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Marriage, Not Dating korean drama review
Completed
Marriage, Not Dating
12 people found this review helpful
by manicmuse
May 29, 2016
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

Fun, Nothing Serious...

This is a super fun rom com! It's the kind of drama that you watch again, and again, or quickly marathon straight through (which I just did), because you just have to watch what happens next. This drama is not deep, or very intellectual, but it isn't completely shallow either. It showcases how unpredictable relationships can be. It even explores some heavy situations, and mature topics, without losing the light feel of the drama. While watching I laughed, cried, and felt genuine butterflies. The cast got me totally invested in their shenanigans from beginning to end.

This is an ensemble cast comedy in lot of ways, but it does primarily focus on Gong Ki Tae and Jang Mi, and what their fake relationship becomes. Faking a relationship is nothing new in kdramaland, but these two felt like a different kind of couple. Han Groo as Jang Mi is so unpredictable, an charmingly imperfect, that she was an awesome character to root for, and I was excited to see how she would react to certain situations. Yeon Woo Jin as cool Gong Ki Tae was her total opposite, yet made a perfect match. They have palpable chemistry, and I became instantly addicted to seeing what would happen between them.

Add to that a truly great supporting cast, who were just as interesting as the leads (even if I hated some of the characters). In real life, this crew of 6 friends would be the worst friends EVER, but in kdramaland I loved their relationships, and the love hexagon it created. Most of the characters are flawed but likable. Jung Jin Woon as Han Yeo Reum is great eye candy, but also was an interesting character. Han Sun Hwa
as Se Ah is an über beyotch, but also oddly likable, and won my sympathy. Heo Jeong Min as Lee Hoon Dong is a cross between a jerk and a lovable clown (similar to his role in Another Miss Oh ) - his is another character that grew on me. Then there is Yoon So Hee who was really good as Nam Hyun Hee, even though she was an almost impossible character to like. I prefer these kinds of characters in dramas to one dimensional forgettable ones. I never felt the urge to skip through their scenes, which is also a good sign.

The cast of family members are great too. I won't name them all, but the VIP of this whole drama to me is Kim Hae Sook as the mom. She is officially my favorite KDrama actress. I loooooove watching her in dramas, because she may not be the leading lady, but she always manages to steal the show. I almost thought that that wouldn't be the case with this show, because she first appears to be so passive, but the scenes where she simply and sweetly says "Jang Mi" were some of the most memorable moments of the show. Still, I took .5 points away because the acting is super over the top at times. I know that's the style of the show, but in some moments it was almost too much - like I'm laughing when I should be crying bad.

Speaking of style, I love the way this drama took some pretty overdone clichés and showed them in a new way. Each episode starts with a teaser of what's to come, one that's ambiguous yet intriguing enough that you become eager to see what actually happens during the show. It's often not at all what was implied, like an anti-spoiler, but it works well, and kept me hooked. The plot is never boring, cheesy at times, possibly too predictable in a few moments, but still never boring. Some heavy situations are taken too lightly, and some light situations become epic problems, but this is not the kind of drama that one should analyze deeply. The storytelling also definitely doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it puts some custom chromed rims on that wheel so it feels like new.

The soundtrack was also a perfect fit, and I had to download it. Even the over the top comedy effects and extra EXTRA cheesy songs grew on me. I found myself involuntarily humming "love lane"... OMG it's still stuck in my head... that and "barago barago baraedo neol..." make it stop... lol

So would I watch this again? Definitely! I couldn't allow myself to give this a perfect score, or add it to my favorites list, only because is does rely so much on doing what has already been done a million times before, BUT it does it better than most. Even the ending held my interest till the very last moments, and ended up being perfect! As far as rom-coms go, I'd say that this one is a MVP must watch. As far as life changing dramas go... hmm... It's not without some valuable perspectives on love, dating and marriage... but don't take things too seriously and you will enjoy it much more.
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