1
Herman
USA
Story (9.0/10):
From a story perspective, this drama is a solid win in my book. I always love the secret identity trope and this is a perfect example. Mixing it with Noona romance is just a bonus. Of course you get one of my least favorite tropes: a second male lead with a sad backstory who is technically a much better choice of partner and inexplicably can't seem to get a girl so has to get his heart broken by the FL. I get that a lot of dramas would have little to no drama in them without these second leads, but I seriously get very tired of it. There were also some minor issues through the drama where you wonder at the choices the characters make that introduce needless drama, but overall this story is just so much fun, you can pretty much ignore everything else.
Acting/Cast (7.0/10):
Here's where I'm slightly conflicted. There are some great roles in this movie and the whole cast is undeniably talented. Seo In Guk's acting as the two brothers is especially great and so much fun to watch.
BUT I couldn't like Lee Ha Na's character portrayal of Jung Soo Young (yeah, the FL) and it seriously stunted my speed of watching this drama. In fact, before finally completing it I started and dropped it numerous times.
Now, I don't have anything against Lee Ha Na. I've enjoyed her acting in more recent and serious dramas like Voice where there isn't anything to complain about, and such older and more similar characters like in Merry Mary. So perhaps it was her directions for the character? A great number of the mannerisms and characteristics Lee Ha Na used to portray this character were just so bothersome. Often times, it felt really fake. Not fake as in bad acting from Lee Ha Na, but I felt like the character was being fake. That laugh especially got me every time. So bothersome.
Did anyone else feel this way? I don't mind watching dorky characters who could use a makeover, but something about this one didn't work for me.
The character and the actress are both great, but together it didn't mix.
To wrap up this section, I have to say that I really enjoyed the Grandpa character! He was so much fun and honestly looked like he had so much fun playing that part.
Music (6.5/10):
Plenty of fun tracks to go along with all the hijinks, but nothing I'd choose to play by itself.
Rewatch Value (6.0/10.0):
The benefit to starting and dropping a drama multiple times, is that you know at least the first part is completely rewatchable! :) There are parts of this drama I'll probably come back to now and then and others I'll never watch ever again thank you very much. It took me long enough (think years) to get through this drama the first time.
Overall (7.0/10):
I had a lot fun watching this drama, but it took many false starts and recap reading to finally finish it. I can see why it would be highly rated, but I can't in all honesty give it a higher score than this. That said, I don't regret finally pushing through to the end!
From a story perspective, this drama is a solid win in my book. I always love the secret identity trope and this is a perfect example. Mixing it with Noona romance is just a bonus. Of course you get one of my least favorite tropes: a second male lead with a sad backstory who is technically a much better choice of partner and inexplicably can't seem to get a girl so has to get his heart broken by the FL. I get that a lot of dramas would have little to no drama in them without these second leads, but I seriously get very tired of it. There were also some minor issues through the drama where you wonder at the choices the characters make that introduce needless drama, but overall this story is just so much fun, you can pretty much ignore everything else.
Acting/Cast (7.0/10):
Here's where I'm slightly conflicted. There are some great roles in this movie and the whole cast is undeniably talented. Seo In Guk's acting as the two brothers is especially great and so much fun to watch.
BUT I couldn't like Lee Ha Na's character portrayal of Jung Soo Young (yeah, the FL) and it seriously stunted my speed of watching this drama. In fact, before finally completing it I started and dropped it numerous times.
Now, I don't have anything against Lee Ha Na. I've enjoyed her acting in more recent and serious dramas like Voice where there isn't anything to complain about, and such older and more similar characters like in Merry Mary. So perhaps it was her directions for the character? A great number of the mannerisms and characteristics Lee Ha Na used to portray this character were just so bothersome. Often times, it felt really fake. Not fake as in bad acting from Lee Ha Na, but I felt like the character was being fake. That laugh especially got me every time. So bothersome.
Did anyone else feel this way? I don't mind watching dorky characters who could use a makeover, but something about this one didn't work for me.
The character and the actress are both great, but together it didn't mix.
To wrap up this section, I have to say that I really enjoyed the Grandpa character! He was so much fun and honestly looked like he had so much fun playing that part.
Music (6.5/10):
Plenty of fun tracks to go along with all the hijinks, but nothing I'd choose to play by itself.
Rewatch Value (6.0/10.0):
The benefit to starting and dropping a drama multiple times, is that you know at least the first part is completely rewatchable! :) There are parts of this drama I'll probably come back to now and then and others I'll never watch ever again thank you very much. It took me long enough (think years) to get through this drama the first time.
Overall (7.0/10):
I had a lot fun watching this drama, but it took many false starts and recap reading to finally finish it. I can see why it would be highly rated, but I can't in all honesty give it a higher score than this. That said, I don't regret finally pushing through to the end!
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