Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Shut Up Flower Boy Band

4/10

Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Genre:                  Episodes: 16                  Year: 2012

School

Romance

Music

Synopsis:

Six free-spirited, rough-around-the-edges boys are part of a garage rock band called ‘Eye Candy’. After their leader and songwriter dies in an accident, the remaining boys are determined to let the world hear his music- as was his dream. Kwon Ji Hyuk steps up as the band’s reluctant leader, as the group of outcasts struggle against many conflicts, both external and internal.

Cast:

Sung Joon (Kwon Ji Hyuk)

L (Lee Hyun Soo)

Lee Hyun Jae (Jang Do Il)

Yoo Min Kyu (Kim Ha Jin)

Kim Min Suk (Seo Kyung Jong)

Jo Bo Ah (Im Soo Ah)

Jung Eui Chul (Yoo Seung Hoon)

Lee Min Ki (Joo Byung Hee)

General Thoughts:

Not even my combined love of Kim Min Suk and Jang Eui Chul could push this drama away from ‘barely bearable’ and into ‘good’. Though I do feel as though I’m in the minority when it comes to disliking this drama. In all honesty, there were a lot of things about this drama, and a lot of aspects of it that I really loved. However, towards the end there, my frustration just became too much to handle- and I found myself praying that the darn thing would hurry up and end. It’s a totally different feel from ‘Flower Boy Ramyun Shop’.

Yeaaahhhh...the vibe was completely different

While ‘Ramyun Shop’ did have an emotional story with insightful commentaries on life- these were covered by beautiful comedic fluff. However, ‘Shut Up Flower Boy Band’ was anything but fluffy. It was edgy, gritty and not nearly as funny as the title implies. But this isn’t a bad thing. What initially caught my interest was the way the drama was shaping up to be an underdog story about a group of lost boys who don’t quite fit in anywhere and want to bring their music into the world's attention. What the drama managed to express incredibly well were the invisible boundaries that exist in society.

It's fairly obvious why they don't fit in with the rich b*tches

This was portrayed excellently in the school setting, where our rough boys were completely on the outs due to their less than ideal backgrounds, and poor financial status. But it’s a two-way street. The boys also judge the other students around them, including Soo Ah, as arrogant, privileged, rich kids, who have never experienced hardships. However, these social commentaries and the feeling of fighting to be accepted without compromising character seemed to disappear once the boys entered the entertainment company (around episode 12 is where it really started heading south). Admittedly, the drama did need internal conflict to keep itself interesting- the boys couldn’t be happy-chappy bromance buddies for all 16 episodes. But the internal conflict was based purely on misunderstandings and miscommunications. Which is the type of conflict I hate most. When the majority of problems in a drama can be solved by one character simply opening his gob and actually explaining what's going on, I can’t help but feel that the writers are choosing to be a little lazy. I digress. The acting was actually pretty good. I always knew Sung Joon was a star (no matter how irritating his character) and I was pleasantly surprised to see that L was fairly competent as well. I wasn’t sold on Jo Bo Ah as a leading lady. Her movements and facial expressions were more than acceptable- it was her voice that didn’t sit well. A lot of the time she came across too slow and breathy. I’m sure this was a result of Jo Bo Ah trying to put extra emotion into her lines- but it felt a little like she was on drugs and flying high as kite.

Requirement 1 for 'Flower Boy' drama: several flowery (?) boys

The rest of the boys were all compelling as the support characters. They didn’t grab a lot of screen time, but still managed to give the impression of fully formed, fleshed out characters. You could really feel the chemistry and energy between the boys while they were on screen.

What Was Great:

Thankfully the Music:

All the music in the drama was fantastic. Which is awesome, because it would totally blow having terrible music in a drama that was all about music. All songs that were performed by Eye Candy were fun, enjoyable, and extremely catchy. The duets between L and Kim Ye Rim were adorable, and did an excellent job at providing insight into the relationship between the two characters.

Sh*tty music would have been a death sentence for this drama

Boys Against the World:

All my favourite parts of the drama were the parts where it was Eye Candy vs. Everyone Else. The way the boys’ characters were presented, it was totally believable that they would be written off in society and have to fight tooth and nail for acknowledgement and/or acceptance from anyone.

Everyone loves an underdog

The false bravado and ‘I don’t care’ attitude used to mask their insecurities made the characters feel real and relatable, and is completely accurate to teenage emotions. The boys are drawn together because they are people that the world has deemed ‘unnecessary’, and the drama is about their struggle to find their place in this world without giving up who they are as a person. The boys want to be accepted- but they also don’t want to have to change themselves in order for that to happen. It was fantastically entertaining to watch the group fight against the school that wanted to expel them because they didn’t fit the school’s ideal image, and then the entertainment company that wanted to turn them into shiny, made-over, money-making machines. 

Best Cameo Out:

Lee Min Ki was absolutely dynamic. I went into this drama knowing absolutely nothing about it. I honestly believed that he was our main male lead for the series. You now, until he died. Brutally. In episode 2.

They wouldn't really kill him off, right? Right? RIGHT?!

Lee Min Ki was a complete show stealer- he was able to create a whacky, eccentric character that was strangely likeable. He dominated whatever scene he was in- partly because his character was so larger-than-life, and partly because Lee Min Ki himself was so dedicated to his role that he seemed to fill Joo Byung Hee, and the drama at large, completely on his own. Thankfully, the writers played out the death of Lee Min Ki’s character well. His death impacted on the other boys in different ways, and his presence was always felt throughout the drama in the decisions the band made. Byung Hee’s death gave the boys of the band incentive and courage to pursue their goals and, his memory was a great motivator. 

Cue confused wailing

What Wasn’t:

Male Lead is Meh:

I couldn’t connect to the character of Kwon Ji Hyuk at all. I understand that the drama was supposed to be about how he was unwillingly thrust into a leadership position and wasn’t quite up to the task.

Guess who's an asshole! If you guessed this guy- you'd be right

However, I never felt like he was really making an effort. After the boys first performed Byung Hee’s song, it appeared as though Ji Hyuk then emotionally checked out of the band in favour of pursuing Soo Ah. Yeah, I also didn’t really feel much chemistry between them, but whatever- it was the friendships I was invested in, not the romance. I found Ji Hyuk to be far too selfish for my tastes, never giving much thought to what the other boys wanted (until the final episode). It was torture to watch Hyun Soo, who was so motivated and so determined, battling with Ji Hyuk to take command and tell the boys what they needed to do- because they would have listed to Ji Hyuk in a way they never listened to Hyun Soo. But no, Ji Hyuk did nothing but mope around, ignore the boys and get grumpy with Soo Ah for talking to Seung Hoon. Lame, lame, lame. At least try and take control, you doofus.

So Much Frustration:

Unfortunately, as well as being generally dislikable- Ji Hyuk was also a large source of frustration. My absolute least favourite type of angst is withheld information and miscommunications caused by Noble Idiots. And Ji Hyuk was a terrible Noble Idiot. I just wanted to whack him over the head. He never properly talked to the other band-members about any of the decisions he made regarding the band, and completely failed to see how his actions would impact on his friends. 

Ji Hyuk, for the love of all things good and righteous- PLEASE STOP AND THINK ABOUT YOUR MATES

Even when he finally (sort of) figured out what was going on with the other boys, he didn’t communicate, he just sat there in silence mulling over his own bruised feelings- even when his friends were basically screaming at him to give them the slightest bit of information on where his head was at. What completely killed the drama and any warm feelings I had towards Ji Hyuk was Hyun Soo going solo and the initial breakup of Eye Candy. Because it was just so darn unnecessary.

I wanted more bedtime snoodles and less angry cold-shoulders

By simply giving the other members of Eye Candy a heads-up on Hyun Soo’s situation, and why Hyun Soo desperately needed to go solo at the time, there would have been a whole lot less hurt feelings, a whole lot less band-breaking up, and a whole lot less frustration. While I suppose this also would have cut out the conflict for a good 5 episodes, I would like to trust that the writers could come up with a plot device that went beyond ‘I really don’t feel like explaining anything to you boys right now’. Is that too much to ask? It also felt weird that these boys who were originally such rebels and troublemakers became so complacent to their parents in the middle there. Their kids wag school, get into fights and their friend dies, and not one parent cares. But then suddenly they’re in a band that’s sort of famous, and every parent gives a sh*t and they become the most controlling people ever. Huge lack in continuity there. It also became a little tiresome that the bromances dropped out for such a large portion of the show, as that was what was really driving the drama and made it interesting to watch. I can only take so much of our buddies being grumpy with each other before I lose interest in their relationships completely. It didn’t need to be all angst, all the time. But that’s what we got for a good stretch there. And then all the bromance I wanted to see was given in quick flashback in the last two episodes. 

Does he just not care that he sent a major sh*tstorm towards his best buddies?

Sort of the Ending:

I have no problem with the actual way the drama wrapped up- I just wish we’d been given some hints on how we would get there throughout the series. I know that the writers don’t want the drama to be predictable, but I don’t want to watch a drama where the end comes out of nowhere.  

First proper bro-chat comes halfway through the last episode

I thought the wrap up for the band was realistic and satisfying- not all the boys wanted to be famous. They had different goals, and they’d only stuck with the band because of their friendship. Awesome. What a fantastically bitter-sweet way to wrap up the boys’ time in the band, and their brief brush with stardom. However, I had absolutely no idea that this wasn’t what the boys had wanted. It was clear that Ji Hyuk was confused- he loved music but didn’t know what direction to take it. Hyun Soo knew exactly what he wanted- music, fame and money. But the other boys…no clue.

I feel like I don't even know you guys anymore

Ji Hyuk and Hyun Soo spent so much time in the spotlight that it was a little difficult to get a grasp on the other boys. Frankly, I knew more about our antagonist, Seung Hoon, than the other three members of the band. It was clear that Do Il had no desire to be famous at all, and his discovery of his love of studying was actually pretty cute and acceptable. But I honestly believed right up until the end that Ha Jin and Kyung Jong wanted to make it as part of the band. Sure they kind of goofed off all series long- but they’d never been serious about anything before, so I just assumed it was because they had no idea how to pull their heads in and go after what they wanted. But no, apparently it was because this wasn’t what they wanted at all. It was only in the last episode that us viewers were given any clue into what Ha Jin and Kyung Jong wanted to do with their lives. Kyung Jong wants to learn how to manage a business? For real? That came out of nowhere. Ha Jin wants to be an actor? Seriously? I thought that was just what his sisters wanted for him. It was a very good ending and wonderful tie up for our boys, I just wished they’d shown us the journey. All series long it had been a drama about struggling to make it with music and find your niche in the entertainment world, then suddenly it was about growing up and finding your place in the world at large.

Just block out everything else and focus on Hyun Soo

I felt just the teeniest bit ripped off to find out in the last 5 minutes that the band I’d been supporting all drama long weren’t actually serious about music at all, and didn’t even want to be in a band. 

Re-watch?

Sadly, no. I really wanted to love this drama, and I really did for a while there. But my frustrations with the main male lead and the way the conflicts were set up just became way too much to handle.

So... it's not actually about music...at all?