The tagline "Love coolly, live straight." is a wonderful message for hot-head naive romantics out there binging on tons of melodrama and epic back hugs.
This drama dares to challenge Korean society and drama lovers in several ways.
For one, the leading man is broke ass, immature, totally unsuave and emasculated to the max. The second is that it, not necessarily deals with, but definitely touches upon important issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights and gender roles.
Yet it somehow manages to remain a lighthearted romantic comedy. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is debatable. Though Kim Sun-ah is incredible in her role as hard-working no-nonsense director of a successful business, her romance with Lee Jang Woo (who managed to transform into a man-puppy for this drama) lacks the K-drama 'rule of thumb' spark. However, this could be a good thing as the rate at which she warms to him is believable and incredibly touching. Personally, the first part of the drama, I preferred watching her interactions with Park Gun Hyung who can be effortlessly charming even during the few scenes where his character lets slip sexist archaic opinions. But the second part of the drama makes you adore Lee Jang-woo.
The rivalry between between the two women of the show is handled maturely, as is the rivalry between the men. The friendships and working relationships are genuine. There is none of that exaggerated bitchy stereotypes and unnecessary, off-putting and incredibly offensive alpha male behaviour we're so used to in less sophisticated dramas.
The few problems I had with the show are as follows;
The leading lady's father genuinely petrified me! He seemed aggressive and his verbal abuse of her mother seemed less comedic and more sinister than I would have liked for a light story. The main song used throughout grated at my ears, a horrendously cheesy predictable sound. The use of flashbacks was also sloppy which is a pity because the script is fun yet clever, realistically and brilliantly written. The direction just isn't as creative as the writing, in my opinion.
Kim Sun-Ah is the star of this drama and her performance alone is enough to urge you to watch it. Lee Jang-woo might need a little warming to, but over all - Do I like this drama?
I do, I kinda do.
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