Drama Review: Oh My Lady
Sep. 6th, 2010 12:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
themadpokerSo I marathoned the last six episodes of this today and am currently feeling very friendly towards this drama! Let's see if I can still manage to keep things objective though.
Choi Siwon plays actor Sung Min Woo who's recently risen to fame by virtue of good timing and an ability to look very attractive on camera. He can't act but his fans don't mind! Have you seen his abs? Min Woo is happily coasting on his wave of fame, picking out projects that don't require much skill but will make him popular. That is, until he finds a mute five year old girl left on his doorstep with a box of clothes and a note from her mother leaving her in his hands. Having no idea how to take care of a child (and having been unaware he was a father until this point) he signs a contract with Gae Hwa agreeing to act in her company's musical in exchange for her living with him as his housekeeper and Ye Eun's primary caretaker.
Played by Chae Rim, Yoon Gae Hwa is a 35 year old divorced housewife living with her only child Min Ji. After losing her apartment due to failure to pay rent she's forced to leave Min Ji with her father while she searches for a secure job that'll let her provide for them both. She finds it at The Show Company, where the president agrees to hire her under the condition she gets top star Sung Min Woo to act in their musical. After a series of fortunate coincidences puts her position to blackmail Min Woo with knowledge of his newly acquired daughter, contracts are signed and ahjumma/star hijinks are a go!
I've always been of the opinion that shows with cliche-ridden premises need to either subvert them or play them with enough charm that you don't mind. Oh My Lady goes for the second with some success! I'm going to start off with the show's weaknesses and then go on to what I liked.
Weaknesses
- For a rom com, it took a really long time for the romance to heat up. For the first five episodes at least I'd have strongly argued in favour of a older sister/immature kid brother relationship over a romantic one. Min Woo and Gae Hwa don't seem to have much in the way of romantic chemistry and the show really didn't seem very interested in trying to develop some either. I can't say I minded all that much since it made up for it with other aspects I liked but considering the final episode ends with Gae Hwa accepting his marriage proposal, it would have been a good idea to try to sell the romance a little harder.
- Many of the side characters come off as bland at times. I nicknamed President Yoo Cardboard-ssi early on because his total refusal to ever emote made him about as interesting as cardboard. The show also insisted on not having any really hardcore villains which I'd count as both weakness and strength. Weakness because if, for example, Yu Ra had committed to full on gold digging schemery she probably would've been alot more fun to watch but also a strength since I did like what a warm hearted view the show took of its entire cast. For those of you on the flist who've seen Merlin, you know how Lady Vivian came off as a girl version of Arthur circa episode 1.01 before Merlin and Gwen's humanizing influence? Yu Ra and Min Woo are much the same. She's shallow and not terribly considerate or bright but I suspect if she had her own Ye Eun and Gae Hwa she'd grow up nicely as well.
- Characterwise, Gae Hwa is much the same at the end of the drama as she was in the beginning. We do have her telling Min Woo that she regained the courage to depend on someone else at the end but since romance was of such little focus throughout the drama it didn't really feel like any journey had taken place. If more had been made of Gae Hwa's feelings regarding her ex's betrayal and explicitly shown her as having difficulties with trust it would have had more impact but as it was it came off as just a line. I liked Gae Hwa alot but some character development would not have gone amiss.
Strengths
- The humor. The drama loses some of this towards the end but the first eight or so episodes were laugh out loud funny. Sung Min Woo and Yoon Gae Hwa play off each other really well and you can tell the writers had a really good time poking fun at the celebrity industry. If the scene of Gae Hwa and Min Woo at the supermarket running from a crowd of fan-crazed ahjummas with shopping carts doesn't have you crying with laughter nothing will.
- The development of Min Woo and Ye Eun's relationship. Ye Eun was adorable and I enjoyed watching Min Woo grow into his role as a father. Plus, for a child who literally speaks twice throughout the entire drama (and whatever happened to that plot thread? I had hoped we'd get some explanation for what trauma caused her to stop speaking) she really succeeded in expressing herself. The scenes with her passive-aggresively acting out against Min Woo (...well I don't know how much passive there was considering at one point she went around the house accidentally making messes, breaking things, and sticking out her tongue at him) made her feelings fairly clear and watching Min Woo try to win her over again was sweet. It was nice seeing him evolve from the guy who had no idea what do when she was crying except ask her to stop and offer her candy to the one who sat down in front of her and pledged to be a good father.
- Character payoff for Min Woo. I started writing a review post for this drama back when I was on episode 10 and organized it on character lines. I began Min Woo's section describing him "as about as deep as the shallow end of a kiddie pool". Which at that point was a fairly accurate assessment! More than a romance this drama was really the story of Min Woo growing up into a real actor and a good father. After I finished episode 15 I ran downstairs to tell my mom about my new happymaking show and how proud I was of the hero! Aww, look at him, all grown up and accepting responsibility and being willing to make apologies. Oh how far we have come.
- How kind this show was to all its characters. I was really pleased with how much sympathy it had for Jung-Ah, President Yoo's wife who cheated on him. It didn't excuse her actions but it did explain them and was pretty firm about showing how the marriage breakdown was attributable to both parties. Even though they choose to take a break at the end of final episode I came out feeling pretty hopeful about their chances at reconciliation.
Conclusion: Fun drama! The early episodes managed quite a bit of charm and humor and while it got a little draggy towards the middle it stayed watchable and paid off at the end. (Episode 15 = love and joy forever ♥♥♥) Final rating: 7/10.
Choi Siwon plays actor Sung Min Woo who's recently risen to fame by virtue of good timing and an ability to look very attractive on camera. He can't act but his fans don't mind! Have you seen his abs? Min Woo is happily coasting on his wave of fame, picking out projects that don't require much skill but will make him popular. That is, until he finds a mute five year old girl left on his doorstep with a box of clothes and a note from her mother leaving her in his hands. Having no idea how to take care of a child (and having been unaware he was a father until this point) he signs a contract with Gae Hwa agreeing to act in her company's musical in exchange for her living with him as his housekeeper and Ye Eun's primary caretaker.
Played by Chae Rim, Yoon Gae Hwa is a 35 year old divorced housewife living with her only child Min Ji. After losing her apartment due to failure to pay rent she's forced to leave Min Ji with her father while she searches for a secure job that'll let her provide for them both. She finds it at The Show Company, where the president agrees to hire her under the condition she gets top star Sung Min Woo to act in their musical. After a series of fortunate coincidences puts her position to blackmail Min Woo with knowledge of his newly acquired daughter, contracts are signed and ahjumma/star hijinks are a go!
I've always been of the opinion that shows with cliche-ridden premises need to either subvert them or play them with enough charm that you don't mind. Oh My Lady goes for the second with some success! I'm going to start off with the show's weaknesses and then go on to what I liked.
Weaknesses
- For a rom com, it took a really long time for the romance to heat up. For the first five episodes at least I'd have strongly argued in favour of a older sister/immature kid brother relationship over a romantic one. Min Woo and Gae Hwa don't seem to have much in the way of romantic chemistry and the show really didn't seem very interested in trying to develop some either. I can't say I minded all that much since it made up for it with other aspects I liked but considering the final episode ends with Gae Hwa accepting his marriage proposal, it would have been a good idea to try to sell the romance a little harder.
- Many of the side characters come off as bland at times. I nicknamed President Yoo Cardboard-ssi early on because his total refusal to ever emote made him about as interesting as cardboard. The show also insisted on not having any really hardcore villains which I'd count as both weakness and strength. Weakness because if, for example, Yu Ra had committed to full on gold digging schemery she probably would've been alot more fun to watch but also a strength since I did like what a warm hearted view the show took of its entire cast. For those of you on the flist who've seen Merlin, you know how Lady Vivian came off as a girl version of Arthur circa episode 1.01 before Merlin and Gwen's humanizing influence? Yu Ra and Min Woo are much the same. She's shallow and not terribly considerate or bright but I suspect if she had her own Ye Eun and Gae Hwa she'd grow up nicely as well.
- Characterwise, Gae Hwa is much the same at the end of the drama as she was in the beginning. We do have her telling Min Woo that she regained the courage to depend on someone else at the end but since romance was of such little focus throughout the drama it didn't really feel like any journey had taken place. If more had been made of Gae Hwa's feelings regarding her ex's betrayal and explicitly shown her as having difficulties with trust it would have had more impact but as it was it came off as just a line. I liked Gae Hwa alot but some character development would not have gone amiss.
Strengths
- The humor. The drama loses some of this towards the end but the first eight or so episodes were laugh out loud funny. Sung Min Woo and Yoon Gae Hwa play off each other really well and you can tell the writers had a really good time poking fun at the celebrity industry. If the scene of Gae Hwa and Min Woo at the supermarket running from a crowd of fan-crazed ahjummas with shopping carts doesn't have you crying with laughter nothing will.
- The development of Min Woo and Ye Eun's relationship. Ye Eun was adorable and I enjoyed watching Min Woo grow into his role as a father. Plus, for a child who literally speaks twice throughout the entire drama (and whatever happened to that plot thread? I had hoped we'd get some explanation for what trauma caused her to stop speaking) she really succeeded in expressing herself. The scenes with her passive-aggresively acting out against Min Woo (...well I don't know how much passive there was considering at one point she went around the house accidentally making messes, breaking things, and sticking out her tongue at him) made her feelings fairly clear and watching Min Woo try to win her over again was sweet. It was nice seeing him evolve from the guy who had no idea what do when she was crying except ask her to stop and offer her candy to the one who sat down in front of her and pledged to be a good father.
- Character payoff for Min Woo. I started writing a review post for this drama back when I was on episode 10 and organized it on character lines. I began Min Woo's section describing him "as about as deep as the shallow end of a kiddie pool". Which at that point was a fairly accurate assessment! More than a romance this drama was really the story of Min Woo growing up into a real actor and a good father. After I finished episode 15 I ran downstairs to tell my mom about my new happymaking show and how proud I was of the hero! Aww, look at him, all grown up and accepting responsibility and being willing to make apologies. Oh how far we have come.
- How kind this show was to all its characters. I was really pleased with how much sympathy it had for Jung-Ah, President Yoo's wife who cheated on him. It didn't excuse her actions but it did explain them and was pretty firm about showing how the marriage breakdown was attributable to both parties. Even though they choose to take a break at the end of final episode I came out feeling pretty hopeful about their chances at reconciliation.
Conclusion: Fun drama! The early episodes managed quite a bit of charm and humor and while it got a little draggy towards the middle it stayed watchable and paid off at the end. (Episode 15 = love and joy forever ♥♥♥) Final rating: 7/10.
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Date: 2010-09-07 03:32 am (UTC)If only for the kid. >.
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Date: 2010-09-07 04:04 am (UTC)Also I read your post about university! Congratulations! I didn't know you were going to dorm at Waterloo; it sounds very exciting. :)
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Date: 2010-09-08 04:40 pm (UTC)I was just wondering, do you use all your textbooks? A lot? Or are there some courses where you don't really need to use them?
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Date: 2010-09-08 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 04:59 pm (UTC)How's life been?
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Date: 2010-09-10 02:35 am (UTC)