Funny, until it's not

I came for Seo In Guk. He is a terrific actor, and this role let him use facial muscles that are normally reserved only for the strangest expressions. There was an abundance of quirkiness and fun in this show, especially with the Cafe Minamdang employees. I appreciated how the writers gave us insight to how the Cafe came into being. Watching him bounce and dance around, chanting nonsense chants, and then surprising everyone with him being spot on was fun to watch.

Where it kind of fell apart for me was the overabundant number of characters to keep straight. They threw names around right and left, so many of them like the others, I spent a lot of time wondering who the heck they were talking about. I was surprised at how quickly the show went from light and fun to dark and sordid. The seamy underbelly of the police force and government officials, that's a cliche that gets used too much for my taste.

I also had a problem with the age difference between a few of the characters, only because it made absolutely no sense and wasn't believable.

Without giving anything away, there was one character that I was hoping beyond all hope that they wouldn't take him in a certain direction. When they did, though, I was glad because it made more sense. But it came so close to the end of the show it seemed like it was tacked on at the last minute.

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but there should not have been a romance between the main couple. There was no chemistry, it wasn't believable, and I focused on the secondary couple.

The OST was wonderful.

I won't watch this again, because I didn't find it interesting enough, and the main couple was so bland.

I'm not going to say don't watch it. You'll be thoroughly entertained in the first few episodes, but as for the rest, I just really felt like there was something missing.

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8/10 for content, not my enjoyment

I can see why this got high ratings. My rating, strangely, is based on how I SHOULD have felt about the drama, not how I ACTUALLY felt (more of a 6.5-7/10). The fact that I could rate it this high when I wasn't feeling it is due to Kim Seon Ho.

What I loved:
1. Kim Seon Ho as Kim Rae Wan. I love him as an actor. He was excellent in this. I could feel his patience with her behavior (I knew before he did that he was in love. Only someone in love could put up with her.), as well as his vulnerability. He did a great job of portraying someone that is coming to terms with his feelings, and once he does, he's brave enough to verbalize those feelings.
2. The song You Drive Me Crazy. The scene where that was being sung was so special and Kim Seon Ho just blew me away, yet again.
3. His house. Sure, it has nothing to do with the storyline, but I loved it nonetheless.

What I hated:
1. The character of Han Eun Seong. Lee Yoo Young did a great job to make me hate this character so much, but the fact that she was self-absorbed, inconsiderate, bossy, fickle, and had issues with alcohol really ruined my enjoyment of this show. I have to like SOMETHING about a character in order to root for them, and I just felt that he was so much better than her and he was better off when she left. And after the obligatory time jump, she appeared to not have improved at all, as evidenced by just boldly letting herself into his house. It felt like she knew he would just be waiting for her. It made me mad.
2. Pervasive use of alcohol. Everything that happened, happened as a result of being drunk. Emotions are not real or reliable when clouded by alcohol.
3. Time jump. I understand that she was afraid, but she didn't seem like the kind of person that would be true to a man (especially since she never admitted how she felt about him) for a year. So, for me, the idea that she might have been with someone else while she was gone really lessened the love in this love story. (I know I'm projecting here, but that's what I kept thinking as I was watching this.)

I realize that most people are not as judgmental as I am, so my suggestion would be to give it a try. It's only four episodes.

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Too short

Each of the 20 episodes is between 9-14 minutes long. However, there is about a two-minute recap at the beginning of each episode and 2-3 minutes of credits at the end of each episode, so these episodes are REALLY short. Unfortunately, this leads to not enough content in this drama.

I was grabbed by the idea. The concept of him remembering everything, and her remembering nothing was a very interesting one to me. But there really wasn't enough time to adequately flesh this out. We saw him living out a tragedy in his past, and we saw repeatedly how he remembered everyone's name, but there was a BIG link to the story that he didn't remember until almost the last episode, so how can you say he remembers everything. She doesn't mention until a few episodes in that she only remembers things for a month and then her memories reset

I would have liked to have seen how she deals with having to reset her memories every month, and how her friends deal with it. That would have been fascinating. This wasn't addressed at all.

The ending is very abrupt. Stay and watch the ending credits on the last episode, it gives a "wrap up" interview with the two leads that is cute and attempts to end the show in a more meaningful way.

I was so disappointed in the execution of this drama, it had such potential. That being said, at least it wasn't a LOT of time wasted.

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This had potential, but there were some real problems for me

First, what I liked - the roommates of both the ML and FL. They brought a lot of heart and humor to their roles. I also always like a large height difference between the leads. However, this led to one of my problems with this drama...

The ML was borderline abusive to the FL. The first time he grabbed her by the face and kissed her, it really was rough. Plus, he was always dragging her toward him roughly, or grabbing her by the arm in an overly firm manner. This really bothered me. I don't think that behavior is ever acceptable, but I might have been more tolerant if she wasn't so tiny.

ACTING: Ireine Song - I've only seen her in one other thing, and her character was pretty much the same, so it's hard to judge her acting prowess. Aaron Deng as Qin Shen - wooden and expressionless throughout. I've not seen him in anything else, so I'll reserve judgment on whether it was acting or the script. Which brings me to -
WRITING: I didn't care for the way the main characters were written. Qin Shen was a total Tsundere, but we never got to see the soft side of him. On the rare occasions that he smiled, it seemed somewhat forced. It would have been so nice to see him develop some warmth, especially as it related to his roommates. It always seemed there was only tolerance, I would have liked to see sincere friendships develop. The FL even used the statement about him not using his words. Throughout the drama, it was grunts or one-word answers. He was overbearing physically to the FL as mentioned before, as well as being possessive and jealous, and not in a cute way, telling her she couldn't talk to guys, following her around to monitor who she was talking to. This could have been portrayed in a way that was sweet and showed how he cared for her, but it didn't get portrayed that way. The FL character of Yuan Qian - when she stood up to the bully, I had high hopes for her, but she seemed like a "taker/user" to me, always asking others to do things/get things for her. She was also eavesdropping on every conversation he had with anyone. In every Asian drama, there always seems to be falling/tripping as it relates to the FL. This show took it to the extreme. She was ALWAYS falling, stumbling, tripping, or walking into things. I also didn't care for her attempts to be "cute". She was never willing to tell him how she felt, but was constantly asking him, "Isn't there something you want to say to me?" Each episode seemed to be a repeat of the previous episode, misunderstandings, him being mean, her trying to get him to tell her he liked her, and the friends giving both of them a hard time. As for the character of Ling Wei as the girl that liked Qin Shen - she seriously needed therapy! The writers also never really delved into why he was so mean to her, what had happened in their past, or anything like that.
RELATIONSHIP OF LEADS/CHEMISTRY: He was silent, bossy, possessive. She pouted, stomped around, was mad or employing the silent treatment A LOT. They spent a lot of time staring at each other, and not much time having actual mature conversations that would develop a relationship. This didn't feel like a healthy relationship to me at all. Granted, one of the reasons I enjoy romances is because it's not real life, but for me, this relationship never felt lovely, or something I wanted to see more of. Chemistry between them was severely lacking. In general, the relationship felt toxic.
MUSIC: I don't remember it.
REWATCH: There weren't even any scenes that I think I'd want to rewatch.

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Boring, and it was only 10 episodes!

The first couple of episodes were them fighting. I wasn't feeling that they were a good couple to begin with, so when she was trying to make a deal to save him, it just didn't make any sense to me. Why were they together? I didn't believe that they were in love, due to the circular storyline (break up, make up, repeat), the lack of chemistry and the fact that they were "broken up" more than they were together. I felt that the writers were trying to create a thought-provoking drama, and granted, the potential was there, but if you can't see the love between the couple, the rest of it just doesn't make sense.

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I love Ji Chang Wook, but this show was very disappointing. It couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to be- a comedy, a mystery, a romance. Sadly, I didn't find it funny, mysterious or romantic. I didn't feel too terribly much chemistry between the two main people (except the shower scene in episode 10 which was hawt!), but I don't think it was due to them, it was the way the script was written. It didn't really give too much time for romance with everything else that was going on. There were too many characters for them to be able to develop good stories for each of them.

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If you are looking for a healthy relationship, you won't find it here

Let me begin with what I liked – the ending was really cute. I also liked cameo appearances of some of the actors I’ve seen in other dramas. And the music was good. The acting was okay, which I will cover in greater detail under CAST.
WRITING: I felt that the growth between the two characters was sorely lacking. The only time they communicated was when they were drunk, and they were drunk A LOT. There were too many unlikeable/pitiful people, and sadly this included the lead characters. There should be someone at the beginning of the story that you want to root for, and I didn’t feel that way about any of the characters. The show was rife with the standard K-drama tropes - wrist grabs, drunk confessions, bullying (sorry, but it’s NEVER acceptable for a man to hit a woman), parent troubles, brother troubles, misunderstandings due to lack of communication, best friends becoming enemies, enemies becoming lovers, crooked CEO’s, tragic medical conditions, love triangles, time jumps, rushed endings. You name it, you’ll find it here!
What stuck out most to me was how dysfunctional the relationships were. Granted, this show is about three years old and was just released, but even three years ago I would hope that writers would start to address the importance of honesty, respect, and communication in a relationship.
MAIN COUPLE: He was a mess, and was not nice to her in any way, shape or form at the beginning. Jumping to conclusions, emotional blackmail, and shutting yourself off from someone that you supposedly love to disappear and handle problems on your own, are not signs of a healthy relationship. Sadly, K-dramas use the time jump in almost every show, and it just doesn’t ring true that when you’ve been desperate to win the love of your life that you’d disappear for months/years at a time to “resolve” things and then just show up out of the blue without having contact with your significant other. In this age of cell phones, texting, social media and FaceTime, this is definitely an overused ploy. She was a mess and a doormat. She was pretty much treated badly by everyone, and she just took it. Get a spine!
SECOND COUPLE: Just no! This was the epitome of a toxic relationship and the police should have gotten involved.
CAST: Choi Tae Joon as idol Hoo Joon. I didn’t feel that he was strong enough to carry the role of male lead. He lacked “presence”. I found myself watching everyone around him in the scenes he was in. I’ve seen him in other things and enjoyed his acting, but this wasn’t a good fit for him.
Choi Soo-young as Lee Geun-Young. I had more problems with the way her character was written, rather than her acting. She is a beautiful woman, and there is an intrinsic sweetness about her that was a positive addition to her character.
Chansung as JJ. As an abusive, possessive, jealous boyfriend, I felt that he was a bit much, but it was the way he was written. However, I will say that toward the end, when something happens to him, that is where his acting really shone. He did a wonderful job of displaying the fear, despair, and vulnerability of his character which actually made you somewhat change the way you thought of him.
Han Ji An as Oh In-hyung. Of all the characters, the writers fell down on the job most with In-hyung. She was spineless and an emotional wreck and I couldn’t believe that anyone would fall for her or that she had the strength to take on being an idol star. Add to that Ji An’s acting, and I felt like it was a bit of a train wreck. Her facial expressions were flat throughout the show and her doe eyes just screamed “poor me”. There were a couple of scenes where she was walking away from the actor she had been talking to, and even her gait was unnatural.
Again, the ending was the saving grace.

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Talent wasted on a mediocre script

Park So Dam - she has a great voice. I loved her in Cinderella and the Four Knights, and heard she was exceptional in Parasite, which I did not see. I'll be honest, I think any actress could have been dropped into this part and they would have been okay.

Park Bo Gum - he is a wonderful actor. He is able to portray a full range of emotions with nothing more than his eyes. For anyone that has not seen I Remember You (also known as Hello Monster), he is EXCEPTIONAL in that! There is something very charismatic about Bo Gum, and the more of his works I watch, the most impressed I am.

This show started out well. I loved the background look into the career of modeling and the concept of two good friends being on opposite ends of the economic as well as career scales. The main characters started out being very up-front with one another, verbalizing their likes, dislikes, etc. However, once they actually got involved with one another, the communication stopped. In Asian dramas, I often wonder why the characters don't just talk to each other, it was such a disappointment that this was a problem here as well.

I loved the woman that played his agent, she brought some good comedic talent to the table. However, there were so many story lines going on at once, some of which were never fully fleshed out, some of which were pointless, some of which were just downright irritating. There seemed to be more happening with other people in the show than the main three characters. This made the show seem needlessly long.

If I'm honest, the thing that kept me coming back was Bo Gum's acting. That and the hopes of a good ending. On that score I was very disappointed. The ending was so lackluster and open-ended, it felt like there should have been a concluding episode following the last episode. This is another thing that I notice about Asian dramas, they tend to use a lot of filler to make more episodes and then wrap everything up in the last five minutes. Writers could definitely take a cue from the writers of Legend of the Blue Sea, which has the best ending of any Asian drama that I've ever seen.

So, my long-winded evaluation of Record of Youth, see it for Park Bo Gum, but don't expect much otherwise.

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What a treat!

This was a well-written, and wonderfully acted story. Yoon Hyun Min's character (2nd male lead) progressed in an alarming way, showing what avarice and want of power can do. Kim So Yeon was terrific as the ever-efficient and loyal secretary. She was so mature that she seemed much older than everyone else. She has a honey-sweet voice that would calm the most agitated person. That said, Jung Kyung Ho ran away with this show. His character had been driven by revenge for years, and that was his entire focus. He was all hard edges and unforgiveness. Once he has a "change of heart" (which I think should have been the movie's title, by the way!), watching him come to terms with making some decisions that might actually benefit someone else was a joy to watch. This was a man not used to feeling anything other than anger, now suddenly he was starting to feel love. At times he did not take it well, which brought on some extremely funny scenes. Him getting dating advice from his trusty male secretary was a hoot. He didn't actually know how to have interpersonal relationships, so he kept yelling at people, and he said some really funny things to others. The two leads had a wonderful chemistry together. They were playful at times (I dare you not to crack a smile while watching this!), soulful at other times. Good kisses. It was a happy ending, though it was a letdown, kind of emotionless after everything the couple went through to be together. They should change the poster for this show. I didn't watch it for the longest time, thinking it was going to be too slapstick, but this was an intelligent show, with elements of drama, comedy, crime, mystery, all rolled up in one package.

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Take the time to watch this.

It’s a feast for the eyes - it has a film noir feel to it. Filmed a lot in shadow, with brown/dark tones. Everything has been well thought out, the rooms, the clothes and the makeup all flow seamlessly together, with nothing out of place. The use of closeups was very well done, especially when the bartenders were mixing drinks. The two female leads work like yin and yang, one extremely overtly classy, selfish and insecure, the other more understated and comfortable with herself. The entire cast was very good, and they were working from a great script - a lot packed into five episodes, with no wasted scenes. The music added to the overall feel, from the pounding techno, to the use of a single, droning beat whenever someone entered the bar. This show was a joy to watch!

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It would have been a "10" if I'd only watched the last episode

My review is strictly based on my enjoyment of this drama. This show was well-filmed and very well-acted. What a stellar cast! That being said, I find it difficult to watch abuse, whether it be physical or verbal, and I tend to try to steer clear of corruption stories. I didn't care for the ML's treatment of anyone, especially his mother, there was no excuse for the way she treated him (though the story would try to get you to believe that her reasoning was viable and acceptable). I don't think they really redeemed the mother, other than in a roundabout way.

The villagers were all so odd, I felt like I was getting whiplash between whether they were supposed to be funny or be taken seriously.

However, the final episode was excellent! The emotions of all the people were laid bare. The ML just broke my heart and the villagers finally seemed like a cohesive family. The acting was excellent, especially in this episode.

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Wow, thank goodness it was short!

This show was actually painful to watch. It reminded me of a poorly written and executed high school production. The dialogue was clunky and none of the actors seemed at ease in either what they were directed to say or do.

The actors were, undeniably, attractive. However, that doesn't mean they should be actors. I didn't read the bios on any of the actors. They may be new to the field; in which case I can only hope that they get some acting classes under their belts before they venture out again.

Not only were their lines delivered in wooden and unnatural ways, their movements reflected the same problems. You could actually see the blocking of the scenes, there wasn't a natural flow. For example, one person walks across the room to sit down, the other actor stands woodenly until the actor has finished walking and sits down, then the second actor starts walking across the room as well.

This will definitely be going on my "That's time I'll never get back" list.

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Movie-length commercial for MSC Cruises

This movie was literally the middle of the road for me. To me, it had more wrong than right, but I'll just give it a 5 and move on.
I really struggled with this movie, as it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be. Was it a comedy? A mystery? A farce? Except for the main characters, everyone else's hair, makeup and clothing were WAY over the top. A lot of the characters just seemed like caricatures of real people - that makes it hard for me to feel like I'm getting to know them and to feel empathy for them. Most of the characters were a little creepy, including the children. Was that so that we couldn't figure out who the "bad guy" was?

I think the biggest question I had while I was watching it, how did the FL get on board the ship without a ticket, how was she able to remain on board once the ship left (the ML knew she didn't have a ticket), where did she get her wardrobe since she didn't have luggage? And I could be mistaken, but when we first meet her, I don't think she even had a purse on her.

All-in-all, for me this movie was too "campy" and difficult to take seriously.

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Watch this if...

Watch this show if you want a very funny show that is full of slapstick comedy, over-the-top characters, bad language, and an overabundance of fart jokes. My overall rating is lower strictly because of the fact that those are not things I enjoy.

The acting of everyone was good and the cast had good chemistry together. I'll bet they had fun making this! The SML had some weird hair thing going on that was really bothering me, get that man a comb!

Each character was likeable in their own unique way. I liked how the SML (chaebol) and his family were played - it's like they purposely made them caricatures of the chaebol families we normally see in Korean dramas.

The show moves at a good pace and there always seems to be something going on. I also liked the progression of the characters in the department. At the beginning everyone hated them, and it seemed that they didn't like themselves or each other very much either, but relationships were developed.

This is DEFINITELY a show to watch if you need some relief from heavier dramas.

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Uneven but enjoyable

This was a somewhat frustrating watch for me. I vacillated between enjoyment of the characters and anger with the writing. Some of the episodes felt like they were penned by a different writer. One episode would be romance, one episode would be mystery, throw in some comedy every now and then. I do have to admit, I enjoyed it more the further I got into it.

What I liked:
-I enjoyed Lee Hye Ri and Lee Jung Young as the main characters. However, the writing for him was all over the place. His sense of guilt, his dumping the ex-girlfriend after ten years, his leaving a profession that took years to get into (and then falling back into it right at the end like he'd never been gone). The man had a serious martyr complex.
-The main characters
-The resolving of the issues of the dead. Some of them didn't get enough closure and there seemed to be large gap in the middle where they didn't get addressed at all.
-Vincent and Michael. They were both very caring and were fun/funny to watch.
-Tae In Ho as Im II Sub. I loved FINALLY seeing him in something where he wasn't a complete and total jerk.
-The dad.
-The music.
-The couple, once they got together, supported one another.
-No time jump.

Issues for me:
-ML was too much of a "poor me" kind of guy.
-Ex-girlfriend and that whole storyline. It felt like his feelings for her were never resolved, just swept under the rug, which diminished his feelings for the FL as far as I was concerned. And can we just talk about how the ex-girlfriend had absolutely no self-respect? Move on, honey.
-The ex-girlfriend's mother. What a terrible, screechy, woman. Terrible relationship between the two, which made the death and reactions to it so unbelievable.
-Friend whose personality does a 180 shift halfway through the show and becomes a terrible person.
-Too many irons in the fire with unnecessary characters/plots. Im II Sub and the woman/baby that show up, the ML's ex-girlfriend immediately spring to mind.
-Once the couple got together, the romance was forgotten, and the couple became boring.
-Storyline for the dad. REALLY!?!?!?!
-The ending didn't feel satisfying to me.

I was REALLY tempted to drop it early on. I'm glad I watched it, but the writing/editing could have been better.

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