Ex-Girlfriend Club

Ex-Girlfriend Club

5.5/10

Ex-Girlfiend Club

Genre:                                 Episodes: 12                                   Year: 2015

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Kim Soo Jin is a movie producer at a company that has recently declared bankruptcy. The only way for Soo Jin to save the company is to finish making the movie they bought the rights for. The movie is based off a webtoon about one man and his three ex-girlfriends. The author of the webtoon is Bang Myung Soo, Soo Jin’s ex-boyfriend. The situation becomes even more complicated when the three ex-girlfriends depicted in the webtoon hear about the movie, and come to prevent it from being filmed.

Cast:

Song Ji Hyo (Kim Soo Jin)

Hyun Yo Han (Bang Myung Soo)

Lee Yoon Ji (Jang Hwa Young)

Jang Ji Eun (Na Ji Ah)

Hwa Young (Ra Ra)

Do Sang Woo (Director Jo Geun)

General Thoughts:

I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’m glad the series got an episode cutback, but I’m not exactly devastated. I feel sad for all the people who poured so much effort and love into making the series, but I will admit- the cutback did wonders in getting that plot moving. The drama definitely started out on the slow side. It was like an old pony slowly making its way towards its destination, stopping occasionally to feel the sun and munch some grass. Not a bad picture- but not exactly exciting.

Pretty...but a little bland

The writers had a great premise- one guy, three exes and a ‘some’ girl all brought together by one event. Then they had some hilarious situations that could ensue from that premise- and I will admit, some of the situations were ridiculously funny. But then the writers sort of strung these events together in whatever way seemed mildly plausible.

4 girls, 1 guy

To be completely honest, I’m still not 100% sure why the exes rocked up to protest the making of the film- sure it’s not the nicest thing to have our story out there for everyone to see, but no one will know it’s you. Unless you make a huge fuss about it and draw attention to yourself. Which, oops, they kind of did. Plus, the webtoon was already published so their stories were already out there. While the funny moments were undoubtably funny, I was sometimes a little confused as to how we got there- because the only logical explanation would be that our characters are a bunch of simpletons. Speaking of our characters, I thought they were more or less delightful with solid acting to back them up. If not more than solid acting. I do feel as though the impressive acting actually ended up covering for a bit of a lack in the writing. While the show did have a lot of flaws, one of the things it did well was its presentation of the exes. They weren’t horrible, vengeful women out to get their ex. They were their own people with their own motivations and desires. It was nice to take a trip away from typical K-Drama ex-girlfriends. But sadly, there’s not a whole lot you can talk about with this drama, as not a whole lot happened.

Petty revenge is always a fun time

I can see why it really resonated with some people, but I can also see (perhaps a tad more clearly) why the ratings were so low. It’s enjoyable enough but it’s definitely not an outstanding drama. Nothing in it is annoying enough to put you off, but at the same time there isn’t a lot going on story-wise.

What Was Great:

The Exes:

All the exes were fantastic. I’m already a huge fan of Lee Yoon Ji, so there wasn’t much risk in disliking the lioness. I find that Lee Yoon Ji can bring a lot of spark to her characters. She’s one of those rare actresses that can be bold and assertive without coming across as b*tchy or too dominating.

What commitment to a character looks like

She has a marvellous ability to express the vulnerability of her character, even when her character is putting on a strong front. Not to mention she’s hilarious. Lee Yoon Ji can totally bring the crazy to a character without going over the top. She added layers to her character that I’m not completely sure were there on paper, and dove into her role with complete dedication. Hwa Young was delightful as the fox ex. She could be completely sexy while still exuding an aura of innocence. Many actresses would have fallen into the trap of making Ra Ra a character that was too much of a sex-symbol, or just too dumb, but Hwa Young did an excellent job at keeping the purity of her character alive, even in situations when her character wasn’t exactly pure. Ra Ra as a character was just wonderful as well. She was one of the most understandable exes- she was an actress struggling to land substantial roles, a movie needed her okay to go ahead- blackmail for role in the movie. Makes perfect sense. Director shows interest in her as a person rather than an object and offered constructive feedback about her work as an actress- she falls for him. Makes perfect sense. Other exes want to squish Soo Jin and the Director together to get Soo Jin away from Myung Soo- she makes sure Myung Soo is well aware of the goings on and can intervene. Makes absolute, wonderfully perfect sense. Hooray! Not to mention it was nice to have an ex who didn’t really care about the love-life of the main man, so long as it didn’t interfere with hers.

Because nothing builds friendship quite like ruining the relationship of a mutual ex

Jang Ji Eun did a well enough job with her character. I didn’t love the cat ex as I always felt her intentions were unclear- did she want Myung Soo back or not? Ignoring the less than understandable character, Jang Ji Eun did well in expressing the changing feelings of Na Ji Ah (particularly towards the other exes) without breaking Ji Ah’s elegant, if icy, demeanour. 

Go ahead- try and hate him

The Man:

I don’t know how they managed to get away with making the leading man so likeable. It’s a story about a guy and all his exes. And yet…you still like him. Granted, the series doesn’t exactly deeply explore why all these relationships ended up failing, but you’d still imagine that one guy paired with four girls would come across a little slimy. But on the contrary, he just came across as really sweet. While he may no longer hold a flame for any of his exes, he can’t seem to turn his back on them if they appear to be in trouble- particularly Ji Ah. It’s the cause of a lot of his problems with Soo Jin, but you can’t exactly condemn a man for being too nice. Add in the fact that Byun Yo Han is just super adorable and you’ve got the combination for a really cute, likeable male lead.

The Funny:

Goodness, when the show wanted to be funny, it was funny. There were cute and sweet moments, but it was the humour that really sold the show. Even hough it might not have made sense how we got to a certain situation, you almost didn’t mind the lack of sense purely because it was so darn hilarious. All the actors in the drama did an excellent job at bringing on the laughs. They devoted themselves 100% to their characters, which made for some pretty spectacular reactions and faces.

Mere moments before the best bro-fight you'll ever witness

The Soundtrack:

The soundtrack is catchy and cute. Never before have I experienced a song that so perfectly captures the awkwardness of a situation. Also, the opening theme was perfectly in tune with the tone of the drama, and told you what to expect from the series. 

What Wasn’t:

Some of Song Ji Hyo:

I really adore Song Ji Hyo, and I find her to be an excellent actress. Being a fixed member in ‘Running Man’ she’s well used to providing the laughs, and she can definitely deliver strong, feisty heroines. My issue with Song Ji Hyo (and it kills me to say this) is that she can’t do cutesy romance well.

Beloved Ji Hyo's aegyo...it's not good

She can do believable romance, I’ve seen it other dramas- but sadly this isn’t one of her best works. She’s fantastic when she’s yelling at the ex-girlfriends, she’s fantastic when she’s telling Myung Soo what’s what, and she’s fantastic in the frantic, panicked, comedic situations. But her romance with the main man did fall a tad flat. Hyun Yo Han is so good at delivering the cutesy, childish adorableness. Song Ji Hyo…not so much. And unfortunately, standing Song Ji Hyo next to a man who’s so good at the cute, made her attempts seem that much worse than they actually were. In a couple of scenes I could practically feel Song Ji Hyo’s embarrassment oozing out of my screen. Sadly, this also impacted on the chemistry between our two leads. It didn’t hurt the chemistry enough that it was unbelievable that the two characters would end up as lovers, but it did make them seem as though they were better suited as friends. Because their relationship was most believable when Soo Jin and Myung Soo were acting as childish, immature friends. Sorry Ace, I still love you.

Not the most romantic romance

Length Between Laughs:

While the funny moments were very, very funny, the spaces between these moments were very, very long. It was worthwhile sticking through the patches of drawn out plot to get to the awesome moments of hilarity, but there were times when the series did boarder on boring. After about the third of fourth episode, it feels kind of like you’re watching the same thing over and over until the newest comedic scene makes an appearance and makes you laugh your butt off. And then you’re back to the same old repetition. 

A little bit how it felt waiting for the next funny scene

The Cat:

I just didn’t get the deal with the cat. The writers played their cards too close to the vest with that one. In order to maintain the mystery around this particular ex, they gave up any chance of creating an understandable character.

Jeez woman, what do you even want?

I understand that her character's development may have suffered brutally due to the episode cutback (I think our heroine felt a fair amount of this as well), but she just didn’t make a heap of sense. Ji Ah seemed to flit from one state of mind to the next with the same stoney exterior, and didn’t let us viewers in on her thought processes that lead to her change of mind. Times when she was interfering in Myung Soo and Soo Jin’s relationship she just became downright irritating. She stated that she didn’t want to date Myung Soo again, so why is she making such a fuss? At least our lioness actually verbalised reasoning behind why she wanted to interfere in the relationship. Even if Hwa Young’s excuses made little logical sense, they made emotional sense once she verbalised her feelings. Unlike Ji Ah. Who apparently just messed around with everything because she had nothing better to do. It’s not like she’s got a restaurant to run or anything.

Re-watch?

No. This drama came so close to being something that was truly amazing, but the writing let the team down. The premise and the cast were all fantastic, but the drama just lost its direction and had no idea how to add enough believable (and non-frustrating) conflict to keep it consistently interesting.

Behold- the everlasting magic of friendship