1
APT, Apateu... Uh, uh-huh, uh-huh
Well no, Rosé from Blackpink did not make a cameo in the drama, but I think the title of her song with Bruno Mars is quite fitting here, since the story takes place in a huge apartment complex with nearly 9,850 households (yes, that's a lot of people). And the premise is rather original, since dramas set in these large residential complexes, popular with the middle and upper classes, are relatively rare. Because while in Europe our goal is to avoid ending up in these giant "rabbit hutches", in South Korea it is quite the opposite. Indeed, most residents are homeowners, with only around 10% being tenants, along with a similar proportion of social housing integrated into the complex. In addition to the main story, I thought we were going to explore the everyday problems faced by this population. This world is vast, but it represents a microcosm in which several themes unfortunately weren't explored in enough depth. The Apartment Job is a mix of comedy-drama, crime and thriller. This balance works reasonably well, except at times when it starts to wobble.
Park Hae-Kang**(Ji Sung)** is a former gang boss who has gone into managing an illegal gambling den and debt collection. But one day he gets caught up in a scheme and has to find 10 billion won to get his seriously ill spiritual father out of prison. Thanks to Hwang In-Sik, aka "The Lizard" (*Kim Won-Hae), a con man who owes him money, he learns that a huge reserve fund intended for repairs to a massive residential complex, amounting to around 18 billion won, could be recovered. Using In-Sik's apartment as their HQ, he hopes to first get elected as the representative of his district, and then as chairman of the residents' council. This is the perfect opportunity to empty the complex's bank accounts. To carry out his plan, in addition to his four accomplices, he calls on a broke legal assistant he had already crossed paths with, Kang Ha-Ri(Ha Yoon-Kyung). But Lee Chung-Won**(Park Byung-Eun)**, the CEO who built the complex, stands in their way, as he is also part of a gangsters' club. The local "concierge", Jang Suk-Jin(Moon So-Ri), who knows everything as the neighborhood gossip, could prove to be a valuable ally.
What I liked about the series is the concept of infiltrating this complex: the residential setting allows for a fairly original blend of comedy, social drama, thriller, crime and a sprinkling of action. Overall, it works quite well, even if it becomes a little shaky in the second half. We get a basic but also entertaining look at how a Korean apartment complex is organized and managed. So, contrary to what the French title suggests, there is no property manager in the usual sense, and the complex is represented by a chairman who represents all the residents and sets the budget to be administered. The little gang gives it their all and sometimes manages to make up for the script's shortcomings. The little boy is genuinely convincing and adorable. This "family" is the most likeable part of the series. There are also some funny twists, even if they are often predictable, good character dynamics, small action scenes, and memorable moments thanks to the inimitable Kim Won-Hae. Especially at the beginning, the atmosphere and pacing are quite good. The potential is definitely there, with concrete examples of recurring problems affecting neighborly relations.
Unfortunately, this enormous social potential is underused, quite simply because the drama doesn't have the budget to match its ambitions, nor the well-developed script to go with them. Everything is only skimmed over: homeowners versus tenants, social housing, construction defects, dilapidation, neighborhood disputes, real-estate interests, etc. The Apartment Job could have been an extremely original social comedy. But most of these elements remain in the background. We are shown the problem, and then the story quickly moves on to something else. It's a real shame. The complex is enormous (several thousand apartments), but visually it feels small: whenever there are protests or meetings, it feels like we're in a small neighborhood. This is a major problem because the complex is supposed to be at the heart of the drama. In short, it desperately lacks life; the streets are almost deserted, so the impact of this supposed anthill completely falls flat. The discussions always revolve around the same people, who represent the archetypes and stereotypes we see in K-dramas: everyone has their neatly defined role and sticks to it. The only character who actually evolves and brings some life to this stagnant environment is Jang Suk-Jin; that's not enough.
The writing is too simplistic: the story moves forward through little nudges and elements that always happen to arrive at exactly the right moment. Don't expect any major surprises; everything is predictable and formulaic once the thriller aspect takes over. The residents' reactions are also problematic and stupid: when Hae-Gang and his team are involved, everything is either completely black or completely white. It's like the "Sheep Club Association." It's funny at first, but by the end, it becomes tiresome. But the real false good idea (FBI) was introducing an overly caricatured main antagonist: Lee Chung-Won starts out as a potentially interesting character, a powerful construction chaebol with interests of his own. But as time goes on, he just seems like a spoiled child suffering from paranoia: "I'm evil because I'm evil." The further the series progresses, the more inconsistent his behavior becomes. Park Byung-Eun is a great actor, but they really make him look like a clown because he constantly overacts. In short, everything often lacks credibility because the story gets lost in pointless convoluted schemes. The direction keeps trying to tease us with a future relationship between Hae-Gang and Ha-Ri, but another romance eventually develops at the end.
Like an old gimmick, we get the usual PPL for Subway and pain-relief patches, followed by the inevitable "X years later" 15 minutes before the end. This could have suggested that we were going to get something more authentic and unconventional... And nope. This series leaves me with a strange and paradoxical feeling: the actors give a lot and know how to entertain us when necessary, and we grow fond of them; the atmosphere is good, the few secondary characters are likeable, and the basic idea is nice, because we are sold the concept of a thug who gradually gets caught up in the game and starts investing himself in the well-being of the residential complex. Some scenes are genuinely funny and others touching, but... the script doesn't always keep up, and inconsistencies and writing shortcuts rain down, especially after the halfway point. The drop in pace is obvious toward the end, with far too many scenes that feel completely disconnected from the story, as if they were only there to fill time. And that's usually not a good sign. In conclusion, I am left with an unfinished feeling, because with an idea like this, a quality cast, and a setting that could have been teeming with life and sincerity, we could have had a great drama instead of a very average one.
Park Hae-Kang**(Ji Sung)** is a former gang boss who has gone into managing an illegal gambling den and debt collection. But one day he gets caught up in a scheme and has to find 10 billion won to get his seriously ill spiritual father out of prison. Thanks to Hwang In-Sik, aka "The Lizard" (*Kim Won-Hae), a con man who owes him money, he learns that a huge reserve fund intended for repairs to a massive residential complex, amounting to around 18 billion won, could be recovered. Using In-Sik's apartment as their HQ, he hopes to first get elected as the representative of his district, and then as chairman of the residents' council. This is the perfect opportunity to empty the complex's bank accounts. To carry out his plan, in addition to his four accomplices, he calls on a broke legal assistant he had already crossed paths with, Kang Ha-Ri(Ha Yoon-Kyung). But Lee Chung-Won**(Park Byung-Eun)**, the CEO who built the complex, stands in their way, as he is also part of a gangsters' club. The local "concierge", Jang Suk-Jin(Moon So-Ri), who knows everything as the neighborhood gossip, could prove to be a valuable ally.
What I liked about the series is the concept of infiltrating this complex: the residential setting allows for a fairly original blend of comedy, social drama, thriller, crime and a sprinkling of action. Overall, it works quite well, even if it becomes a little shaky in the second half. We get a basic but also entertaining look at how a Korean apartment complex is organized and managed. So, contrary to what the French title suggests, there is no property manager in the usual sense, and the complex is represented by a chairman who represents all the residents and sets the budget to be administered. The little gang gives it their all and sometimes manages to make up for the script's shortcomings. The little boy is genuinely convincing and adorable. This "family" is the most likeable part of the series. There are also some funny twists, even if they are often predictable, good character dynamics, small action scenes, and memorable moments thanks to the inimitable Kim Won-Hae. Especially at the beginning, the atmosphere and pacing are quite good. The potential is definitely there, with concrete examples of recurring problems affecting neighborly relations.
Unfortunately, this enormous social potential is underused, quite simply because the drama doesn't have the budget to match its ambitions, nor the well-developed script to go with them. Everything is only skimmed over: homeowners versus tenants, social housing, construction defects, dilapidation, neighborhood disputes, real-estate interests, etc. The Apartment Job could have been an extremely original social comedy. But most of these elements remain in the background. We are shown the problem, and then the story quickly moves on to something else. It's a real shame. The complex is enormous (several thousand apartments), but visually it feels small: whenever there are protests or meetings, it feels like we're in a small neighborhood. This is a major problem because the complex is supposed to be at the heart of the drama. In short, it desperately lacks life; the streets are almost deserted, so the impact of this supposed anthill completely falls flat. The discussions always revolve around the same people, who represent the archetypes and stereotypes we see in K-dramas: everyone has their neatly defined role and sticks to it. The only character who actually evolves and brings some life to this stagnant environment is Jang Suk-Jin; that's not enough.
The writing is too simplistic: the story moves forward through little nudges and elements that always happen to arrive at exactly the right moment. Don't expect any major surprises; everything is predictable and formulaic once the thriller aspect takes over. The residents' reactions are also problematic and stupid: when Hae-Gang and his team are involved, everything is either completely black or completely white. It's like the "Sheep Club Association." It's funny at first, but by the end, it becomes tiresome. But the real false good idea (FBI) was introducing an overly caricatured main antagonist: Lee Chung-Won starts out as a potentially interesting character, a powerful construction chaebol with interests of his own. But as time goes on, he just seems like a spoiled child suffering from paranoia: "I'm evil because I'm evil." The further the series progresses, the more inconsistent his behavior becomes. Park Byung-Eun is a great actor, but they really make him look like a clown because he constantly overacts. In short, everything often lacks credibility because the story gets lost in pointless convoluted schemes. The direction keeps trying to tease us with a future relationship between Hae-Gang and Ha-Ri, but another romance eventually develops at the end.
Like an old gimmick, we get the usual PPL for Subway and pain-relief patches, followed by the inevitable "X years later" 15 minutes before the end. This could have suggested that we were going to get something more authentic and unconventional... And nope. This series leaves me with a strange and paradoxical feeling: the actors give a lot and know how to entertain us when necessary, and we grow fond of them; the atmosphere is good, the few secondary characters are likeable, and the basic idea is nice, because we are sold the concept of a thug who gradually gets caught up in the game and starts investing himself in the well-being of the residential complex. Some scenes are genuinely funny and others touching, but... the script doesn't always keep up, and inconsistencies and writing shortcuts rain down, especially after the halfway point. The drop in pace is obvious toward the end, with far too many scenes that feel completely disconnected from the story, as if they were only there to fill time. And that's usually not a good sign. In conclusion, I am left with an unfinished feeling, because with an idea like this, a quality cast, and a setting that could have been teeming with life and sincerity, we could have had a great drama instead of a very average one.
Was this review helpful to you?
