Marriage Contract is a drama that I can see why people gave it high reviews, but I just can't do the same. Don't let the classic romcom marriage contract between a rich chaebol and a broke girl plot fool you, this is a bonafide tearjerker. Did this drama make me cry and cry again? Absolutely, because the main cast is amazing. What's my problem with Marriage Contract then? Well, read the title and the synopsis and you basically know everything about this drama. Yup, That's it for all 16 episodes. The story is so basic that this drama is definitely saved by the acting! Uee and Lee Seo Jin took super cliché characters and made them feel real. I'm not a Uee fan, but I was super impressed. Her character goes through so much, and she nailed every moment. I think she's missing some of the charm that other actresses have, so she often comes across as too cold for me (even when she's being sweet), but she gave a very believable performance. Lee Seo Jin gave a great performance too, that proved he's more than just dimples. My only complaint is that some of his really big smiles looked more creepy than genuine. His tears however were extra heartbreaking. Watching their bittersweet relationship is the heart of this drama, and why it worked at all for me. I admit that in the beginning I didn't like any of the characters. For the first few episodes no one was likable, not even the cute kid. Uee was the most sympathetic in the beginning, but she was also so pathetic that I was frustrated watching her. Then, around episode 4, things finally started to shift for me. Suddenly I was binge watching, barely able to stop myself from watching what happened next. Han Ji Hoon became more charming, Kang Hye Soo became more admirable, and their chemistry started to develop into something engaging. Shin Rin Ah as Eun Sung was also such a strong character that I think she deserves a main character status. She gave a performance that showed she was just as talented as her adult cast members. If she's that good now, I can only imagine how good she can be in the future, The rest of the supporting cast was excellent as well, even really minor characters, except for one. Kim Young Pil was really bad, like REALLY bad. I almost removed a whole acting point for how bad he was. I'm not sure it was all his fault, because the character was written as being petty and ridiculous, but he just seemed too over the top and fake evil, even for a melodrama. Honestly, all of the characters are pretty one note, and don't have much depth, but the actors managed to insert depth into their performances. Like bad dad Kim Yong Gun, who was text book evil, but he was such a believably unbelievable character who's outrageous actions cured a lot of my boredom with the rest of the plot. I think the writer is the problem for me. The plot is predictable, it's full of everything you've already seen in a drama. So many of the female characters seemed to be irrationally obsessed with men (husbands, exes, sons) that I often had a hard time empathizing with them. Some of the episodes felt repetitive. There were about five episodes where the literal plot was cry, plan to divorce, cry again. Some other episodes rely heavily on flashbacks, which was annoying. I became invested in the characters and their relationships, so I could never bring myself to stop watching, but I definitely had to push my way through to the end. It did pick up momentum again in the last episodes, and I did like the ending (though it was nothing original), but I just didn't fall in love with this drama the way others did. This is similar to the problems I had with "Secret", which has the same writer. Weak characters, a predictable plot, skippable scenes, a pathetic lead character always in tears, dragging episodes... I did like the direction, the same guy who directed "Kill Me, Heal Me". That, and the cast may be what made me like this drama much more than "Secret". My one complaint is that the blatant product placements were pretty hilarious. I thought the music was not great either. Some of the music chosen seemed so out of place. I did appreciate that Ji Hoon's ringtone was mo' better blues, which gave some insight in how important music was to the character. Too bad they never incorporated a real musical storyline in the actual script. That could have helped me understand why he struggled so much to join the company. Would I watch this again? Only if I am feeling apathetic and want to cry my eyes out to prove I still have feelings. Overall, I would only recommend this drama to fans of super sad melodramas like "49 Days" (which had too much cloud of impending doom for me), "Scent of a Woman" (which I loved, and had similar themes), or "Secret" (which proved to me I do have a melodrama limit). Romance fans will be able to appreciate the love story, and some of the family themes are heart warming, but this is a drama you have to buy a jumbo tissue box for and then just embrace the chronic eye wetness.