Tag: Comedy

Review: The Forbidden Marriage

Posted March 7, 2023 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Forbidden Marriage

Starring: Kim Young Dae, Park Ju Hyun, Kim Woo Seok, Yang Dong Geun, Park Sun Young, Choi Deok Moon
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: Drama, Historical, Comedy, Mystery, Romance
Country: South Korea
Director: Jung Hoon, Park Sang Woo
Screenwriter: Cheon Ji Hye
Where to Watch: Viki, Prime Video

Lee Heon is the king of Joseon. 7 years ago, when he was a crown prince, his beloved wife died. To this day, he has not been able to get over her death. For the past 7 years, the royal family and government members have tried to get King Lee Heon remarried without success. The nation has also implemented a geumhonryung edict, which is a ban on all single women marrying during this time when the king has not married. People are furious over the marriage ban. One day, King Lee Heon hears of a woman named Ye So Rang, who claims the spirit of the king’s late wife exists within the royal palace.

Meanwhile, Ye So Rang is a swindler and claims to interpret marital harmony signs. She is arrested and jailed where Officer Lee Shin Won works. To get out of her predicament, she pretends to be possessed by a spirit in front of Lee Shin Won. During her ruse, she mentions that the spirit of King Lee Heon’s late wife exists within the royal palace. She is then brought in front of the king and he asks her if she can really see his late wife’s spirit. To survive, Ye So Rang acts like her body is possessed by the king’s late wife. Ye So Rang’s lies get bigger and more audacious.

I love me some Kim Young Dae so after watching Shooting Star, I patiently waited for him to come out with something else and this was it. I’m finding that I’m watching more and more shows for the actors that star in them and not the plot or anything like that. I promise I’m not shallow, haha. I do love me some Park Ju Hyun as well so this was a pairing that I didn’t know that I needed. And in a rom-com? Yes, please!

The Story

Kim Young Dae plays a King who has not gotten over his dead wife. He’s still grieving her death and put a law into effect that bans marriage so for the last seven years, everyone has not been able to get married. What everyone doesn’t know is that the King is being haunted by his dead wife. He never gets any peace because his dead wife is always around. So when he meets Ye So Rang and she claims that his late wife is in the palace, he keeps her around so that he can talk to his wife through her and their whirlwind romance takes off. Ye So Rang is battling her own things and is in hiding because she’s never been safe. She’s become a con artist in order to survive and seeing her battle day in and day out made me love her more and more with each episode.

As much as I enjoyed the main romance, the story itself moved slow at times and there were a few episodes where it was so slow that it was very easy for me to be distracted with everything and anything under the sun while the episodes played. That was a bit of a bummer but overall, I did like it.

The Cast

There weren’t too many faces that I didn’t recognize from this drama so it felt like catching up with friends and I enjoyed everyone’s addition to the cast. My favorites of the bunch outside of the two main leads were the second lead, Lee Shin Won, (though I never rooted for him to get the girl, sorry!), and the two palace workers, Se Jang and Won Nyeo, who were trying to steer the King into falling in love so that the marriage ban can be lifted. They were a lot of fun and entertained me with their charm.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this drama was an enjoyable one that made me laugh, made me get teary-eyed, and entertained me. Though there were slow parts of the show, I still enjoyed it. I liked the romance between the King and and So Rang, I liked the second lead, I loved all of the people we meet from So Rang’s life but from the King’s life as well (except for all of those fuckers that were trying to do him dirty) and a giant fuck you to the woman and her daughter that was trying to do So Rang dirty too. I’m glad that when all was said and done, my girl got her happy ending and was able to return to the person she’s always been and was able to step into the light without hiding anymore. I was glad that the King was able to finally move on from his first love and find love again with my girl. There’s enough here for viewers to enjoy and I thought the visuals (not just the actors but the setting as well) were beautiful and I am glad that I watched it.

Final Rating

3.5 out of 5

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Review: Unlock My Boss

Posted February 23, 2023 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Unlock My Boss

Starring: Chae Jong Hyeop, Park Sung Woong, Seo Eun Soo, Heo Ji Na, Ahn Nae Sang, Kim Sung Oh
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Mystery
Country: South Korea
Director: Lee Chul Ha
Screenwriter: Kim Hyun Min
Where to Watch: Viki

As founder and CEO of one of the country’s largest IT companies, Kim Sun Joo is a name everyone knows. A true genius in his field, Sun Joo has everything in life going for him. But living at the top comes with its own set of challenges, and some would stop at nothing to bring him down. In this case, literally.

Hunted down by an unknown killer, Sun Joo becomes the unfortunate victim of a senseless murder. But instead of leaving this life, Sun Joo’s spirit somehow takes up residence in his smartphone. Now trapped within his phone, Sun Joo might have spent an eternity there, had Park In Sung not stumbled upon it.

A down-and-out university graduate unable to find a job, In Sung is shocked to find a phone inhabited by the spirit of Sun Joo. Taking advantage of the situation Sun Joo does his best to convince In Sung to help him; a task which becomes much easier once he mentions the hefty reward he’s willing to give In Sung in exchange for his services.

Taking on the role of temporary CEO, In Sung steps into Sun Joo’s shoes at the company, much to the chagrin of his secretary, Jung Se Yeon. Working together in secret, will the two be able to find those responsible for Sun Joo’s death?

I became a fan of Chae Jong Hyeop after watching him in The Witch’s Diner and Love All Play. So when this one was being promoted, it was on my radar strictly because Jong Hyeop starred in it. The story itself isn’t one that I thought I would enjoy since it seemed too silly for me and while it’s not a favorite of mine, this show did entertain and keep me curious enough to finish it out though I didn’t think I would in the middle.

The Story

So this drama follows a young man who teams up with the administrative assistant of a CEO of one of the largest IT companies in South Korea as they try to get their boss out of the smartphone. Park In Sung found the phone near his parents house and after some back and forth, arguing with the man that claims to be stuck in the phone, he decides that since he doesn’t have anything else going on, he’ll take a stab at helping this guy find out what happened, who is behind his abduction, and live the rich life for a little bit. Little did he know the adventure that awaited him once he took the job on.

Male Lead

Park In Sung is a down on his luck young adult that can’t seem to land a steady job. He’s been trying but he’s been striking out so when this dream job lands in his lap, he finds himself jumping through hoop after hoop to stay afloat. He’s trying to land a steady job to get his parents, specifically his dad off his back since he seems to have lost confidence that In Sung is going to accomplish anything in his life so he wants him to come back home and help him run their family farm. In Sung is determined to succeed no matter what and with his drive and the good head that he had on his shoulder, I was rooting him on. I loved the way that he was with everyone from the CEO’s young daughter to Uncle Mafia to the female lead, he was genuinely nice to everyone and really tried his hardest to do always do the right thing and I lovedhat about him.

Female Lead

I’m not going to lie, when we’re first introduced to Se Yeong’s character, I didn’t realize she was the female lead and I was side-eyeing the hell out of her. I thought she played a part in the CEO’s abduction and I thought just a whole lot of things that weren’t good. I’m glad that I was wrong on every point because she was so different from Park In Sung and yet I really loved those differences. I loved how smart she was, how strong she was and I really felt for her character and everything she was going through at the same time that she was trying to help find her boss. She ended up being one of my favorite characters and I’m glad for that cause she was pretty awesome. Very relatable.

The Cast

It was a pleasant surprise to see a child actress in this show that I loved so much in the last show that I watched her in. The CEO’s daughter, Min Ah. I absolutely loved her in Our Blues and absolutely loved her in this one as well. I saw a lot of familiar faces in this drama and enjoyed what each of them brought to the show. The characters aren’t what I had issues with, I struggled with the story being told…but I did like everyone (except the bad guys, eff them, haha).

Final Thoughts

Overall, this drama isn’t going to be a favorite of mine but I did enjoy everyone’s efforts. The acting, the humor, the heart were all great. I just wished that I connected with the story being told. The whole AI stuff, the abduction, the bad guys themselves, all of it was super fluffy to me and while I enjoyed the actors, the characters, it was them that I kept tuning in for. I did enjoy the show but I spent most of the time watching this one, hoping that next week it would pick up.

Final Rating

3 out of 5

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Review: Fan Letter, Please

Posted January 10, 2023 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Fan Letter, Please

Starring: Yoon Park, Choi Soo Young, Shin Yeon Woo, Jeon In Ji, Kang Da Hyun, Kim Sang Woo
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Country: South Korea
Where to Watch: Viki

Han Kang Hee is a top star actress who started acting ever since childhood. Because of the pressure as a top star, her self-esteem begins to drop and bad comments about her drama increase. The stress caused by those comments keeps her away from fanletters as well. In this crisis, she coincidentally runs into her first love, Jung Seok. He was a popular kid back in school but is now a single father of a sick child. His daughter Yu Na writes a fanletter to Kang Hee as her huge fan. However, as her letter doesn’t make it to Kang Hee, Jung Seok writes back instead. Kang Hee’s story with a beloved fan and her first love begins with a special fanletter.

Yoon Park made his way onto my radar when I watched him in Forecasting Love and Weather last year. His character started off as such an ass but I’m glad that over the course of the show his character kept right on charming me until eventually, he completely won me over. I don’t remember watching him in any other show so when I saw that this show was coming out, I was in.

The Story

This drama tells the story of A-List actress, Han Kang Hee, and a guy from high school, Bang Jung Seok. Jung Seok had a big crush on Kang Hee when they were in school but after a misunderstanding, they fell out with each other and drifted apart. Years later, they run into each other as adults and their lives are completely different and they, themselves are even more different. Jung Seok is a single father with a daughter who has cancer. Kang Hee is a famous actress that is struggling with PR issues. Jung Seok’s daughter is a huge Kang Hee fan and when she starts writing letters to her, her father delivers them and to everyone’s surprise, Kang Hee starts writing her back.

Kang Hee is also surprised when it comes to her attention that she’s been writing letters to a young girl with cancer and when she finds out that the girl’s father is someone she actually knows, she’s curious.

Male Lead

Yoon Park as Jung Seok was such a sweetheart and a good father and I absolutely adored him. He was smart and he was hard-working and such a devoted father that it was hard not to root for him. It was more than obvious that he still harbored a secret crush on Kang Hee but seeing him grow more and more confident in himself as the show progressed made for an enjoyable viewing experience. He’s not the perfect character that has all of his shit together but he’s a flawed character that is trying his best and I really liked that about him.

Female Lead

I haven’t watched a whole lot of shows with Choi Soo Young in them but I do like her acting. This was a fantastic role for her and I thought she did really well with it. Kang Hee was perfect on the outside but a mess on the inside and seeing her work through her issues and become stronger and stronger as the show progressed was great. It took her a while to work through her fear of getting fan letters (her reason for that was completely understandable, btw) and seeing her grow closer and closer to both Jung Seok and his daughter was great too.

The Cast

Aside from the two main leads, not a lot of other people were familiar to me. There were just a couple of people that I recognized from other shows so I can’t really say much about everyone. As much as I enjoyed the characters from the hospital (the other kids and the Moms), and then the reporter guy, not a lot of them were memorable though I’m sure that will change once I see more stuff with them in them.

The main leads definitely carried this show for me.

Final Thoughts

This show was a lot of fun. It was funny, it made me happy sigh and it even made me tear up as well. It packed a pretty great punch for such a short show. I thought for sure that I’d find it lacking in some way or form but that wasn’t the case at all. I didn’t think that it felt rushed or that the relationship and story suffered from not having more time to develop. I thought the actors, the writers, and everyone else told a solid story, developed a strong romance, and brought about a lovely cast of characters that charmed the socks right off of me. From the main characters to the kids, even the high school friends, and the convenience store owner, everyone did their thing and I enjoyed every last bit of it.

Final Rating

via GIPHY

4 out of 5

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Review: Gaus Electronics

Posted December 20, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Gaus Electronics

Starring: Kwak Dong Yeon, Go Sung Hee, Bae Hyun Sung, Kang Min Ah, Baek Hyun Jin, Heo Jung Do
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: Drama, Business, Comedy, Life, Romance
Country: South Korea
Director: Park Joon Soo
Where I Watched It: Viki
Who I Watched It For: Kwak Dong Yeon

Stress is no stranger to the members of Marketing Team 3 of the home appliance department at the Gaus Electronics HQ. The firm is a busy, multinational company, but this is a team that most workers dream of getting out of – and where chaos is no stranger!

Some 10 employees make up the team. These include Lee Sang Sik, a man with a positive personality who often misjudges his coworkers’ moods, causing trouble as a result! There is also Cha Na Rae, the hot-tempered assistant manager! Also among their number is Baek Ma Tan, the heir of the owners of Gaus Electronics’ fiercest rival – Power Group. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and has never known hardship. But he shocked his entire family when he decided to join Gaus as a junior employee! His polar opposite is Geon Gang Mi, who comes from more modest origins and has always tried to pull herself up by her bootstraps – pushing herself to succeed at every step (although she does have a tendency to change when she drinks alcohol!).

While they seem to have very little in common at first, they slowly begin to form a bond, with possible sparks of romance in the air! Will any of the marketing team succeed in escaping? Or will they eventually find a way to quell the workplace chaos?

I’ve become a fan of Kwak Dong Yeon so when I saw that he was coming out with a new comedy, I was interested in starting it and I’m so glad that I did. I wasn’t expecting The Office when I started this one but I’m not mad at all that this was the kind of drama that I got. I’ve watched a few comedy office dramas before but I didn’t enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this one so I was a little scared that I wouldn’t like this one as well but that was not the case. I completely adored this show.

The Story

This drama follows a marketing team for a corporate office. They’re not the most popular marketing team but for me, they were a unique bunch that had me tuning in every single week, ready, with a smile on my face. They are the goofiest bunch that had me laughing out loud many different times but they were also a hard-working bunch as well. They tackled each project they were handled with determination and they handled rejection and anything that came their way with a grace that wasn’t at all graceful but fun all the same.

Main Male Lead

Our main male lead, Lee Sang Shik is one of the goofiest of the marketing team 3 bunch. When we first meet him, he’s clumsy, he’s goofy, but he’s also passionate about doing a good job. I loved that he was at the bottom of the totem pole at the office but where he and his lady love was concerned, he was the top dawg. He didn’t see her as a woman until long after it was obvious that she saw him as a man. Seeing him live his life and try his best in all parts of his life made this show just that much more entertaining for me and I really liked seeing him in a main role since I don’t think I’ve seen him in one yet.

Sang Shik is such a fantastic character. He thinks he’s so much cooler than he actually is and the shit that he got himself into, the stuff that he believed about himself just had me cracking up every week. He was a highlight of the year for me, for sure.

Main Female Lead

I’ve enjoyed seeing this actress in a few dramas so I was looking forward to seeing her again. While this character wasn’t my favorite of hers, I still enjoyed getting to know her and seeing her get her man that she pretended to hate every single week. I liked that her love for Sang Shik wasn’t perfect. My girl kept getting injured every time she was with or around Sang Shik so I understood why she was the way that she was with him and I liked it even more that she was annoyed that she liked him.

She was such a confident woman at work but seeing her struggle with her personal life made me love her character all the more. She was a lot of fun and I enjoyed her a lot.

The Cast

I absolutely adored this cast. From the main characters to the supporting characters, they were all fantastic. The boss had me cracking up in every single episode and the banter and the chemistry was so much fun. I can’t explain how much I enjoyed all of the characters, I just did. Every single character was different and unique and brought a different flavor to a colorful drama that was a big highlight of my week. My favorite storyline had to be the rich son of the competing company, going undercover to learn how the less fortunate live. Seeing him fall in love with his coworker that kept turning him down was another bright spot for me.

They hit all of their jokes, and delivered their characters to us on a gold platter and I ate it up every week. I also liked the guy that was there every week but nobody paid any attention to.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was such a delightful show and I can’t recommend it enough. If you’re in the mood for something light, funny, and just a whole lot of fun, check this one out. There’s much to enjoy and a whole to recommend. The cast, the commercials for the projects that team three worked on during the show, the romances, and just the commeraderie between everyone on the team. I laughed a lot, I happy sighed a lot, and I enjoyed this one a lot. It was a nice break from the gloom and doom of all the other shows that I was watching at the same time that I was watching this one. Loved it.

Final Rating

via GIPHY

4.5 out of 5

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Review: Hotel Del Luna

Posted December 15, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Hotel Del Luna

Starring: IU, Yeo Jin Goo, Shin Jung Keun, Bae Hae Seon, P.O, Jo Hyun Chul
Year Released: 2019
Number of Episodes: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Country: South Korea
Director: Oh Choong Hwan
Screenwriter: Hong Jung Eun, Hong Mi Ran
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Who I Watched It For: IU

Nestled deep in the heart of Seoul’s thriving downtown sits a curious hotel, the like of which no one has ever seen before. Old beyond measure, the building has stood for millennia, an ever-present testament to the fact that things are not always what they seem. Running this hotel is Jang Man Wol, a greedy, suspicious soul who has spent the past thousand years acting as the establishment’s CEO. Bound to the hotel by a deity who keeps her there to save her from going berserk and self-destruction with rage, hatred and thirst for revenge. Her only hope of escape is if she could let go of her resentment and hatred, and find love. Trapped in her resentment for a betrayal, Man Wol is doomed to spend all of the eternity running this odd establishment, catering to the needs of the most peculiar clientele.

Things take an interesting turn when Goo Chan Sung shows up. Once the youngest assistant manager ever to work at a multinational hotel corporation, Chan Sung finds himself forced to manage the Hotel del Luna because of a deal his father made with Man Wol years ago. Excellent with managing money, he starts to put Jang’s excessive spending and disastrous finance situation in order, that may be exactly what this odd establishment and its cursed CEO needs.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this show so it’s been on my radar for a while now. It didn’t come up on Netflix or Viki or anything whenever I would browse for new shows to watch but when it finally did, I didn’t even stop think about it. I just started watching. IU has fast become one of my favorite k-actresses and I thought was another solid effort of hers and if anything, made me an even bigger supporter of hers now.

I’m going to skip the story portion of my reviews and jump right into everything. The blurb included above does a pretty decent job of explaining what this drama is about. 🙂

Main Male Lead

I can’t remember seeing Yeo Jin Goo in anything else before so this was my introduction to him and his acting. I don’t have a single complaint about his work here. I was so invested in his journey, and in him finding his way with and without Man Wol. Over the course of the show, I grew softer and softer for his character and I cried a lot with him and for him.

Chan Sung was an interesting character that captured my attention from the very first episode seeing him fight and bicker his way into some super heavy feelings for Mang Wol and seeing him come to terms with his part in just everything made the show that much more compelling for me. I really liked him.

Main Female Lead

IU did her thing in this show. Jang Mang Wol was such a complex character that had a lot of hidden depths. She was so complex that at first, it was hard to connect with her but with each passing episode, you start to connect and feel for her and what she’s been through. She comes off as one kind of person but the more you dig, the more you realize that there’s more than meets the eye. By the time her story is completely out there, you won’t be able to help yourself. You’re going to love the hell out of her. At first, she frustrated me with how bratty she was but by the middle of the show, I was completely Team Jang Mang Wol…and so was Goo Chan Sung. Hehe.

The Cast

There were a lot of familiar faces on this cast and I liked each and every single one of them. My favorites of the bunch being Ji Hyun Joong (the bell boy) and Sanchez, but also the high school girl, Kim Yoo Na. As great as everything and everyone else were, aside from Man Wol and Chan Sung, I was most interested in these guys.

I thought each character made a great addition to the overall story being told and I really enjoyed the way that they all came together.

Final Thoughts

IU, Jin Goo, and everyone created a fun, interesting, and delightful drama and I’m super glad that I watched it. I wasn’t expecting the humor and the brightness in such a dark drama but I’m so glad for those additions because they made the drama pop with a color that I enjoyed. I will say that there was a beginning hump that I had to get through so there was a lot of confusion on my end but once everything started clicking, it was hard for me to stay away. I watched this one pretty quickly and even though it’s a drama that is heavy and on the dark side, it wasn’t hard to watch at all. Once the confusion lifts, it’s pretty easy to keep up and root for our main leads. Though it’s not my favorite drama ever, I still enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for a humorous supernatural watch.

Final Rating

via GIPHY

4 out of 5

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