Star's Lover (2008)

This is my first review and I would never have thought of even writing one but I just saw that nobody has ever reviewed this wonderful drama.

The Story is one of my favorite types - ordinary person gets together with a celebrity. I know if you change "celebrity" to "a person of higher status (richer/more famous, etc)" then that would probably describe 80% of romance dramas! But I especially like it if one of the people is a celebrity. So anyway what I'm trying to say is the story is not really new and in fact sometimes predictable and somewhat stretched or draggy in some parts. So if you are familiar with this type of story then you would probably get what you expected with no real surprises. Which is a good thing for me because like I said this is exactly my type. Another thing I liked about the story is they did not end it when both leads said "I love you" then faded out. There was a tinny bit of "ever after" at the end.

What made this drama special was the Acting and Chemistry of the main leads.I've seen 4 or 5 of Yoo Ji Tae's movies, but I have never seen Choi Ji Woo in any other drama yet except for when she guested on Running Man. But wow! I can understand why she's considered one of the best actresses in Korea! Right from the start the chemistry between the two was so natural you would think they were a pair in real life. The way CJW portrayed her character with "childish" personality was great. Even the standard supporting characters did good as you really get mad or sympathize at the people they want you to get mad at or sympathize with.

Music is okay but no song or theme really stood out for me.

Rewatch value, well I already watched this 2 times in the past month and will be watching again for sure in the future.

Overall I would recommend this drama mostly because of the chemistry between the leads. And if you just want to get what you expected from a romantic drama.

Read More

Good concept but bad characters.

I like the story being told, but the characters were very annoying. The only one that I actually rooted for was the female lead. I can understand why she ended up with the attitude that she has because of her childhood. The need for attention and affection even if those were not really genuine. After all these years of seeing this type of male lead in moves, dramas, novels, etc (the rude and domineering / borderline-verbal-abuse type guy), I still don't understand how women can think that these types of men are "so hot" and "cute". Maybe this is how so many women end up in abusive relationships. Who knows... I'm not an expert.

Male lead is a insert-expletive-here. The only person that he seems to be able to have a spine with is the Female lead. Right off the bat, he insults her... talks down to her like she's an idiot. On the other hand, he gets thrown on the ground by her manager and just lays there. He gets punched in the face by her "boyfriend" and he just takes if. Gets yelled at, bribed, and threatened by her Agent... he just looks down at his toes and just takes the abuse. There's a scene near the beginning where her Agent is screaming abuses at her right in front of him... and he just stands there like a wuss staring at his toes... again. Women actually like and are attracted to this type of men? Really? Even if he doesn't have the spine to stand up for her or protect her, you would think that he'd at least be able to stand up for himself. This is what men who abuse women are like. They're too afraid to have a spine outside of the house, so they come home and abuse the ones that won't stand up to them.

Female lead is actually the best character. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to go for it. She's impulsive, but she also has a spine and will stand up for herself as well as for others. The only flaw of hers that I see is that she's like a magnet for abusive and creepy men. I guess nice guys as male leads don't sell tickets... or maybe women just aren't attracted to them. Bad boys must be a thing, eh? "Ohhh, slap me some more! A few more insults, please?"

The Male lead's "best" friend. As the saying goes, "with friends like these, who needs enemies?". Seriously, I wouldn't keep a person like that anywhere close to me. You're supposed to be able to trust your best friend with your deepest, darkest secrets. I wouldn't trust this guy to wash my socks.

The ML's ex-girlfriend... after the horrible things he said to her while dumping her the first time, I'm still not sure why she was willing to come back for seconds. People don't really change. If a relationship doesn't work out the first time, most likely, it won't work the second time either. Rare that it does and it does happen, but the majority of the time is just a repeat of the first time.

The Agent/boss... I guess, if you want money and fame that much, you might put up with that kind of abuse at work. I hear that this happens often in South Korea's entertainment industry, so maybe it's actually on-point.

Humorous characters like the aunties are ok, but, honestly, how does any person get to that age and still act like 12 year-olds?

Read More