Wooho Waikiki

Woohoo Waikiki

4.5/10

Woohoo Waikiki

Genre: Episodes: 20 Year: 2018

Comedy

Synopsis:

Three friends who dream of making a movie together run a guest house in order to fund their dream. As their guesthouse is facing bankruptcy, a single mother and her baby arrive.

Cast:

Kim Jung Hyun (Kang Dong Goo)

Lee Yi Kyung (Lee Joon Ki)

Son Seung Won (Bong Doo Shik)

Jung In Sun (Han Yoon Ah)

Go Won Hee (Kang Seo Jin)

Lee Joo Woo (Min Soo Ah)

General Thoughts:

I was so looking forward to this drama and was all ready to love it (and I did for a short time), but after a while I just got a bit bored with it. At first it was funny in a weird and unique way and I was thinking that it would be a great drama to de-stress to, but then as it continued the story never really developed.

I just wish I'd loved this drama more

I actually felt a bit bipolar watching this because stuff I really enjoyed in the beginning, like how they would repeat a joke throughout the whole episode or how the boys just made bigger and bigger messes, I started to find really annoying on the other side of halfway. I think I kept waiting for some bigger plot or major character development to kick in, and it just never did.

Like...why would you not explain this situation?

The whole drama was very relationship focused with it zeroing in on who was crushing on who while it kind of ignored the important step of creating detailed, believable characters. While the wackiness of the characters was something that was quite funny as the drama was starting out, as things (sort of) progressed, there didn’t appear to be any depth created for these characters. Events happened that pushed the characters together, and it sort of felt like they were just falling for someone who was there rather than for the other specific character. I never fully understood what it was about Yoon Ah that made Dong Goo fall for her. She was pretty darn boring, and there just wasn’t a lot of substance to her. Aspects of her character that would have made her interesting, such as HOW SHE ENDED UP A SINGLE MUM, were just blatantly ignored. I just can’t fathom why the writers would just choose to bypass this very important character note. Yoon Ah was obviously deeply hurt by the whole experience, as was evidenced by her initial fears and hesitations about dating Dong Goo, and yet we were never given the specifics of why she felt like that. Which just made her seem a bit confusing.

I kind of only wanted them together so that Dong Goo could be a Dad to Sol

I wasn’t mad on the love-triangle either. At first I thought the competition between the men was petty and fun, but after a while it started feeling very repetitive. Yoon Ah would go to the bakery, Dong Goo would find a reason to follow her, he’d clash with Hyun Joon, all while Yoon Ah was completely oblivious.

I'm confused- usually I love pettiness

I also found that as this scene played out Hyun Joon started becoming more and more similar to Dong Goo in his childishness, which is a trait I didn’t find suited him that well. I much preferred when Hyun Joon tried to get the best of Dong Goo by being the more mature one as it made him feel like his own character rather than Dong Goo Take 2. I also thought they were both a bit underhanded with the way they dealt with the whole situation- what with always crashing the other’s time with Yoon Ah, and it kind of reeked of immaturity. But then I suppose the whole show was kind of immature. For Seo Jin and Joon Ki, I actually really enjoyed the parts of their relationship that caused a bit of tension- such as Joon Ki only seeing her as a little girl, or his career getting in the way of their relationship. However, I did find that the writers opted for an easy way out in almost every scenario. Joon Ki still sees Seo Jin as a child? Snog him, that’ll set him right. Seo Jin doesn’t like Joon Ki’s constant kidding around? Make him so sick from holding it in that she’ll have to let him kid around again. It felt like a major cop-out each time.

Would it kill you to actually address some of the problems you raised?

Situations that basically set up room for development were just turned on their heads so that we could grab a cheap and easy solution. Soo Ah probably got the most development as she was basically a total b*tch at the start, and yet by the end I didn’t mind that she was paired up with my favourite boy, Doo Shik. I don’t think they particularly suited each other (I thought Doo Shik was better with his first love turned porn star), but the show went about showing Soo Ah falling for Doo Shik in a sweet and believable way.

Not my favourite pairing ever, but definitely a winner in this drama

She relied on Doo Shik and spent so much time with him, that when he wasn’t around or when he was interested in someone else she really felt his absence. I’m still a bit confused as to what Doo Shik saw in Soo Ah, but it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that he would like her. I must admit that while I watch a rather large amount of K-Dramas, a lot of the cameos went over my head.

I'm not sure I could ever criticise him...

There were a few that I could grasp, but unfortunately I think I missed the majority. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the story, I did think that this was a drama that was very well acted. These characters all had a bunch of very unlikeable traits, and for the most part the actors prevented them from becoming unlikeable people. Kim Jung Hyun is just a delight, and he was fairly funny here. I never thought his actions were over the top, and thought he hit the perfect balance of serious and comedic. Similarly, Son Seung Won was very good at managing when to be funny and when to tone it down. I also found his meekness done very well, as Doo Shik seemed more innocent than the others but never too naive. Son Seung Won nailed the moments when Doo Shik lost his temper, and I found his small outbursts to be some of the funniest parts of the show. As for Lee Yi Kyung, I love him when he acts seriously, and I think he’s a very good actor. Unfortunately for me, it seems that it’s his comedy that Korea enjoys as this has been what he’s done in the last few roles I’ve seen him in.

Please take a more serious role next time, I beg you

I often found him (and his character) to be too over the top and Joon Ki felt like a completely unrealistic person. No one I have ever come across (unless they are actually mentally impaired) has ever acted like that. I enjoyed Joon Ki’s more emotional beats, but overall I found him unbelievable and irritating.

More than just a love interest

Like, if acting is so important to you how hard is it to not burst out laughing during a scene? I mean, really. As for the girls I found Go Won Hee absolutely wonderful. She had an enormous amount of charisma, and she felt like she created Seo Jin as a character to be on equal footing with the boys, rather than simply having her be a love interest. I adored the sass and fire she added to her character, and thought she had wonderful bickering chemistry with the boys. I actually really enjoyed her love-hate relationship with Soo Ah, and wished we’d got just a little bit more of it. Lee Joo Woo did a fantastic job of turning Soo Ah into a likeable character, as she was so up herself at the start that I didn’t think there was any way I’d ever find her fun. But by the end I found her charming in her own ways. Poor Jung In Sun wasn’t exactly given a lot to work with, and I honestly don’t feel like I can comment on her acting ability at all. The moments where her character showed a bit of personality I thought she did quite well, but for most of the show’s run she just had to stand there, look mildly sad, and be something for Dong Goo to fawn over. It’s like they took any shred of personality from Yoon Ah and crammed it all into Joon Ki. 

What Was Great:

Boys Boys Baby:

Kim Jung Hyun remains gorgeous, and he gave Dong Goo an adorable charm. I thought he acted the character with just the right level of maturity- childish enough to be funny and have some esteem issues, but adult enough to deal with those issues.

Just look at how natural that baby looks snuggled in there

Son Seung Won was also excellent and made Doo Shik a fun and loveable character. I tended to always enjoy the scenes that contained these boys (but there were of course a few exceptions). Baby Sol was just the most adorable thing, and I loved how it was edited so it looked like she was reacting to the conversations around her. It was very sweet to see how each of the boys looked out for her, and how natural it felt seeing them holding her or sitting with her.

I mean, who wouldn't want to cuddle that child?

I do wish that Sol had a bit more to do in the story though- there were so many golden comedic moments that were missed after the first few episodes. Sol definitely brightened up the Waikiki house, and I wish that we’d seen more of her.

What Wasn’t:

Didn’t Go Anywhere:

I just don’t think I’m the kind of person that can sit through hours and hours of something with no development.

They're still a hot mess

Perhaps if I’d found the drama funnier I’d feel differently, but I just thought that the show seemed long, uneventful (you know, meaningful events, not random ones), and at worst repetitive. I wish that perhaps the show had focused a bit more on how each of the characters were growing as people and as adults, rather than just having them reacting to a sporadic chain of events. If we compare where our characters are at the end of the drama to where they were at the start, almost nothing has changed. No one seems any more responsible or better equipped to handle the complexities of life, and none of our main three boys really made any headway into their dream of shooting a (good) movie together. While I know some people are more ‘it’s the journey, not the destination’, if I’m not enjoying the journey that much, it better have a d*mn good destination. And ‘Waikiki’ didn’t really. Some guys got girlfriends, some girls got boyfriends, and no one really developed all that much in personality or mindset.

Recommend?
Look, I feel like for most Western viewers this kind of comedy isn’t really our thing, so no. But then I have heard a lot of people enjoyed this show, so maybe. If you’re into really whacky, slightly makjang comedy with silly jokes this will be right up your alley.

It's a specific kind of humour- you'll either love it or hate it