Mini Reviews: Romance 2019

I'm back! This is the longest hiatus I've taken since starting my blog (life got in the way), but I'm back and excited to upload more. To start, here's some mini reviews for the romance dramas I struggle to talk about. This is probably one of my favourite features - short and snappy, and something I can update whenever I like. Enjoy!

Boyfriend
I can't speak for the entirety of Boyfriend, having only watching seven episodes so far, but it's good. The plot is relatively simple, with people from different walks of life overcoming challenges to be together, so the real draw comes from the production and how such a common plot could be worked into something beautiful. With a wonderful, wistful soundtrack and some of the best cinematography I've ever seen, Boyfriend certainly has a lot to brag about. I was very excited to see Park Bo-gum in a mature romance drama, and of course he and Song Hye-kyo are doing great. Unfortunately, I have to add that I don't sense any romantic chemistry between them - I'd like this more if this was a story about unlikely friends rather than unlikely lovers. Boyfriend is slow-paced and will not be for everyone, but it's definitely worth a try.

Reach of Sincerity
I didn't initially have any intention to watch this. When I got bored and sat down to try it, however, I found myself immediately hooked and binged all the available episodes to catch up. Reach of Sincerity sounds like a standard rom-com... and that's because it is. I find that the draw of this drama is simply how uncomplicated it is, the perfect feel-good drama really. To illustrate, the stalker plot is resolved in an episode. This drama would rather keep you warm and comfy than on your toes. The court cases aren't some of the best I've seen, it's really in the interactions between the well-written characters that the Reach of Sincerity shines. If there's a noticeable flaw, it's that the dynamic between the leads here feels juvenile, like an attraction between teenagers instead of adults in their late thirties. I'm sure you'll forget that, however, when you see Lee Dong-wook and Yoo In-na's explosive chemistry. I really enjoyed this one.

Romance is a Bonus Book
I watched half of this, and I really can't finish it. In this drama's defence, I couldn't possibly have lived up to my expectations - it was Lee Jong-suk in a romantic-comedy about books! And Bonus Book has a lot of good elements to it - some very interesting characters, for example. But really, I find it to be an enormous waste of potential. The heroine is unlikable, and such a waste of Lee Na-young's comeback after nine years away from dramas (I also hated the second lead, and sometimes the lead too, which meant I was not invested in the boring love triangle whatsoever). I'm running out of things to say already because Bonus Book had nothing of meaning to say itself. A lot of people probably liked this because there are so many people who just eat up romance shows, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Her Private Life

What do I say about this show? I loved it, until I didn't. Whilst I still loved it, for the first twelve episodes, it was a wholesome and pleasant watch with a soundtrack and colour-scheme reminiscent of Barbie. It had an engaging romantic relationship at the centre, probably the best since last year's Thirty But Seventeen, and the hero was especially wonderful since he seemed to demonstrate through his sensitive nature that the culture of toxic masculinity is slowly but surely dying out. However, I cannot forgive Her Private Life for robbing Park Min-young of her story in the last four episodes, which not only meant robbing her of her personality but also leaving multiple ideas and hints unfinished. Instead it focused entirely on the hero's (massively over-complicated) story. As much as I loved him, this wasn't His Private Life, and thus I leave this drama bitter and disappointed.

Absolute Boyfriend

This drama literally had the most potential to fall flat on its face, and it hasn't yet! In fact, I actually really like this adaptation of Absolute Boyfriend - despite some initial concerns about our robot hero basically mirroring entitled and over-invasive predators, it's settled into itself well so far with compelling characters and conflicts. Yeo Jin-gu was obviously going to be wonderful, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the other actors on board too. I also think it's saying a lot of good things about what healthy, loving relationships should look like. Oh, and the OST by Lena Park is lovely. The biggest concern for the future is the plot, which is chugging along as a consistent pace for the time being, but rom-coms generally fall down in the second half and I'm genuinely hoping that this one doesn't follow the same fate. Update: It did.

Spring Night

I'm drooling a little thinking about how much I love this drama. The latest from directorial genius Ahn Pan-seok, this bleak but hopelessly romantic drama stole a place in my heart almost immediately and that place has been growing since. Spring Night boasts wonderful performances from Han Ji-min, Jung Hae-in and the rest of the seasoned cast, and it's also pretty well-written (but don't get me wrong, the misogynistic bastards not getting a clue is getting a little old). Its uncompromising realism makes for a thoroughly infuriating experience, but past that its full to bursting with delicious social commentary on the prejudice towards single-parentage and little victories for courageous women pushed into quiet, submissive roles. I can't see this suddenly going downhill at this point, so I wholeheartedly would recommend Spring Night.