Jaybird Reviews: March 2020

Monday, 16 March 2020

People With Flaws

People With Flaws

6/10

People With Flaws

Genre: Episodes: 16 Year: 2020

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

After his love confession was rejected because he was ugly and fat, Lee Kang Woo has become a handsome man who takes good care of his appearance. Joo Seo Yeon is a woman who has come to dislike handsome men due to the trouble she went through growing up with three handsome brothers. The two clash when Kang Woo becomes the Head Director at the school where Seo Yeon works.

Cast:

Oh Yeon Seo

Ahn Jae Hyun (Lee Kang Woo)

Kim Seul Gi (Kim Mi Kyung)

Gu Won (Lee Min Hyuk)

Heo Jeong Min (Park Hyun Soo)

Min Woo Hyuk (Joo Won Jae)

Cha In Ha (Joo Won Suk)

Jaeyong (Joo Seo Joon)

General Thoughts:

For my first drama of 2020 and my first drama back after my big hiatus, I was really hoping to snag a drama that was engaging, yet lighthearted, with a good cast and endearing characters. I know, it’s a lot to ask for in a drama. And ‘People With Flaws’ was unfortunately not that drama.

Not great, not horrendous

It wasn’t terrible, but it was just missing that special something that a show needs to make it stand out amongst the onslaught of K-Dramas we get every year. The plot in ‘People With Flaws’ moved very slowly, mainly choosing to focus on the relationship between the two leads, which itself was moving at a slow pace, and had a fair amount of back-and-forth going on.

This show was pretty but kinda plain

Coming from watching a huge string of plot-heavy Western shows (such as ‘The Witcher’), I struggled a bit with the slow pacing of the show. Perhaps if there had been a bit more going on with the characters, I could have stomached the pacing a bit better, but overall there wasn’t actually a lot going on with Seo Yeon and Kang Woo. I don’t really think that either Oh Yeon Seo nor Ahn Jae Hyun are particularly brilliant actors, but thought that they managed the characters well here. I do think that Oh Yeon Seo is much better at comedy than she is at anything else, so the slightly slapstciky, exaggerated humour of the show suited her well and played to her strengths, giving Seo Yeon a cute, quirky nature. I think I have only ever seen Ahn Jae Hyun play rich, arrogant men who think they are the most handsome thing on the planet (which I always find a bit hard to swallow because while Ahn Jae Hyun is by no means an unattractive man, he is just not my style). To be honest, he isn't the most…expressive actor. Cold, emotionless rich dudes seem very in his comfort zone. Thankfully, Ahn Jae Hyun broke out of that comfort zone a fair bit here, joining in on the comedic side of things. While I wasn’t sold on his performance all the time, I think it was a great step out for him to broaden his scope and develop his abilities a bit more.

This is the Ahn Jae Hyun I'm used to

And he’s put on weight which is GREAT- he looked much healthier than usual and, in my humble opinion, better. The chemistry between the leads wasn’t awful but it wasn’t good either. I find one of the more important things in a rom-com is the chemistry- I can sit through a bloody awful show but still find enjoyment in it if the chemistry between the leads is absolutely crackling (case en point- ‘Strong Woman Do Bong Soon’).

Did I only start this drama for Kim Seul Gi? Yes, yes I did.

There just wasn’t that sizzle between Ahn Jae Hyun and Oh Yeon Seo, and unfortunately I do think the drama suffered a bit for it, due to their relationship being the centre of the show. The support characters however, were acted very well. Kim Seul Gi is one of my favourite actresses, and she delivered a really charming second lead. Mi Kyung felt layered and fleshed out, and Kim Seul Gi was so good at delivering the comedy without ever taking it too far. She brought a chirpy quirkiness to Mi Kyung that instantly drew me into the character and made me want to see more of her on screen. Heo Jeong Min I usually find very good, but I do occasionally feel that he takes the comedy too far which can take away from the realism of the character. However, here he was absolutely brilliant. He brought the same energy to his character that Kim Seul Gi brought to hers, which made them one hell of an interesting pair. Won Jae’s bumbling attempts to seduce Mi Kyung while actually ending up insulting her were hilarious and extremely fun to watch. The two of them coming together over Kang Woo and Seo Yeon messy relationship felt organic and unforced, and helped along by Won Jae’s gentle care of her while her mother was unwell it felt like a natural conclusion for Mi Kyung to open up and start liking Woo Jae in return.

Their bickering was pretty fun

Unlike our second female lead, our second male lead didn’t quite hit the same sweet spot. Originally Min Hyuk was a sweet and endearing character, and his luring of Seo Yeon with food was cute and funny. For a good stint of the show I had a fair amount of Second Male Lead Syndrome, and was with Mi Kyung in cheering for him ending up with Seo Yeon rather than Kang Woo.

Kind felt like the writer sometimes forgot who the lead was...

But as the story progressed and it became clear that Seo Yeon had fallen for Kang Woo, it felt like the show didn’t exactly know what to do with Min Hyuk. They sort of toyed with the idea of Min Hyuk being a bad guy and booting Kang Woo out of the company and trying to steal his girl while he was at it- but honestly, it was a very half-assed attempt. It felt like a very round about way for getting Kang Woo out of the school, which he kind of needed to be for the next stage of the story. Then once the show was wrapping up, the writers decided to have Min Hyuk bow out of the running for Seo Yeon’s affections (even though he was out of that race from a long time ago), and then disappear off to some foreign country. Yup. Classic way of getting rid of the second lead- just ship him off overseas, that’ll do it. Gu Won did a great job of acting out Min Hyuk though. He had the perfect amount of cool mixed with awkwardness, and even while the show was toying with Min Hyuk being an *sshole, Gu Won was able to inject a level of pitifulness and regret into his character which prevented him from becoming too unlikeable (though he did come quite close).

Mi Kyung being a passive observer caught in the middle was just fab

The acting from Seo Yeon’s brothers was all fabulous, with Cha In Ha being a particular standout. He was able to bring a serious, sombre tone to his storyline, but could also use the seriousness of his character for comedic effect when playing the protective big brother role.

Kang Hee was so bad*ss

Min Wook Hyuk was great as comedic support, and I really enjoyed the scenes he was given. He didn’t have to foray too much into any serious acting, so I’m not sure how he’d fare for more emotional scenes, but he had good comedic timing and cute chemistry with Hwang Wool Seul Hye. Jaeyong is apparently an idol, which I couldn’t tell from his acting which is a good sign. While he wasn’t a standout, he gave a consistent, believable performance, and if he continues gradually building his experience I think he could become quite a good actor. On the female side, Hwang Woo Seul Hye was fabulous as the chaebol heir with a crush on the useless, but kindhearted, gold digger. I think it can be tricky giving a female character typical male characteristics (such as assertiveness and confidence) and not have them come off arrogant or irritating, but Hwang Woo Seul Hye was so good at balancing her character’s diligence and determination with her compassion and empathy that Kang Hee became a worthy Girl Crush character. Shin Do Hyun and Joo Hae Eun both gave good performances of their characters, but both also had so little screen time that it’s a little hard to comment to much more on their actual acting ability.

What Was Great:

Variety of Characters:

There were a huuuuuge number of characters in this show, and all of them were interesting and unique. Having such a large number of characters meant that we got to see a variety of different relationships, and provided ways for our characters to show different sides of themselves.

These brothers improved every scene they were in

Our heroine was the tough gym teacher at school and with Kang Woo, but at home she’s the very loved younger sister of two protective older brothers. Making one of the older brothers gay was also an interesting and enjoyable move the writers made. In a society that isn’t exactly openly accepting of homosexuality,

All kids of cute

I enjoyed that the show not only introduced a gay character, but also went as far as to challenge the idea of the ‘typical gay man’. I’m not sure if South Korea has the same stereotype as the West, but Won Suk was a very masculine character, which isn’t really how the West paints gay characters. Won Suk got one of the more interesting side-stories, and his assistance in helping Ho Dol feel comfortable coming out was charming and so, so cute. I really enjoyed Won Jae’s storyline too and his romance with Kang Hee. The older siblings had a sense of responsibility that the younger siblings didn’t have to deal with, and it was interesting to watch that play out, though I do wish that the show didn’t bench their romance at the end. I'm still not even sure why they did- I know in the 80s it was frowned upon in Korea for siblings to date their sibling’s sibling (confusing wording, I know), but is it still? And Won Jae and Seo Yeon aren’t even blood related anyway, so I was a bit in the dark as to what was preventing Won Jae and Kang Hee from dating, particularly when it seemed like they were planning on continuing their relationship once Kang Woo and Seo Yeon were married.

I'm rooting for you!

Joo Hee and Seo Joon didn’t really have too much going on story-wise, but they had a cute bickering dynamic that was always enjoyable to watch on screen. I really enjoyed that Kang Woo’s family wasn’t your typical K-Drama chaebol family, and found them quite funny in the scenes they were given. Small things, such as Grandma saying she let Mum marry her son because she was rich, and Dad getting scolded at work by Kang Hee for playing games instead of working served to inject a lightheartedness into Kang Woo’s family that matched the tone of this show really well.

Could be cute, could be creepy

Jang Mi was a really interesting character, and for quite a while there I wasn’t sure which direction the drama was taking her in, though I am relieved that they didn’t make her into a creepy stalker. Her story of becoming self-confident enough to stand up to her abusive mother was interesting and a good wrap up to her character, but I do wish we’d gotten a bit more of her journey throughout the show. The weird twin swap thing that was going on with Kang Woo’s psychologist I could have done without though.

What Wasn’t:

Too Much Focus on OTP:

Where I felt this show really let itself down is that it had all these interesting characters with all these good actors playing them, and then didn’t do too much with them.

They were just...not that cute

While we were still treated to scenes of the side characters here and there, the leads dominated the screen time. Had something actually been happening between the leads this might not have been such a big deal, but all that really happened is: Kang Woo realised he still liked Seo Yeon, Seo Yeon started falling for Kang Woo, Seo Yeon realised Kang Woo was somewhat involved in the death of her parents, Kang Woo realised he was somewhat involved in the death of Seo Yeon’s parents, they both decide to date anyway. Yup. Not exactly 16 episodes worth of content. And yet we were constantly subjected to the two leads going through the motions and emotions in excruciating detail, while more interesting plots involving the other characters were delegated to the sidelines. As the drama progressed I really started to feel oversaturated by the leads, and it gave a sense of sameness to the episodes as they went by. Sure, the situation might be slightly different, but Kang Woo and Seo Yeon’s reactions tended to be pretty similar.

The moping in this show was killing meeeeee

Aspects of the main couple that could have been glossed over in order to give more screen time to another character were instead focused on and stretched out. Did we really need to delegate two and a half episodes to whether Seo Yeon and Kang Woo were going to sleep together?

Recommend?

Nope, as far as rom-coms go there is nothing in this drama that makes it standout above any other show.

Meandering and mediocre

Monday, 2 March 2020

2018 Jaybird Awards

2018 Jaybird Awards

Guess who's back, back, back, back again, gain, gain, Shady's back, back, back, tell a friend. Oh wait, no, It's just me. Seriously though, It's been so long that I've practically forgotten how this blog works- how do I post things, what format do I use, how do you even review things? It's been a pretty busy year for me, with my job becoming full time and (gasp) getting a boyfriend, which has severely limited the time in which I can watch K-Drama and write reviews. But fear not, I plan to be continue on, though I can't promise I will be as regular as I once was- though I will try! Now on to the Awards! I know, I know- 2018 was two years ago. I have missed a whole year of K-Drama. But with this review/awards, let's just pretend that 2019 was a year of K-Drama that didn't happen, and we'll be back on track!

Best Drama:

Smart Prison Living

Ooooooooh man was this a good drama. It may have come out ages ago now, but I can still remember it so vividly. Despite how long the runtime was, I watched this drama twice. From the director-writer duo of all the Reply series, this was always going to be a show to keep an eye on. As expected, the cast, characters and plot all pulled together to deliver an emotional, heartwarming, and insanely addictive viewing experience. The momentum of the series was picture perfect, with the episodes all having enough content to fill out their runtimes, and the series as a whole never felt draggy or overly long. The drama hit just the right balance between funny and dramatic, without ever getting bogged down in its own angst, or having the comedy take away from the serious moments. Everything in this show was perfectly balanced, and I would not hesitate to recommend 'Smart Prison Living' to anyone who was requesting a good K-Drama (or good series in general) to sink their teeth into.

Runner Up: The Guest

Best Actor:

Lee Seung Gi (Hwayugi)

Despite 'Hwayugi' itself being a complete and total flop, Lee Seung Gi was completely able to dazzle. To be honest, I have never quite understood what the big deal was with Lee Seung Gi (granted I haven't seen too many of his dramas), but in 'Hwayugi' Lee Seung Gi was able to brilliantly showcase his acting ability. The cheeky, petulant character suit him extremely well, and Lee Seung Gi was able to bring an endearing spark to him that prevented the Monkey God from being an irritating character. Lee Seung Gi shined in all aspects of the show, from the CGI fight scenes, to the humour, to the heartache, to the romance. There is not a single scene in the drama where he is not giving 110%, and all his efforts gave us a loveable, charming character that will not fade from memory any time soon.

Runner Up: Park Hae Soo (Smart Prison Living)

Best Actress:

Jin Ki Joo (Come Here and Hug Me)

Despite being a fairly new actress (her first drama was in 2015), and not leaving much of an impression in her side roles, Jin Ki Joo completely blew me away in the drama she headed up this year. The role she played was one that required a multitude of different feelings, and quite a large amount of emotional acting. And Jin Ki Joo most certainly pulled it off. With this role and this performance, Jin Ki Joo made sure that she's be a name and a face to remember, and captured audiences' hearts as the feisty, yet sweet and completely loveable heroine with a dark past. It certainly wasn't an easy role for Jin Ki Joo to have as her first leading role, but she gave a performance that was a resounding success.

Runner Up: Chae Soo Bin (I'm Not A Robot)

Best Short Series:

Ping Pong Ball

Okay, confession time. I did not watch very many short series in 2018. However, the fact that this was the only show in the running does not diminish the fact that this was a very good short series! The plot was a little whacky and veeeery arthouse, but the quality of the show was obvious for anyone to see. It had solid acting in Ji Soo and Yoo Jae Myung, and the cinematography was just lovely. The journey the show took us on was quiet and introspective, and it may not be remembered as a short that received a lot of love, but 'Ping Pong Ball' told the story it wanted to tell in a beautiful, thoughtful way, and it was evident that everyone who worked on this show put their best effort into making sure it was something they could be proud of.

Best Character:

Nam Shin III (Are You Human Too?)

'Are You Human Too?' was a show that did a lot of things well, but by far one of the best things it did was give us one of the most loveable heroes of the year. Not only was Nam Shin III sweet, charming, dreamy, and just all-around delightful, but he had the added interest of not being human. Having the hero be a robot was a risky move for the series, but one that ultimately paid off well. Being a robot that was learning emotion (cheesey as it sounds) gave Nam Shin III a lot of depth and so much room to grow. It made his actions even more heart-fluttering when they seemed impossible as it went against his programming. 'Are You Human Too?' was not without its flaws, but the hero it gave us was certainly not one of them.

Runner Up: Ahn Jang Mi (Live)

Best Second Lead:

Park Sung Woong (Life On Mars)

No one will ever not enjoy watching Park Sung Woong as a justice-driven cop from the past. Park Sung Woong has absolutely nailed the role of a no-nonsense fighter with a soft and squishy centre, and he absolutely shows off that talent in 'Life On Mars'. He plays a character whose heart is always in the right place (even if his fists aren't), and was able to showcase his character's growth as he started to accept and adapt to his partners milder, modern police techniques. His gruff attitude was oddly endearing, and he was certainly a character that we could root for all series long. Park Sung Woong delivered a great character, that played perfect support to the show's completely different hero.

Runner Up: Kwak Dong Yeon (My ID Is Gangnam Beauty)

Best Couple:

I'm Not A Robot

Despite K-Dramaland giving us an abundance of adorable, loveable couples to root for, there are actually very few of them that have healthy, respectful relationships that would last long term. So even though I have a bunch of dramas and OTPs that I adore each year, there are only a small few that I think are actually good couples. 'I'm Not A Robot' may have a silly premise (girl is impersonating a robot), but the two leads actually end up having an endearing and supportive relationship that made them so easy to root for. Sure, there was no shortage of cute moments, or charming dialogue, or heart-racing skinship, but it was the quieter moments of emotional support and consideration that made this couple such a great one. Chae Soo Bin and Yoo Seung Ho had dazzling chemistry as the metaphorical icing on the metaphorical cake.

Runner Up: What's Wong With Secretary Kim?

Best Kiss:

Kitchen Kiss (Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food)

There were many, many, many (oh so many) things wrong with this drama, but the chemistry between the two leads and the resulting explosive skinship was certainly not one of them. This scene completely did away with the safe-for-work, barely even touching kisses of k-dramas past, and was oh so steamy. The kitchen scene is one of the most remembered moments from the whole series, and if we're all being honest, after that scene it is no wonder at all that the two actors had to dodge so many dating rumours after it showed on television. K-Dramas are not usually that touchy, but it was one of the reasons the couple in this show felt so real, and the emotions so raw.

Runner Up: This Is When You Kiss (I'm Not A Robot)

Best Villain:

Park Il Do (The Guest)

Okay, this is a little different to the winners in previous years, mainly in that Park Il Do doesn't really have an actor. It's a mystery for most of the show's run who the demon is possessing, so there's no clear actor to credit the performance to. That being said, the atmosphere created around this character was so amazingly well constructed, that he is without a doubt the best villain of the year. Being able to manipulate lesser demons while remaining hidden made Park Il Do completely terrifying, and the idea that he could be lurking inside any of our characters was both thrilling and frightening. The lore that surrounded the supernatural horror of this show was done so well, and the fight between our main characters and Park Il Do was exhilarating and entertaining to watch unfold. Despite not having a physical body, Park Il Do was unquestioningly the most frightening and unsettling villain of 2018.

Runner Up: Lee Dong Gun (Sketch)

Best Ensemble:

Smart Prison Living

Man, there was just so much to like about 'Smart Prison Living'. One of which is the cast. And this cast was HUGE. There were a lot of characters coming and going throughout this series (the prison was the perfect setting for it with inmates getting arrested and discharged and transferred), and most of them were totally loveable. It seems like an odd thing to like characters that are all in jail for doing something terrible (heck, our main character kills someone), but their stories are unveiled in ways that allow us as an audience to sympathise with the characters, even if we do not condone their actions. A large chunk of this series is made up of all the relationships between the prisoners and the guards, and this is what drives most of the plot. A lot was riding on the characters being written an acted well, so we can all be grateful that they were. Not one actor was underperformed, and not one character was poorly written.

Runner Up: Life On Mars

Best Bromance:

Live

Usually the dramas I pick for best bromance have an adorable friendship, or beautifully melancholic relationship at its centre, but 2018s bromance of the year was one that was a little more subdued. The mentor-rookie relationship in 'Live' was under the radar, but had a whole lot of heart. As well as simply having the characters coming to care and watch out for one another, the two also learned a great deal about life and working on the police force from one another. The relationship was tumultuous to begin with, but that made the camaraderie that eventually blossomed between them feel hard-earned and well deserved, as the two had come to know so much about the other, and they both ended up really caring and respecting each other. It was a quieter bromance, but that didn't make it any less endearing.

Runner Up: Smart Prison Living

Best Gal Pals:

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?

Oooohhhhh dear. This was the category I was least looking forward to. Reason being that there were just not a lot of good girl friends in 2018, and this is also one of the last dramas I watched before my big hiatus. So I don't really remember it that well, and I don't have a review to fall back on and jog my memory. I do remember that the three girls in this show had a sweetly satisfying friendship, and that they were always enjoyable to watch on screen together. Do I think it was a particularly strong friendship that stands out amongst other k-dramas? Not really. But was it one of the better female friendships to come out of the dramas I watched in 2018? Yes, yes it was.

Runner Up: My ID is Gangnam Beauty

Best Idol Gone Actor:

Rowoon (Where Stars Land)

I am not particularly fond of Rowoon as an idol, but man the boy's a good actor. I was totally ready for him to be an awkward side character, but he completely blew me away with the level of maturity his acting showed. The character in 'Where Stars Land' was not particularly difficult, nor was it a leading role, but it was a great place for Rowoon to find his feet and get noticed in the acting world. His one sided love was heartbreaking and acted to perfection, and Rowoon had great chemistry with Chae Soo Bin (who was the leading lady). He is definitely an idol to keep an eye on as he makes his way into more acting projects, and I don't think it will be too long before he lands a leading role himself.

Runner Up: D.O (100 Days My Prince)

Worst Idol Gone Actor:

Suho (Rich Man)

Unlike Rowoon, Suho has not begun his acting career in a supporting role (though he may have done a few short series?) Unfortunately for him, this meant that there was nowhere for his acting weaknesses to hide. It's not to say Suho is an AWFUL actor- he's just very, very green, and his lack of experience showed through in 'Rich Man'. He didn't have the ability to deliver the more emotional scenes when they rolled around, and he didn't have the experience to inject a dose of likability into a character that was written as a very arrogant, yet bland character. The whole show was a bit of a mess, but I don't think anyone can claim that Suho did a great job here. Hopefully his next project is one in which he gets a bit more support from the other actors (because no one was really that great in this show), and he can build his skills and his confidence.

Runner Up: Cha Eun Woo (My ID Is Gangnam Beauty)

Least Convincing Couple:

That Man Oh Soo

There are many things I do not recall from 2018. Sadly, what a complete and utter train wreck this drama was is not one of them. Amid a confusing plot, sporadic characters and less-than convincing acting, we had a tepid romance. I had complete Second Male Lead Syndrome, and by the time the end of the show came around, I was not convinced that this couple were a) in love with each other, and b) going to last very long together. The drama tried to be too angsty and aimed for an emotional level that it just did not hit, which left the main romance feeling empty and completely falling flat. I was a fan of both the leads (though am unsure what to think of Lee Jong Hyun now after the icky scandal), but neither of them did a good job selling the romance. There was absolutely no chemistry to speak of.

Runner Up: About Time

Show Carrier:

Yoon Park (Radio Romance)

Man, I have watched a lot of not very good dramas in my time. 'Radio Romance' is one such drama. It really, really sucked. The only thing that 'Radio Romance' did well was casting Yoon Park as the second male lead. He absolutely killed it. Yoon Park was able to deliver a multi-dimensional character that was fun, quirky and memorable, in a K-drama world that was boring, pointless and forgettable. Yoon park brought an engaging energy to the show that it otherwise would have completely lacked, and dragged the awful show along right from start to finish with his performance alone. I do not drop a lot of dramas, but I was tempted by this one, and it was really only Yoon Park and his charming character that kept me going.

Runner Up: Lee Sang Yoon (About Time)

Biggest Disappointment:

Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food

Hoo boy, did this drama burn a lot of people. The first half of the show was actually unbelievably good- there was an engaging noona romance at its heart, it had a solid male lead, and that chemistry was on FIRE. SMOKING. SIZZLING. It was, HOT, HOT, HOT. The drama had hearts fluttering and minds engaged for the first half of its run, before it promptly undid every good thing it had ever done. At risk of sounding rude, the second half of this drama sucked *ss. The relationship fell in on itself, the plot made little sense, and the heroine became one of the most irritating characters ever. It was painful. As the show continued it became evident that it was banking solely on the chemistry between the leads. And this did. Not. Work.

Runner Up: Radio Romance

Jaybird's Choice:

Smart Prison Living

What do you mean I can't have the Best Drama and Jaybird's Choice being the same show? I CAN and I WILL. There's not much more I can say about this drama. It rocked. It pulled my heartstrings and I enjoyed every minute of it. I have also seriously contemplated watching it for a third time.