Smile Code (2024)

Smile Code really stands out as a fresh and entertaining drama. I found Lin Yi’s portrayal of Liang Daiwen impressive; he gives life to a character who struggles to express his feelings due to alexithymia, and it’s fascinating to see him convey emotion in such subtle ways. Shen Yue, as Gu Yi, adds a perfect balance of humor and warmth. Her comedic timing feels natural, and her character’s wit lights up every scene, making her incredibly relatable and charming.

Their chemistry feels genuine and keeps the story engaging. The drama also brings out a unique vibe by setting it in Shanghai, capturing the energy and challenges of city life that so many young people face today. I love how Smile Code explores real-life themes like resilience, self-discovery, and the ups and downs of urban youth. It makes you feel that there’s always hope, even amidst life’s struggles.

Visually, the show is captivating, with each scene carefully crafted to reflect the mood, from vibrant cityscapes to more intimate settings that allow the characters’ emotions to shine.

Watch this, you won't regret it

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Smile Code is a Hidden Gem and Shouldn't Be Missed

This is a smart drama that takes you on an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end, episode to episode. Just when you think the plot is heading in a certain direction, it takes an unexpected turn leaving you stunned, heartbroken or laughing out loud. How they managed to coordinate this is a masterstroke in storytelling. I can't tell you how many times I loudly proclaimed "This show is SO good!" at the end of an episode. I found myself impatiently waiting for the next episode, something that rarely happens to me these days. Thank goodness episodes were released daily, a weekly release would have driven me crazy.

AN HONEST PORTRAYAL OF LOVE
What I love about this drama is its portrayal of love, it is honest, smart, and at times brutal. This is not your Disney/Hallmark Channel whirlwind romance, it is slow moving and believable. Gu Yi's (GY) journey is an honest portrayal of the ups and downs of love and it's role in a relationship. She learns that love isn't always about romance and heart fluttering moments; that to truly love someone is to trust, have open communication, understanding, patience, tolerance, and the willingness to go through the good and hard parts of a relationship. GY's journey is slow (like the romance) but it does move forward with each episode; her growth is mostly portrayed with care and subtlety in the second half of this drama.

Neither Liang DaiWen (LDW) or GY are "toxic" in this relationship, they are two people who are flawed but learn and grow as their relationship progresses. They truly love each other but each needed to learn how to be an equal and loving partner to the other. Their relationship isn't instantaneous, it builds slowly through mistakes, self introspection, mutual understanding and respect, by the time they came together, it feels earned and not a gift.

The second male lead, Xu GuanRui is present but not a real threat in your classic love triangle. He falls for her but never oversteps; he is there to offer support and relief when either GY's job and LDW (and sometimes both) have beaten her down and in despair. He is aware that GY is in love with LDW; only openly pursuing her after LDW leaves GY. He backs off after LDW returns remaining in the background to offer support when needed. Although I liked him, I never wanted GY to choose him over LDW.

ALEXITHYMIA
This drama touched on themes that don't usually get addressed in mainstream dramas. LDW's alexithymia is a psychological disorder that was treated with respect and explained beautifully in Smile Code. Watching LDW struggling with his disorder as GY enters his life was as fascinating as GY learning how to understand and accept the limitations caused by his alexithymia.

Woven into LDW's story is his desire and pursuit for accessibility focused changes for persons with disabilities, a subject that is not usually mentioned or addressed in mainstream rom-com dramas and I appreciated it.

FRIENDSHIP
Another thing that is portrayed beautifully is the friendship between GY and Yu DuLe's (YDL). These two have a tacit understanding of each other and are true "ride or die" friends. They show each other unwavering support, honesty, loyalty, and platonic love. YDL never judges GY, offers unwavering support with a mix of sarcasm and kindness that is truly endearing and enviable. I love that Smile Code gave us a true male - female friendship, ending the trope that males can never be friends with a female. GY and YDL's discussions are funny, witty, loving and filled with unspoken understanding. We would all be so lucky to have a male friend like YDL!

INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCES
This emotional roller coaster of this wonderful drama would not have been effective if it were not for the incredible performances from Lin Yi (LDW) and Shen Yue (GY). Their chemistry is undeniable, sweet and often, electric. They portrayed their characters with such honesty, understanding and warmth that they truly became their characters.

Lin Yi's portrayal of LDW is so nuanced and subtle that it is a thing of beauty, an amazing representation of his acting skills. Stoic, emotionally conflicted, confusion and pain were all displayed with such deftness that it is truly hard to believe he is not like this in real life, that's how good he is.

However, it is Shen Yue's performance as Gu Yi that shines the brightest, her GY is nothing short of brilliant. Her journey from being a typical love stricken female lead to a self-respecting, self-loving partner is a transformation that draws you in so convincingly that you can't help but share in her pain and disappointments, and cheer for her in her triumphs. Shen Yue's transformation from her role as XiaoXi in "A Love So Beautiful" to GYi in Smile Code is nothing short of breathtaking. As GY, every moment of happiness, disappointment, anger, heartbreak, and love is displayed with such authenticity and subtlety that you can't help but be drawn in to what she is experiencing. Her eyes were the windows to her soul; the tears that fell displayed such pain and heartbreak that moved me to tears every time. It is her performance that gives weight to everything going on around her, the emotional center pillar of the story.

CINEMATOGRAPHY AND MUSIC
The first thing that grabbed me from the opening scenes in Episode 1 was the cinematography, the angle and movement of the camera, the images in the foreground and background and changes in focus. The drone overhead shots are beautiful and dynamic showing the breath of urban life. Each frame composition is beautiful and well thought with a very artistic eye. Many find the lighting of this drama to be dark and fuzzy, which it can be at times. However, I think this is done purposefully to represent whose eyes we are viewing this world; LDW's world is traumatic and dark, sometimes disjointed and fuzzy, this represents how he sees his world. GY's view is bright, warm, colorful, chaotic and more in focus.

I must say that Shen Yue is shot and framed beautifully in Smile Code, probably the most gorgeous I've seen in any of her dramas. What occurred to me is that the same directorial lens is applied to GY so that we see what the person who is looking at her is seeing. LDW initially sees her as a vivid bright spot of color in his dark world; then transitioning to soft and glowing as he develops feelings for her. The same treatment is done with XGR, she is soft, bright, and glowing as he watches her get her bike, takes off her shoes, and rides away. This is how he sees her and Randy Che, the director, captures this beautifully and shows us how stunningly beautiful and radiant Shen Yue is as GY.

The soundtrack is top notch. The opening theme song is an earworm of a pop song that will have you bouncing and singing along by the third episode. The rest of the music in the soundtrack is masterfully inserted and weaved into scenes creating the necessary mood; fear, love, heartbreak, and lightheartedness. The sound effects for the comedic and laugh out loud moments are truly funny and inspired.

LAST THOUGHTS
This modern urban drama manages to capture a full range of emotions while interspersing many story lines; there's the roller coaster courtship/romance, understanding and tolerance of mental health, work life, urban living, slice of life, friendships, and complex family relationships. The dialog is witty, honest, and interesting; and every character is multi-dimensional. For instance I came to love GY's boss who at first appeared cold and uncaring to her staff and GY. There is truly something for everyone.

A big shout-out to Dai MeiXia, GY's mother, whom I adored. Her love, support and wise words to GY were inspiring, beautiful, and life-changing. She gave GY the wisdom. strength and guidance about self-love and self-respect so that GY could grow and finally enter into a mature loving relationship. MeiXia's relationship with LDW is warm, motherly and supportive. Her understanding of him should not be overlooked and shows the depth of character of this wonderful woman.

This series has left me with a lot to think about and appreciate; what it means to love deeply with mutual understanding and respect, to have the patience to wait through the rough patches in life and love, and to love and respect one's self before loving others. Smile Code is truly a gem of a drama that mixes laughter, heartache, romance, friendship, tolerance, forgiveness and acceptance with respect while maintaining a lighthearted touch. This series is worth watching and rewatching!

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Terrible everything the script the production

I don't know how anyone can like this film!! The lighting in this film is atrocious. It is super dark and yellow. You could tell it's a low budget film. The script is atrocious as well. The girl is not even funny. She's supposed to be a comedian. No one will believe such a thing!!! I cannot believe any girl will like the guy even if he is good looking. He also has little to say and is not interesting to say the least!! I've been watching 10 episodes and I cannot bear watching anymore. The whole thing I've scrapped after wasting 10 hours of my life!! One of the most atrocious film I've seen in a long time. It's really sad because the actor and actress are very good in many other films ( loved the male lead in memory of encaustic tile- watch that instead what a great story) . Too bad they have a bad script!! There's absolutely nothing good about this film. Even the costume is terrible. She is dressed so dumpy looking. Ughs

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boring drama, wasteful talent

bad production. bad lighting. bad script

i have given chance 4 eps (40 minutes x 4). i think it is more than enough to tell. I wont spend too much time on boring drama / cant give me interest while watching

wasteful talent. Lin Yi and Shen Yue are good actor, actress, with this script, it is really wasteful

alexithymia—also known as “emotional blindness” ?? this kind of disease / psychology disorder only happen in cdrama, not in real world

this main plot already repeated so many times in cdrama. poor creativity

OST are good though, easy listening

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Decent actors in a bad plot line drama. Production quality is also bad.

Smile Code is a Rom-com starting Shen Yue and Lin Yi, my favorite actors. However, I could not see myself continuing with this drama for the following reasons:

1. The production quality is so bad that it is difficult for the eyes.
2. The plot is so stupid, and seeing two good actors in this drama is sad.
3. After two episodes, I am dropping this drama. Their onscreen chemistry is so bad that it is unbearable to watch.
3. I give it a 3.0 rating.

Synopsis: It tells the story of a down-and-out part-time talk show actress and an aloof male audience member suffering from alexithymia—also known as "emotional blindness"—who get close to each other and heal each other. A love story of a woman who is funny to the end and a man who can't laugh, and a love contest begins. However, the romance is connected to the emotions between men and women and the struggling urban youths living in Shanghai. On and off the stage in the play, the spicy yet observational complaints hit the pain points of life, and the humorous ridicule is light. Still, it is also full of optimism and open-mindedness.

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This drama is seriously underated

I am only 7 episodes in, but unless the ending in abysmal I don't understand why it's standing at a 7.8 overall at the time of this review

My face hurts from smiling so much it's adorable to the max!!!

I rarely finish C dramas because either right of the bat I realize it's dubbed and I can't watch anything with dubbed audio (I started watching the untamed and it wasn't until episode 15 that I realized that I had no idea what was going on, If the audio doesn't match the lip movement my brain checks out).Or I get really into them, but somewhere near the ending it gets draggy and repetitive and I completely lose interest.

coming back after 22 episodes watched I get why it's low rated, it's dragging a lot, and the stand up is soooo bad, I wish they had given her literally any other job that had to do with making people happy anything even birthday clown would've been better than these non-jokes. But aside from that I still plan to finish and still believe that the rating should be higher.

My expectations with this series started way too high, Knowing that I love the main actress so much I thought this was one of the few I would see through, but on episode 26 I no longer care about what is happening, I've skipped through so much and still have 9 episodes to go ughh I'm so disappointed, I am not going to drop though I'll put in on hold and may or may not come back some day to finish.

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Horrible writing, terribly boring

Normally c dramas have great beginnings and go downhill from the midpoint on. This show doesn't waste time even trying to be good. Episode 1 was one of the worst first episodes I've seen in awhile. Episode 2 was awful as well. Couldn't get through either episode without fast forwarding through every song that's played or the horribly boring dialog between most of the characters. It took a lot to finish the entire second episode.

The female lead was fine acting wise, while every other character provided bad to sub par acting. The male lead acts identical in every role, always a non charismatic emotionless role. Talk about always having 1 note performances.

You can tell nothing but fanboys of the lead actor and actress rating this show nothing but perfect tens. This show is far far away from being perfect.

Cons
Editing is horrible.
Introduction of each character especially the second leads was poorly done.
Dialog is awful.
Characters are all uninteresting, specially the female lead comedian who isn't funny.

Pros
Both the main and second female leads are attractive

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Best Drama 2024

Kita mulai penilaian dari segi pengambilan gambar, ya ampun sutradaranya sangat handal, semuanya diambil secara apik, aesthetic, enak dipandang, dari sisi manapun indah banget apalagi pas adegan pengambilan pemandangannya good jood pokoknya. Dari segi akting gatau lagi mau ngomong apa soalnya ShenYue x LinYi udah best partner utk adu skill akting sih jadi 100 buat mreka, apalagi chemistry, harusnya dapet award best CP sih huhu smoga tahun depan dapet mereka. Pokoknya kalian harus nonton soalnya alurnya sat set ga ngebosenin, gak monoton, dari segi visuali ga kalah sama drama budget kelas atas, buruan!!!

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