Gogh's Starry Night

Gogh’s Starry Night

5.5/10

Gogh's Starry Night

Genre: Episodes: 4 Year: 2016

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Go Ho is a pretty girl with a short temper who works for an advertising company. She thinks she has come into some luck when she is transferred off her mean boss’ team, only to find that her new boss is her ex-boyfriend. While the two bosses fight over Go Ho, a younger employee at the office also approaches her.

Cast:

Yuri (Go Ho)

Kim Young Kwang (Kang Tae Ho)

Lee Ji Hoon (Hwang Ji Hoon)

Shin Jae Ha (Oh Jung Min)

Kim Ji Hoon (Park Jin Woo)

Choi Duk Moon (Choi Chang Sub)

General Thoughts:

It’s cute and charming with a bunch of adorable boys- which is really all you need in a short series. Each of the boys vying for our heroine’s heart had a unique personality but none came off as too stereotyped.

I'd be pleased with just one...

The heroine is more on the bland side- but in a short reverse-harem, does anyone really care about the heroine? The short answer is no. As for the plot- well there really isn’t one. It’s all about the boys liking the girl and finding out which boy the girl picks. It’s sweet, simple, and untaxing on the brain cells.

Awww...look at them go out of their way to bully each other

Although I think the show was aiming at having five men trying to steal our heroine’s heart, there were really only three in play. And if we’re all honest there was only one real contender and it was pretty clear pretty early on who was going to come away with the girl. There were no surprises there. But one good aspect of the drama is that it really diversified its male characters. I think it’s the first time in a K-drama I’ve actually seen a fat guy seriously try to woo the leading lady. We all know it was never going to happen, but it was nice that he had his moment in the spotlight along with all the pretty boys. We also had the significantly older man who was also painted as a likeable, suitable choice for our heroine- which again doesn’t happen in many dramas. The three boys who were most involved were more typical- the tsundere boss (Tae Ho), regretful I-never-stopped-loving-you ex-boyfriend (Ji Hoon), and the younger, pretty playboy (Jung Min). I found all the boys charming in their own ways, and must admit that I’m a little disappointed that Ho didn’t give them all an equal chance. I think the series could have added a whole lot more cute if Ho ever actually entertained the idea of dating either Ji Hoon or Jung Min and not just Tae Ho.

It was all fairly obvious

It also would have made Jung Min seem like a little less of a wanker if Ho flirted back. While I immensely enjoyed his confident go-get-her attitude and the way he flustered Ho, he did come across a tad pushy at times.

I nearly swooned myself to death

I would have loved it if Ho had been swept up in the attention for a while and actually given him a chance rather than just shutting him out from the get go. Because although he was a bit too keen, I love a good noona romance and sticking Shin Jae Ha’s face on the hoobae just made it that much more appealing to watch. Similarly, I never believed Ho was ever actually toying with the idea of getting back together with Ji Hoon. I could sense her sadness, but also felt like the huge amount of pain from the breakup forced her to move on. So considering that Tae Ho was the only one ever in with a real shot, I wish they’d played up his cute. Tsundere’s have their charm and all but I honestly feel that it isn’t the type Kim Young Kwang plays best. The other boys were so loveable because the actors behind them were so good at portraying their best characteristics. I personally prefer Kim Young Kwang when he’s being goofy and smiling- not acting stoney. So while I adore him, I don’t think Kim Young Kwang was the best fit for the role. And then that brings us to Yuri. Oh, Yuri. I’m not usually one to care much about hating on idol-actors and can actually tolerate a mild amount of bad acting. You have to be pretty bad for me to really sit up and think ‘wow, this acting just isn’t good’. I sat up and noticed Yuri’s acting. It wasn’t good.

Aigoo...

The girl can sing well, dance well, and is very, very pretty- so she should probably stick to those things. Any scene where Ho was crying tended to be fairly unbelievable and there were many times where the poor girl just came across stiff. Thankfully, all the pretty from all the boys tended to distract a lot from Yuri’s performance. The cameo parade from ‘Pinocchio’ was adorable and entertaining, with most of the big names from the drama making a small appearance- Park Shin Hye, Lee Jong Suk, Yoon Gyun Sang (to name a few). Overall the drama was a cute little watch- sure, there were things it could have done better, but it also could have been so much worse.

What Was Great:

A little competition never hurt

Boys, Boys, Boys:

The stars of the drama were definitely the boys. They were all super cute in their own way and super cute in the different ways they went about trying to romance Ho. They were all enjoyable as individuals and it was super fun when they all became aware of each other’s feelings and entered into a big competition with each other. They were all acted brilliantly, with each of the actors obviously having a lot of fun with their role, which translates well in a zippy, slightly goofy series like this one.

What Wasn’t:

Girl, Girl, Girl:

There’s not much to say. Ho’s character was pretty bland (though admittedly not the blandest I’ve ever seen), and Yuri’s acting didn’t really do the character any favours.

Just shhhhhhh

Re-watch?

Nah. There are other cuter short series that I’d go to watch again before this one. It was sweet and cute but lacked a bit of sparkle.

Predictable, but mostly fun