1
INSANELY CHARMING, PAINFULLY CONTRIVED
(Review in progress, I'll be done watching this series in days)
In some ways this series is trash. In other ways it's transcendent. I've never experienced a story so conflicted this way. So let me tell you right now it's a recommend -- but with the warning that it's more charming than logical.
I normally would have abandoned a series this contrived. All sorts of things happen because of 'fate', which is a poor screenwriting trick to justify bad writing. And it's such a shame because the characters are so endearing.
The core question of this series is: what would you do if you discovered you had a doppleganger? Someone who looked exactly like you, but behaved differently. In Western stories this would be an actual twin brother somehow separated at birth, but I love how the Eastern story simple accepts the doppleganger as real and proceeds forward.
The problem is that from this point forward the writer/director filmed his rough draft. He needed input from another writer to make this thing work -- and there's SO MUCH WRONG here.
1. Characters ping-ping between cities in contrived confusing ways. Towards the end of the series I honestly lost track of which city we were in half the time. The entire series should have been set in Beijing.
2. We have four main characters: Memory Issues Li Qin, Ballerina, Photographer Boy, and his clone Qipao Boy. The story struggles with having these characters all cross paths by coincidence again and again and again. There was no need for this. The first time the boys crossed paths was fine, but after that --
3. -- these four characters should have become fast friends. And over a month before major plot twists happened. A month would have made the looming tragedy 12 times more tragic.
If you've made it this far, you think the show is trash. Except it isn't. Again, I had to get this out of the way. Here's the cool parts --
1. The male lead isn't your run of the mill Idol Drama Pretty Boy. Instead he plays two different roles really well. I want to see more of this guy, but have a feeling he'll be relegated to more supporting roles than leads because as good looking as he is -- he's not an Idol gorgeous type. But for me that's a good thing.
2. The ballerinas are fantastic because... they're actual ballerinas! Instead of tiny emaciated actresses you'd beg to eat a bow of dumplings, they're simply fit young ladies that exude beauty. The lead ballerina is TERRIFIC and I'll watch anything with her in it going forward. Her snarky friend literally has almost no credits but is so natural she steals half the show.
3. What brought me here is Li Qin and her constant ability to pick great stories. Her role is so delightfully different for her and yet she's pulling of her subtle acting thing yet again. She can smile with a slight tear in her eye and kill me everything.
Oddly enough the older generation this show is just okay. Some of the best actresses have bit parts but the ones we see a lot didn't seem to be... the best choices? They weren't bad, mind you.
In some ways this series is trash. In other ways it's transcendent. I've never experienced a story so conflicted this way. So let me tell you right now it's a recommend -- but with the warning that it's more charming than logical.
I normally would have abandoned a series this contrived. All sorts of things happen because of 'fate', which is a poor screenwriting trick to justify bad writing. And it's such a shame because the characters are so endearing.
The core question of this series is: what would you do if you discovered you had a doppleganger? Someone who looked exactly like you, but behaved differently. In Western stories this would be an actual twin brother somehow separated at birth, but I love how the Eastern story simple accepts the doppleganger as real and proceeds forward.
The problem is that from this point forward the writer/director filmed his rough draft. He needed input from another writer to make this thing work -- and there's SO MUCH WRONG here.
1. Characters ping-ping between cities in contrived confusing ways. Towards the end of the series I honestly lost track of which city we were in half the time. The entire series should have been set in Beijing.
2. We have four main characters: Memory Issues Li Qin, Ballerina, Photographer Boy, and his clone Qipao Boy. The story struggles with having these characters all cross paths by coincidence again and again and again. There was no need for this. The first time the boys crossed paths was fine, but after that --
3. -- these four characters should have become fast friends. And over a month before major plot twists happened. A month would have made the looming tragedy 12 times more tragic.
If you've made it this far, you think the show is trash. Except it isn't. Again, I had to get this out of the way. Here's the cool parts --
1. The male lead isn't your run of the mill Idol Drama Pretty Boy. Instead he plays two different roles really well. I want to see more of this guy, but have a feeling he'll be relegated to more supporting roles than leads because as good looking as he is -- he's not an Idol gorgeous type. But for me that's a good thing.
2. The ballerinas are fantastic because... they're actual ballerinas! Instead of tiny emaciated actresses you'd beg to eat a bow of dumplings, they're simply fit young ladies that exude beauty. The lead ballerina is TERRIFIC and I'll watch anything with her in it going forward. Her snarky friend literally has almost no credits but is so natural she steals half the show.
3. What brought me here is Li Qin and her constant ability to pick great stories. Her role is so delightfully different for her and yet she's pulling of her subtle acting thing yet again. She can smile with a slight tear in her eye and kill me everything.
Oddly enough the older generation this show is just okay. Some of the best actresses have bit parts but the ones we see a lot didn't seem to be... the best choices? They weren't bad, mind you.
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