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From brilliant to...whatever!
What a rollercoaster ride! Unfortunately NOT in a good way!This drama went from comedy to tragedy to mystery to crime to whatever! I am a difficult customer for comedy: I cannot stand the slapstick and humiliation kind of it. But here it is smart and clever banter between the characters. The opening credits are brilliant: it looks like an anime! Perfect!
It is a story of a quirky lawyer charging only 1000 wons (or 1 dollar) for his services. Baek Mari joins him as a probationary lawyer and for about 6 episodes they solve different cases using their smarts and humour. And this half of the drama is brilliant! The relationship between the three leads is cracking fun as they go around bickering and trying to get their clients off the hook. Perfect comic timing for the trio!
And then the drama takes a 180° turn and for the next three episodes, it is a completely different drama involving: rotten politicians, creepy chaebols, weak prosecutors and a lot of corruption and death. Here we find out the lawyer's story, who he is and why is he working for only 1000 wons. This part is so often seen in makjang dramas, family secrets and righteous hero trying to fight the windmills like Don Quichotte: and it is sad and serious. And sadly so predictable!
The drama then manages to combine the comedy with the revenge plot for the last three episodes managing barely to keep it in balance but never attaining the brilliance the first half of the series was. Because instead of the lawyers fighting for the little men we get lawyers watching as the rich fight each other. It ends with the corniest of cringy speeches you can imagine!
Namgoong Min as the lawyer Chun Jihun, was appropriately funny or serious or lovey dovey or fighting as need be. There are a lot of references to his other dramas which is fun, so pay attention to see if you notice those easter eggs! Kim Ji Eun was perfect as a high class, heiress lawyer who realizes there is more to life and law than her rich corporate clients. Her relationships with her grandfather and mother are so sweet and cute. She is the character who changes the most as she works with the lawyer and sees the change the law can bring. They are helped by a sort of a office manager/drycleaner serving as a balance between the two.
The support characters were varied: from the bad guys obviously bad to law office landlady and her friends to clients. I would like to mention two prosecutors friends to both lawyers. Seo Minhyuk is Mari's childhood friend who wants to marry her because his father told him to. So I thought we were getting another rich creep. Fortunately that is not the case: he is kind and smart and loyal and righteous. And he has a great relationship with his boss, Na Yejin (far a moment I thought something was going to develop between them but nothing!). She is an experienced prosecutor knowing how to balance well her own boss's demands and the need for in depth investigation. What did not sit well with me was that she, apparently a friend of Jihoon's, tells Mari his story. I was expecting more discretion from a lawyer.
This is a very colourful drama: it being a comedy it is understandable. The costumes, the cinematography is day shots, the music: everything is full of energy and joy. Things completely change for the next three episodes when everything is dark and ominous: black suits, night shots, sinister music. Then everything changes again....it is like this drama does not know what it wants to be! Unfortunately! If I remember correctly, the drama was shortened by 4 episodes and towards the end it was visible: at the end of episode 11 I wondered how they were going to wrap everything up in one episode. They actually did that rather well.
And if you are looking for romance, it is not here you will find it. Which is a shame because the two bickering lawyer have great chemistry. Nevertheless it is still a fun watch, just be aware you might be disappointed a bit.
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One Dollar Lawyer REVIEW
I honestly had a great time watching all 12 episodes of this drama. It has given me multiple great laughs and lessons about why it's named "One Dollar Lawyer". I liked all the acting, story, and plot twists while watching this drama and have never regretted watching it til the end. It is very good since it includes suspension until the next episode and I loved how it randomly became deeper in some episodes. It honestly is a funny and thrilling drama that I HIGHLY recommend to other drama lovers. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING THIS AFTER SCHOOL ENDS OR DURING SCHOOL BREAKS TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE STORY GIVEN IN THIS DRAMA.Was this review helpful to you?
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it had SO MUCH potential to become one of my 10/10 dramas...
Started watching this because of Namgoong MIn, and I REALLY looked forward to this so much. It's a law drama, it has comedy, and Namgoong Min is in it. What could go wrong, right? Haha... Yeah of course it just had to go wrong. I mean, overall it's pretty good, BUT.... it might have to do with the fact that they cut off TWO episodes and made this a 12 episode drama instead of 14 episodes... It just felt wrong tbh... They literally showed the supposed big bad of the story in episode 11, had a one year time skip (of course, it was needed to the story ig..) but idk it just felt SO rushed... Tbh even at first I was so confused when ppl said it had 14 episodes, it felt a little short, but okay fine.... But then they cut it to 12.... It really feels like a lot is missing to the story...Additional complaint, I feel like they really wasted Seo Minhyuk's character. In the animated intro, they showed Cheon Jihun and Seo Minhyuk against each other in the court and I REALLY looked forward to it. Seeing the dynamics of Cheon Jihun and Seo Minhyuk's character, finding that they're actually best friends instead of rivals, it was really underwhelming. I loved Jihun and Minhyuk's friendship and thankful for their little scenes together, but it just felt like something's missing and kinda disappointing.... Idk maybe that's just me...
But overall, it's pretty fun to watch, I had a good laugh and some pretty good tears too. I really wanted this to be added to one of my 10/10 dramas but things happen and it didn't sadly, but it was a nice watch!!
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama that has a little of everything from found families, slight romance, court proceedings, murder mystery, and comedy. The beginning starts out light and towards the middle gets dark with the plot, but I would recommend this to anyone that likes procedural dramas or anything to do with being a lawyer. The main plots are murder mystery and a lot of flashbacks, so definitely keep that in mind when beginning to watch. The cast were perfectly chosen and I loved the chemistry between the three leads a ton. -- Spoilers Below --
Chun Ji Hoon is a charismatic lawyer who provides his services for only 1$ to anyone for anything. The drama delves deep into his past and what took place before the timeline of the show. His past heavily involves a woman named Lee Joo Young. She was a light in his life that helped him open up as he fell in love. She was also a lawyer who began the practice and the 1$ amount. Joo Young wanted to provide her services to anyone regardless of how much she would get paid and that stuck with Ji Hoon. This all comes to a crashing halt when Ji Hoon finds Joo Young stabbed on the train and she ends up dying. He is devastated by this and begins his own practice in the same office hers was in to continue her dream. This backstory explains his eccentric personality and also tells that he wears his sunglasses to hide the pain in his eyes. During the drama, he once again opens up to Ma Ri, his new student attorney. I loved watching their relationship build and how much they genuinely cared for each other. Towards the end as the drama comes to a close, Ji Hoon realizes that he harbors a deep anger and hatred within himself and needed to get away and realize why he actually became a lawyer and started his practice the way he did. This is the one part in the show that I did have a problem with... He leaves without saying a word, going to France for a year. He leaves Ma Ri and Mu Jang with short letters giving no good explanation. When he comes back they are obviously angry, but ready to help him with anything and everything as always.
Ma Ri was my favorite character in the drama. Her confident and sassy attitude made her character stand out amongst the cast of men, and I loved watching every scene that she was in. Her actress does such a great job of captivating you. She begins working as a lawyer at her grandfather's firm, but has her interest peaked and joins Ji Hoon's practice. There she is struck by his personality and confused by the overall purpose of the 1$ practice, but learns and absorbs everything she can. She finds Joo Young's picture in the office, hidden behind files, and puts everything together. Her and Mu Jang want to help Ji Hoon find her killer and get her justice. They always have his back and would do anything to help him be happy. After everything comes to a close and Ji Hoon leaves, Ma Ri is heartbroken. She hides this herself with the glasses he gave her before he disappeared, and begins working and becoming a great lawyer at her grandfather's firm. The scene with her and Na Ye Jin at the bar and her reading his actual letter to her had me in tears and I wish that we could've gotten a more meaningful moment between just the two of them after. (I really kinda shipped them even though he is older and they were going through the whole Joo young thing, oops)
-- End of Spoilers --
Aside from him leaving unexpectedly, I loved this drama even though it was short. It fit in a lot of amazing characters and just enough to get you to love each of them. One thing I loved especially was that a lot of the side characters were also my favorites or I just wanted to see more of.. i.e. Na Ye Jin. I marked it an 8.5 for those reasons and just that I don't think it would be that rewatchable after knowing the huge mystery.
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Worth watching once.
[ ] Story / plot:Fairly simple plot but well executed. 12 episodes were perfect and is a good blend of everything. The pacing is steady and there is progress with every episode. There is some back story, but that too was executed well. No cheesy romance but great comedy that never went overboard. The episodes end at cliffhangers, so it keeps you wanting to watch the next episode, which is a good thing for a completed drama. Also I think it's developed from a manhwa, so might wanna check that out as well.
[ ] Character development:
Pretty decent I'd say. The story revolves around the main lead, so only his story got the most attention. The others were all support, but the characters never felt underdeveloped.
[ ] Soundtracks:
Didn't find anything to my taste.
[ ] Acting:
Above average overall. The main lead trio do a very good job. The rest, are manageable.
[ ] Likes: The plot / story and the comedy which is on point most of the time.
[ ] Dislikes: Endinf might have been a bit rushed and the villain didn't leave much of an impact. Lack of good soundtracks.
[ ] Rating: 7/10, worth a one time watch.
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Just chill and enjoy the show as it takes you on a new roller coaster of emotions suspense & comedy
The show started of with a lot of potential but it felt as though some of it was wasted. The acting of the ml was truly amazing, he was the reason I picked the show up to begin with and he really did his job well. The cast really made the story come alive and enjoyable. I do wish however, that something happened between the ml and fl as there was slight tension between them and they really had the potential to become a great couple. :/Overall the show was very enjoyable to binge and would really recommend anyone to watch it. If you are, sit back , get some snacks and enjoy cuz the show will put you through a roller coaster. ;)
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Full of potential but unfortunate execution
This title I honestly had high expectations for, as I do for any production that Namkoong min is a part of , as he is a wonderful actor, picking scripts with emotional flair and fun scenes and is someone I would say this role is perfect for.The show started off with great promise. But honestly, it required a 16 episode run time. After a while, we stop seeing any episodes of actually legal drama, which is what the show is about, and the product placement is somehow the worst I’ve seen thus far.
Not to mention, the entire past flashback sequence was incredibly out of place and contrived. Post flashback story was rushed, and I didn’t think they’d wrap up the story until half way through the twelfth episode, which is the last. It was handled poorly as well.
Now as for things I liked, namkoong min, obviously. His performance as always was stellar. Baek Ma-ri was a fun character, as was her mother. I really liked prosecutor Na Yejin, and I thought Seo Minhyeok was a good character as well who deserved if not more screen time, then at least more character development.
I also was unreasonably in love with the opening intro song and the accompanying animation. This would have been great as a long running short animation tv show.
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Corny and super over the top
Lets start with just how ridiculous is this. So many good law dramas like why her and attorney woo that also had some comedy in it and worked good since the cast is young and cheerful. However since most of the cast especially ml is mature it came off as cringy and I was like what 40+ yr old behaves that way. I don't know what's up with the FLs in all his dramas if his female costars where a type filler with edgy moments and much younger than him. And here is a bit of an unpopular opinion he just really can't act, the way he smug smiles is just off putting. Let's talk about the legal aspect of it, honestly nothing that we haven't seen before and even in a better way. Overall it's a 5 in rating, but since I got particularly annoyed with the leads I give it a 1Was this review helpful to you?
Such a waste of time!!!
I started to watch this drama because of Namkoong Min. His previous dramas were very good. But during watching this drama the only thought I had is why they made this drama. The acting of the cast was okay. Music also somehow fine. At least there was a good story in first six episodes. There was a nice story in later six episodes also but screenwriter and director were unable to express that properly. Everything was very instant in last episode. they squeezed lots of scenes for the last episode. There was too much unnecessary comedy in this drama. There is no rewatch value of this drama. Overall this drama is a waste of timeWas this review helpful to you?
So far, so good...
The dynamics and mind thrilling event playing out have been awesome, the episode 5 got me waiting seriously for 6.I the comedy part is another one, strange display that will get you wondering and laughing. Let's see how it plays out.
I still don't know why he charges one thousand won for a case, we will see. The murder case in episode 5, the guy seem very untrustworthy, yet I wonder why he accepted to represent him in court.
Who would be the antagonist? Let's see...
Still looking forward to how the romance will evolve in the drama.
Overall, the drama start well, and it is going well, you definitely have to watch it.
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So far, So good ?
Although i feel like i had watched a similar drama somewhere else (If anyone knows, comments/reply plz), but still watching this is refreshing. As usual NGM is all fun & full. ?& the FL too is too good ❤️
i wish that the dirty third wheel guy gets disappeared very very soon ??
I wonder how they gonna lead us till finale
& also curious of ML's & Chairman's past ?
i wonder will the showrunners will be polite enough to bring some romantic elements to the etory between ML & FL to make it m9re engaging ❤️
good & fun till now ?
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