Mini Reviews: Romance 2018

So here comes my yearly post on the abundance of romantic-comedies I watch but have very little to say about. You know, its hard to flesh out a review if all you can say is 'it's cute' or 'its funny', but hey, you deserve to know which shows are, right? Expect this post to be updated regularly until the end of the year.

I'm Not a Robot
A girl pretends to be a robot as a favour to an old flame, and subsequently heals a man with a psychological fear of touching others.
  The logic of this drama actually doesn't work, at a ll, but you'll love in love anyway! A romantic-comedy relies on three staple elements: aesthetic, story and chemistry. I'm Not a Robot is a lucky enough to have all three in spades, but that doesn't begin to sell it. It's a very tragic drama, at times, which could come across excessive and unbearable. Without actors as capable as Yoo Seung-ho and Chae Soo-bin to emotionally ground the characters, it would have fallen flat. I can't begin to sell how amazing they are, together and separately, whether they are being funny or heartbreaking. Watch this show.

You Who Forgot Poetry
Starring Lee Yubi in her best role yet, You Who Forgot Poetry follows the personal struggles of the rehabilitation hospital staff.
  I'm sad to say that You Who Forgot Poetry left me with a unpleasant taste in my mouth, because it was a great show for a lot of reasons. The characters are distinct and memorable - written each with an individual quirk that sets them apart. It was wonderfully insightful about the human condition and had a revolutionary heroine who was never afraid to be sensitive and empathetic. And yet, it slipped off into disappointing mediocrity - let's just say last-minute occurrences wrecked someone's character development, and I fell out of love with the show.

Radio Romance
A rookie radio writer manages to sign on a top-star for her programme, unaware of the connection that runs between them.
  I almost passed over this one for a single reason I could not ignore - I love Kim So-hyun, but she was horribly miscast. In terms of aesthetic, I thought she and Yoon Doo-joon made a great pairing, despite the age gap, but the fact that her character is supposed to be his age squicks me out. Ignoring that, it was more entertaining than I expected. I watched it mostly in one go, and enjoyed how breezy it was. I don't believe the romantic trajectories, but the story in itself is touching and beautiful. Come for the actors, stay for the radio.

Greasy Melo
Lost souls gather at a quaint little Chinese restaurant after their lives are ruined and get up to some weird stuff.
  I managed to watch most of the show before I took my hands off in defeat, but I have to say this is the weakest Seo Sook-hyang drama I've watched. She is the writer responsible for Jealousy Incarnate, thus I expected it to be just as quirky and charming. At first, I thought it was, but the enchantment slipped at an alarming rate. The actors are amazing, miserably so when the characters they portray are contrary and impossible to understand. I loved the focus on food - it was mouth watering - but there wasn't nearly enough of it. Just go watch Jealousy Incarnate or Miss Korea instead.

Handsome Guy and Jung-eum
A man who doesn't believe in true love and a woman who wants it meet through unfortunate circumstances.
  Sound familiar? Admittedly, I haven't finished this either, but I'm willing to bet my feelings won't have changed much by the last episode. This show so desperately wants to be good. To be frank, it's the most predictable, stereotypical rom-com I've watched in years. I feel genuinely sorry for the actors on board, because (aside from Hwang Jung-eum, who seems to purposely choose the same character in every drama) they are far too talented for this project. I'm not saying it isn't entertaining - it actually is - but you can feel that it's been meticulously designed to feel that way. Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of the cogs working under the surface.

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim

Young-joon is on top of the world, until his right-hand woman decides to quit and sends him into complete turmoil.
  I'm very much of two minds about this show, which I stopped watching properly at the fourth episode and have followed through clips and recaps meticulously ever since. You see, I was in love with the first two episodes - after the kidnapping sub-plot was realised, it was a fatal shot to my dreams of a nice, simple rom-com. Why wouldn't it be? I'm not interested in that any further, but I would still recommend this drama for those interested in a demonstration of a rare mature relationship. Moreover, the chemistry is explosive between leads Park Seo-joon and Park Min-young. His character, in fact, is enough reason to watch this, portrayed to perfection and wonderfully different.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty
Bullied for being ugly, a girl gets completely reconstructive plastic surgery before university for a fresh start. There, she is bullied for having had plastic surgery.
  The community has literally halved like the red sea in their opinions on this drama. On one hand, look at it with no expectations, and you'll probably find a really sweet story about family, forgiveness and learning to love yourself. On the other hand, if you dive in expecting a meticulous criticism of society and the emphasis put on appearance, expect to be disappointed because Gangnam Beauty never really knew what to do with all its heavy new themes. As much as I love Cha Eun-woo, and I do think that he was charming here, I think he was still a little too green an actor to successfully put personality into a character that was basically a blank(faced) state. I should definitely go deeper into this show another time, but for now, I suggest you check it out and decide for yourself whether it's trash or treasure.