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This review may contain spoilers
A classic 15 year old teenage cliche drama
I watch this drama because of Wei Zhe Ming and stayed because of him too. Too bad that the script writing is not great, despite having a potential to be a unique rom-com drama.
The story:
I feel like the story lacks so many things. Aside from bad character writing, which I am going to discuss later in the review, the story is just too cheesy where it starts to feel unrealistic. For instance, where there are too many "show-off" confrontations where the character defends the loved ones in the "high-school" drama manner. For example, FL's sister has been a hot-topic gossip in her office, claiming that she became the youngest director and have a celebrity love interest because of her cunning behaviour. The FL's sister love interest quickly confront the gossip ladies, but what should have been a romantic-hero moment, the scene felt somewhat cheesy and goosebumps-worthy.
I also don't love the plot, which is very overused in every romantic-comedy drama - rich man poor woman, cold man warm woman, love triangles, misunderstandings, and contract relationship. I'm not trying to compare Chinese and Korean drama (don't get me wrong, both countries dramas has their own goods and bads) but, based on the similar drama about contract marriages - "Because this is my first life", is a good example of classic romantic-comedy with good story-writing. Though the concept of contract-marriages like both BTIMFL and PAC are not very relevant anymore in the real world, BTIMFL still has realistic touches that can be shown in the characters relationships. Meanwhile, PAC had the potential to become like that, but wasted in the end.
The characters:
- I don't like how the FL character's portrayed in this drama. Sure, she's a very nice person, but too nice to the point where she's too dumb. Yes, she was conned not once, but twice by people using the same tactic. Sure, the drama should only be entertainment purposes, but it's just dumb if you look at it. And the way she backed out when the con-man (her cousin) had the potential to put in jail for 10 years. In the end, she didn't even ask for her money back, and it was almost $400k, which is a huge amount of money. Furthermore, it's the compensation money from her dad too, which plus the consideration of her dad's dream to buy a house, that money should've been somewhat special to her. But yeah, I just don't understand the forgiveness when her cousin literally bled her dry.
- The worst character in the drama has to be FL's best friend Gao Zhi Yi (GZY). I thought drama besties are supposed to be lit, but in this case, she doesn't pass the vibe check. The level of her toxicity, I don't even know where to begin. I just felt bad watching FL's other best friend, Lin Nuo (LN), who's also GZY's ex-boyfriend. In the story, Gao Zhi Yi had a string of failed relationships, where she got problematic men only. The sole reason why GZY and LN broke up is because the bitch got bored. Yes, you heard me right, because she was bored. And at the end, she still has the audacity to beg LN back together, aka hellhole. Sure, I can understand people who cannot get out of toxic relationship, I know how hard it is. But in this case, GZY is just too immature, where she CHOSE to enter toxic relationships because it was rather fun - until she realized LN is good to her and for her.
- And Lawyer Meng Ran too, he clearly knows the FL is married, yet he still pursues her. His reasonings are not sincere too - as it's just plain reasoning: because she's kind, cute, hard-working. I'm sorry, but this is coming from a man who literally said FL's not that pretty in the beginning.
The acting:
- Though I admit, I like Wei Zhe Ming because of his acting and looks from "Unforgettable Love", I feel like the characters he portrayed between "Unforgettable Love" and "Perfect and Casual" are far too similar. I should probably critic on his acting in Unforgettable Love instead because that drama came out later than this drama. But all in all, he did a decent job I'd say.
- I feel like Xu Ruo Han still have to work on her acting skills, but considering this is her television drama debut, I'd say she did a pretty decent job. But to critic her acting skills, her expressions can come out as somewhat awkward and flat in certain situations, mostly when she did a "thinking" , or "talking to yourself" scenes.
To conclude, this drama isn't something new. I have to say, this drama is way too similar to "Because This is My First Life" where they had a contract marriage based out of certain circumstances, and also the love triangle with a married woman. However, considering how the drama is how it is, it can be a decent refresher to watchers who are looking for a break from watching some heavy melodrama. I don't recommend it for watchers who got goosebumps on cheesy cliches though.
The story:
I feel like the story lacks so many things. Aside from bad character writing, which I am going to discuss later in the review, the story is just too cheesy where it starts to feel unrealistic. For instance, where there are too many "show-off" confrontations where the character defends the loved ones in the "high-school" drama manner. For example, FL's sister has been a hot-topic gossip in her office, claiming that she became the youngest director and have a celebrity love interest because of her cunning behaviour. The FL's sister love interest quickly confront the gossip ladies, but what should have been a romantic-hero moment, the scene felt somewhat cheesy and goosebumps-worthy.
I also don't love the plot, which is very overused in every romantic-comedy drama - rich man poor woman, cold man warm woman, love triangles, misunderstandings, and contract relationship. I'm not trying to compare Chinese and Korean drama (don't get me wrong, both countries dramas has their own goods and bads) but, based on the similar drama about contract marriages - "Because this is my first life", is a good example of classic romantic-comedy with good story-writing. Though the concept of contract-marriages like both BTIMFL and PAC are not very relevant anymore in the real world, BTIMFL still has realistic touches that can be shown in the characters relationships. Meanwhile, PAC had the potential to become like that, but wasted in the end.
The characters:
- I don't like how the FL character's portrayed in this drama. Sure, she's a very nice person, but too nice to the point where she's too dumb. Yes, she was conned not once, but twice by people using the same tactic. Sure, the drama should only be entertainment purposes, but it's just dumb if you look at it. And the way she backed out when the con-man (her cousin) had the potential to put in jail for 10 years. In the end, she didn't even ask for her money back, and it was almost $400k, which is a huge amount of money. Furthermore, it's the compensation money from her dad too, which plus the consideration of her dad's dream to buy a house, that money should've been somewhat special to her. But yeah, I just don't understand the forgiveness when her cousin literally bled her dry.
- The worst character in the drama has to be FL's best friend Gao Zhi Yi (GZY). I thought drama besties are supposed to be lit, but in this case, she doesn't pass the vibe check. The level of her toxicity, I don't even know where to begin. I just felt bad watching FL's other best friend, Lin Nuo (LN), who's also GZY's ex-boyfriend. In the story, Gao Zhi Yi had a string of failed relationships, where she got problematic men only. The sole reason why GZY and LN broke up is because the bitch got bored. Yes, you heard me right, because she was bored. And at the end, she still has the audacity to beg LN back together, aka hellhole. Sure, I can understand people who cannot get out of toxic relationship, I know how hard it is. But in this case, GZY is just too immature, where she CHOSE to enter toxic relationships because it was rather fun - until she realized LN is good to her and for her.
- And Lawyer Meng Ran too, he clearly knows the FL is married, yet he still pursues her. His reasonings are not sincere too - as it's just plain reasoning: because she's kind, cute, hard-working. I'm sorry, but this is coming from a man who literally said FL's not that pretty in the beginning.
The acting:
- Though I admit, I like Wei Zhe Ming because of his acting and looks from "Unforgettable Love", I feel like the characters he portrayed between "Unforgettable Love" and "Perfect and Casual" are far too similar. I should probably critic on his acting in Unforgettable Love instead because that drama came out later than this drama. But all in all, he did a decent job I'd say.
- I feel like Xu Ruo Han still have to work on her acting skills, but considering this is her television drama debut, I'd say she did a pretty decent job. But to critic her acting skills, her expressions can come out as somewhat awkward and flat in certain situations, mostly when she did a "thinking" , or "talking to yourself" scenes.
To conclude, this drama isn't something new. I have to say, this drama is way too similar to "Because This is My First Life" where they had a contract marriage based out of certain circumstances, and also the love triangle with a married woman. However, considering how the drama is how it is, it can be a decent refresher to watchers who are looking for a break from watching some heavy melodrama. I don't recommend it for watchers who got goosebumps on cheesy cliches though.
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