. Drama, movie are all for entertainment purpose and this drama is an entertainer.
if you have enough time and don't want any serious , famous celebrity packed drama then this is good.
As for an entertainment piece i give more than 7 to this drama overall. If you are a logical person or crack addict to korean drama since young then this drama may not be their cake
.
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This review may contain spoilers
After reading a lot of negative comments on this drama I felt obliged to write about it myself because I don't think the series was that bad at all. I have to note that this also wasn't my favourite series but I don't really agree with the ratings I have seen a lot of people give it.Story
Though I have to admit the story was far from the best I have ever seen, it was still quite enjoyable. I don't agree that it was necessarily all over the place but rather the story could have been a lot more than how it eventually turned out to be. Everything seemed to build up to some great secret(s), but they didn't let the suspense go on until the last episodes and instead revealed most shocking things during episode 29-30, which made the last two episodes feel more like filler.
Also on a side note, I feel like the character Sung Joong was written very poorly. At first it felt like he would have a dark side as well, but throughout the series he continued to only be (unrealistically) nice and sweet.
Acting/Cast
One aspact which made watching this series difficult were the main leads, and if it hadn't been for Gikwang I don't think I would've continued the series. I barely felt chemistry between the main leads and though kdramas can be notorious for bad kissing scenes, these must have been the worst.
*Just thinking back about the elevator kissing scene makes me shiver*
However, the awkwardness seemed to reduce a bit while the drama continued and I was actually quite content with the others actors, especially Ham Eun Yong, who played Shin Yoo Na and Lee Gikwang, who played Sung Joong.
Another thing that I did enjoy was the way Eul Soon was styled. Though I was very annoyed with her hair constantly hanging in front of her face in the first episodes, you could see her grown into a more confident person in the way she started to dress, how she styled her hair and even 'started' to wear make-up at some point. Although she was ofcourse wearing make-up for the drama, she didn't have this fake 'no make-up look' where the actress is obviously still wearing a lot of eyeliner, lipstick and looks like she just came back from a hair salon while in the series she is supposed to look like she just had a bad night of sleep. Therefore I want to compliment the stylists and make-up artists of this drama!
Music
I don't really have anything special to note on the music. This series didn't have the most spectacularor memorable osts I have ever come across, but they were still enjoyable.
Rewatch Value
I don't think I'll ever rewatch the series, perhaps only for the scenes Gikwang was in because his character was just extremely cute.
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It has a solid concept, a talented and star-studded (ADORABLE) cast, compelling characters, passable pacing, and good music. Yet somehow, despite having all the puzzle pieces, they just never seemed to be able to bring it together into any sort of clear picture.
The plot was convoluted. After a while it began to feel like they were trying so hard to obscure the central mysteries in so many shrouded layers of who knows what and when and where, that they themselves couldn't quite keep track. Because of the murkiness of these particulars, the resolutions in the final couple of episodes were often lacking impact.
Also, I really hate to say this because I truly love Park Shi Hoo and Song Ji Hyo, but as others have already said, their romantic chemistry was DISMAL. Their kiss scenes were just... horrendous. It's even more sad, because I think that they were fun to watch together otherwise.
The one bright point in all of this though was Lee Gi Kwang. I love him in Highlight, but who knew this boy had acting chops?? Honestly, the drama would have been a million times better if it had just been from his POV all along.
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Content:
- A stubborn, strong but slightly dense female lead.
- A very obnoxious, hard to love male lead.
- A very likable and kind second lead.
- Funny and annoying sub characters.
- A lot of accidents and near death events.
- Reused scenes from all romance dramas ever since 2010.
- 1 episode building a plot device which is completely undone in the next episode. (every episode)
- Plot holes.
- LIGHT horror.
- Some kind of romance.
The reason I dropped this drama was because they kept creating plot holes and doing things without any logical reason. Even fantasy dramas need to follow some logic to make it all believable, doesn't matter if it's real logic or made up logic. We need some rules. They were also concentrating episodes to different events that were going to happen but by the next episode the writers just went "Never mind" and then they undid everything and went on to the next event that will never happen. Eventually I stopped caring about the characters. They could die for all I care, as long as something starts carrying the plot. Sadly, the plot still hadn't gotten anywhere and a lot of weird relations were formed without any background, sense, or logic.
Unbearable to watch....
...ENJOY
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a decent drama
In my opinion this drama wasn't so bad. Actually I watched it with interest. I must say that it wasn't the most interesting I have ever seen though. The plot is good but was shown to us in a little complicated way. It wasn't very scary so I enjoyed it. I would prefer a little more romance than mystery, but it was ok as it was. I would recommend this drama to someone who likes supernatural dramas with a little mystery and romance. I usually prefer more fluffy, cozy and calm dramas, but I liked it too. The acting was great but I don't like when there are evil characters. In conclusion, you can give it a try but don't expect something amazing.Was this review helpful to you?
Lovely yes but not only
Mainly watched for Jihyo at first but I did get interested in the couple and the story after two episodes (which isn’t unheard of nor weird tbh) and while it might not be the drama of the century, it's not the worst either. I do have to say that the last 5 or so episodes dragged the story around, making it a bit tough to chew, especially when the last two episodes felt a bit... not rushed because the pace stayed the same but it definitely feels like they had to dump all the remaining tropes in there (2nd lead getting his chance w/ the girl, male lead experiencing his part of the "misfortune" etc...) which kinda parasited the finale for me. The show is definitely light hearted a good part of the time despite the misfortunes the characters go through, which makes for a rather nice pick me up show. However, while it had every ingredient to make it a great drama, the show fails to deliver a good third of the time: male lead while not exceedingly annoying pales in comparison to PDnim's more nuanced character, the supernatural element is thrown out the window at some times, there is a lot of redundancy in events and some wonky transitions. The only saving graces of the show are Jihyo and Gigkwang performances who carry half of the show by themselves. Is it a must watch? Nope. Is it that awful? Nah, it's certainly watchable and enjoyable, just don't expect too much.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I can't take this dude seriously...elevator make-out with a squirrel embroidered on his butt?
Gosh, this is one weird drama. The story isn't actually that bad, it had lots of twists and turns and lots of bad selfish generally evil people. I think what drags this drama down is the acting by the male lead, if I'm honest. Dude has issues with where to look when he's being filmed, so often he ends up with really awkward eye darts toward the camera and it's a little distracting. He's also got a weird time delay on his line delivery and a general lack of emotional range. The female lead is ok, she does a good job with a sort of tomboy character, but the whole first half with her hair in her face is a little awkward to watch. The FL is probably the best part of this drama...actually, all the female actors in this drama are pretty powerfully written and the males are almost all written as whiny losers (aside from the 3rd wheel failed love interest ML).Apart from those minor inconveniences, what really drags this drama down for me is the soundtrack/sound effects. IDK who they had making the instrumental soundtracks but it's pretty jarring and often doesn't seem to fit the scene at all. The sound effects, too, are often slightly off and not well fitted to the activity on the screen, so it breaks immersion often.
The other thing that really bothered me was how perfect and kind and beautiful the 3rd wheel male lead was. Like...IDK in most dramas I can sort of understand what draws the FL away from the obvious choice to the "bad boy" who doesn't seem like the best option. In this drama, I can't find a single reason why any rational female in her shoes would turn away from what is essentially the perfect man to instead be in love with a legit man child with virtually no redeeming qualities. While this happens a lot in dramas, the writers usually give you SOME insight to hold onto that makes the FL love choice make sense on some level. This drama didn't do that at all. I still, after having watched the whole thing, have zero idea why she would choose the whiny man baby ML over the considerate, kind, compassionate one. Especially when her personality is so focused on helping others and being kind.
The filmography in this drama is also pretty low quality. I had to stop the show once or twice to double check the year it was released because it felt more like a 15 year old drama than a 3 year old drama. Everything is so cheesy and cheap, the style of filming isn't pretty, it doesn't flow well from scene to scene, and it's filled with random inconsistencies.
Overall, I don't regret watching it, I wouldn't watch it again, and the first few episodes are a terrible slog to get through. If you do make it to like episode 10 things start to pick up and make more sense. Although they drop a lot of the comedy from the first several episodes in favor of overly dramatic bickering sessions. I missed the comedy a lot as the story progressed. Like...pick a genre...either you're a comedy or you take yourself too seriously and end up losing your audience during the trip.
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Drama in a drama concept fails miserably here
Even great cast can't save the drama if there is no story and very uninteresting characters.They tried to fit this drama into different genres - horror, comedy, romance, suspense, revenge. But this show belonged nowhere.
Horror wasn't scary, Comedy was average (though I found very few scenes funny), chemistry was so-so, suspense was predictable except 1 or 2 little things. revenge went nowhere as the ghosts left.
I think they should have made drama Ghost's love story rather than Lovely Horribly. Drama in a drama concept fails miserably here. The fortune stealing & sharing concept was Good, but story went nowhere with that because of zero chemistry and horrible execution. Maybe concept was there but writing was ambiguous.
The questions in the story are ridiculous and answers are even more ridiculous.
Characters are not good enough. Only character seemed plausible was Sung joong played by Ki gwang.
Main lead were circling around here and there with same story.
I wonder what made PSH and SJH to accept such stoyline.
Not even worthy of one time watch.
Music was average. Even horror scenes didn't felt horror as music wasn't compatible.
I have bad habit to finish the drama till the end so I watched it. I would not recommend this to anyone unless you are huge fan of Park shi hoo and want to watch him again in similar roles like - Cheongdamdong Alice ( I loved his role here, drama was diferent too.) and My golden life.
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