This is has been a cult show for years. Smooth as silk kdrama, laughter and tears regularly provided. Essentially a teen love story about a teen band, mostly situated in their "dorm", an utter pop 60's fantasy piece of architecture, but all organic curves (what is this building??).
First hook-- a separated-twin story and a twin-masquerade story (in the West, 12th Night and The Menaechmi likewise floated to the frothy top of their respective cultural scenes).) The opening scenes have a mediterranean feel, is it the "technicoloring", the nun costumes , the naked marble statues or the scooter jokes? Thereafter the show is about the emotional interactions of a small cast. So deceptively simple.
Second hook -- missing parents and other relatives provide the nec. structural mystery, and they and the antagonists swoop in and out of the 2 main sets as if they are making stage entrances. In an HS script, look for what the HS do better, those places where their absolute bravura breaks through; not essentially in original plots or characters , but in how well they do them.
In this production, the use of what is essentially a chorus in ancient classical comedy/tragedy is wonderful. The fangirls who camp outside the company (afterschool?) wail and beat their breasts astoundingly and comment upon the action in silly ways. In the countryside visit the three old women are incredible, not only does their performance have perfect comic rhythm, but HS weaves in references to trot singers and specialized tv shows where the other half of Korea gets its impressions of entertainment. A quick meta to the history of music in SK, in an idol drama!!!
The recognition-of-the-lovers section comes a little later than expected, but when it does the carefully built-up system of metaphors and puns explodes as the characters deploy them in the service of conversations practically in code. The light of the "star" (and awfully, the moon as reflector of it/the sun) versus the light of the sun which blots out the recognition of others, darkness and light, hiding and paying attention, seeing and not seeing, showing and not showing. The ML has night-blindness, oh yes he does. The pleasure of the final tensions being resolved in poetic language is so intensely the HS' territory.
Here is a question, are the Hong sisters basically insanely lucky in casting and directors so that their intelligent, flippant and tightly constructed scripts are thus given that HS stratospheric oomph? You're Beautiful is a show on par with Hwayugi in characters who are almost instantly recognizable after just the 1st episode. I loved Lee Hong Ki there as the unforgettable PK (and his zombie friend Richie!) and I love him here as Jeremy, a character who reflects a prototype love-is-love theme. Jang Geun Suk rises from the ashes of Hong GilDong as a Heathcliff-ian ML.
Park Shin Hye is one of those heroic kdrama actresses who started working at the age of 13 and is still going strong 33 dramas later. Although her trippy little dove-of-christ characterization made my teeth grind, I can believe that that sort of naivete existed somewhere before my own era--nowadays most nuns and novitiates after Vatican II are amazingly truehearted, practical and energetic persons. And of course, PSH's performance is a perfect, absolutely perfect, foil to the comedy (the term 'straight man' in reference to comic pairs is now unusable or I would use it).
ps. I think it is not useful to trace influence in a hectic renaissance time like this one where dramas run only for 2 months, performers and writers work for cheap for companies which have state monies to spend, and where many of the behind the scenes creatives have one of the excellent university degrees in theatre and film available in SK. The consequence of the hurly-burly is that any successful show is instantly imitated piecemeal by competitors looking for that secret sauce. Only those on the scene have any memories of what went into that creative process.
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-The concept intrigued me (Nun crossdresses in a kpop band- I mean what's not to love?) and it turned out just as hilarious as it sounded
-It did surprise me with a lot of, well... drama. There's quite a bit of crying and "I can't be with you because of this reason" but that reason is totally stupid and also makes zero sense
-The side characters are the best part. Especially Jeremy. Lee Hong Ki will forever be my Kdrama first love.
-The awkward antics are also tied for the best part. Its 10 outta 10 worth it just for those
-The romance is just ok in my opinion, I'm not a fan of the actor for the male lead, because, yes I do believe there's such a thing as TOO broody-emo-mysterious-hot-boy, I feel like this is the part where I get disconnected with the drama. It is quite literally TOO dramatic. (+ I 100% believe she should have ended up with someone else)
-Also this is the only drama I've actually liked Park Shin Hye in
-OST is good, seems like they play the same exact parts of a couple of the songs a bit too much tho (my favorite track is Lee Hong Ki's version of "Still" - Still (lol) makes me feel the feels
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Story- Probably the worst part for me. So cliché and not even done well. But I do have to admit it was entertaining. Unfortunately, the ending was not for me. Not because I was upset with who she ended up with but the last scene was quite bad, in my opinion. The plot is extremely unrealistic which makes it boring at times and I did skip some seconds every now and then. But, again, it's quite entertaining and at least it made sense in a way. The dialogue was a hit or miss for me. To sum it up, I've seen worse.
Acting/Cast/Characters- Unlike many people, this was my first impression of every actor in this show. I had heard of them before but it's my first time watching them act. In this, they weren't outstanding, even though they were very likeable. The characters were just... too much? I did like all three guys and Minam wasn't unlikeable but she was pathetic at times, I must say. Jeremy was so so so cute! His bus' scenes were heartbreaking and probably my favorite in the show. Shinwoo was such a gentleman... I do think he pushed Minam a little too hard but after all he had good intentions and I suppose it's really hard to be in a position like his. I would have chosen him! Now, Taekyung... ahhh he's in a whole different world. The other characters were quite good but forgettable. I did like the president though. I don't think the chemistry was that good but it wasn't terrible either. I really like the cast but it could have been better. I'm sure their other dramas are a way better representation of who they are as actors because this one was probably one of the first works for many of them.
Music- My favorite part. 10000%. It felt so nostalgic! The ballads are my favorite.
Rewatch value- Because it didn't really touch my heart, I don't think I will rewatch it anytime soon but I don't completely exclude the possibility! It was entertaining after all.
Even though this wasn't my favorite, I can see why this drama is very important to many people and also its contribution to the drama world. I'm really glad I watched it, even if it took me like... 3 months?? Oh well, I will definitely watch more dramas with this cast!
Watch it if you want to feel nostalgic. ^^
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The drama that got me into k-pop and k-drama world
I cannot be objective with this one. I love it and it will forever hold a special place in my heart for it was the one that introduced me to k-pop and k-drama world. Watched it when I was in high school and never got back, still to this day i love Korean dramas, variety shows and music.the story and epsiodes were entertaining! the cast is so good and has great chemistry ❤️
since that i fell in love with Park Shin Hye and I was closely following her work and her dramas.
the music was really good, the songs and the production as well. character development was amazing too. i mean its so good that it made me start listening k-pop!
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This review may contain spoilers
This is another must-watch drama if you're a kdrama fan, an instant classic!"You're Beautiful" is about a band called A.N.JELL, they are idols. One day, they are having a new member join, his name is Mi Nam, but an accident occurs and Mi Nam is replaced by his twin sister Mi Nyeo, who then assumes his identity. The problem is that Tae Kyung, the cold leader of the band, finds out the truth. In the process of keeping her secret, Tae Kyung and Mi Nyeo fall in love.
Among them, we have Shin Woo and Jeremy, the other members of the band who are simply the sweetest. The second lead syndrome hit me really hard this time because it was clear that they all loved Mi Nam, but she couldn't be with all of them... sometimes love really gets in the way of friendship.
A.N.JELL is my favorite fake band, the songs are amazing and so addictive, especially "Promise", but my favorite is "Without Words". The scene where Mi Nam is singing while looking at Tae Kyung, unable to confess her feelings, is really good.
"You're Beautiful" is light, super funny and easy to watch, with great characters. I liked it so much that I even have a Dwaeji Tokki <3
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Toxic Male Gets Ultimate Reward ... for being a bullying.
The amount of demeaning, bullying, and nasty behavior Hwang Tae Kyung gets away is not cute, or funny. He's a really hurtful person. I don't think it makes sense for Mi Nye to fall for the guy who is the most cruel to her. What is this saying about women? "Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen" ?In order to have earned her love, he should at least have undergone some MAJOR changes, which he didn't. He barely got over his own ego enough to go after her in the end ... and only because everyone else told him to do it. He learned nothing. She was a sap, from beginning to end.
And when she found out Yoo He Yi was now bullying and threatening her brother, as well, Mi Nye should have finally found her courage and slapped the troublesome snake-lady. But no, she was a sap right to the end.
My third complaint is that they should have cast the brother properly, using an actor, as also slight-framed, for credibility's sake. Using a buff male body, with Shin Hye's head, was stupid, and obviously - could not be mistaken for the same person. It's not believable that the two were not just siblings, but TWINS - who had gone through a horrific ordeal together ... and yet, Mi Nye barely ever mentioned her brother, worried about him, missed him, and barely showed any interest in seeing him again.
The acting was fine - Lee Hong Ki was fantastic (as always).
The music was good.
The script? Very shallow, and disappointing.
Still, it was a good romp, and was worth it just for Lee Hong Ki's character, Manager Ma, and Kang Shin Woo, who (although the character made poor choices), was played well by the actor.
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Mixed bag...
It's difficult to write a review for 'You're Beautiful' as it's one of those dramas that doesn't take itself too seriously, so I also feel my review shouldn't be too serious either. If I had to give five words to describe this drama, they would be: decent (with an awful pace). The pacing was really slow, which is why the re-watch value has been scored so low here. However, it must be noted that slow does not mean boring for this drama. The story was interesting, it just could have been condensed in half (or even a quarter!).I did like the main elements of the story, and the unpredictability of the story here too. There were some impressive twists and turns throughout which I did not expect, but was pleasantly surprised with. I also really, REALLY enjoyed the OST. Every song was really catchy and there were a bunch of songs, all perfect, with their own different versions or covers, which I thought added such a nice touch to the overall story which was amazing.
The acting and cast were mainly decent, although there definitely was a clear level of different amount of capability and skills. Again, I don't like to name any particular names as we are all human beings, but if you do watch this, it'll be pretty easy to spot those who acted well compared to those who did not do so well.
Now, would I recommend this? That's a difficult question considering the awfully slow pacing this drama has. So, here's how I'll answer this. If you like dramas with a slow pace, watch this. If you prefer dramas with a faster place, don't watch this.
P.S For a 2009 drama, the quality was surprisingly good!
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All about young idols and their coming into true adulthood. Watch for the actors as young people
Such a sweet story trying to use the classic Sound Of Music idea of Maria - an aspirant religious who goes out into the world to help.Watch it to see actors Jang Geun Suk, Uie, Jung Yong Hwa and Lee Hong Ki steal every scene. Park Shin Hye will be the same pouting female you've seen before - not much to entertain you.
This is one seriously frustrating drama to watch with such poor acting direction. Yes it's already 16 years old but our lead female never convinces you that she ever tried to be a boy. Still it's in the old soap opera style with one farce after other. And with that frame of mind should be enjoyable enough for most viewers. There is a very happy ending in spite of a lot of wasted scenes and the following...
Possible Triggers for audience:
Excessive apologies from the FL - she must have said "I'm Sorry" no less than 500 times. Who the heck writes these scripts? Are they even trying to present a rational being to the audience or just a caricature. Question answered.
Weeping for long periods of scene exposure by FL. Surely it added up to 2 hours. Was this necessary?
'Terrible Twos' pouting. Again the FL excelled here. But the Director had our ML join in for added effect. Really?!! Why?
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