Review – Goong / Princess Hours

Review – Goong / Princess Hours

I would have loved this ten years ago.  The premise is pretty cute, though a little weak threaded.   Modern monarchy in South Korea, arranged marriages between a charming, oddball “commoner” and the aloof, jerky prince, some inner palace strife over who gets the throne, yada yada.  It got ridiculously convoluted at the end… but then again, with the foreshadowing in the first episode, it fit right in.  I mean… the prince’s portrait showed him standing in front of a burning building.  Either that artist had an agenda, or that is some heavy handed foreshadowing thrown in for no reason other than to make viewers go, “Why is he standing in front of a burning building in his official royal portrait?  What’s the story there?  Did the artist read the drama script?”

Yoon Eun-Hye is adorable and I love her just about everything.  I loved her in this – and she was the only reason I kept watching, even when it dragged its feet and I wondered if there would be some, uhm… conflict?  Or… romance?  Or… interesting plotlines?  Eh, so so.  It’s a rather deliciously shallow gem from 2006.  As for Cinderella stories, they never get old… though I believe you’ll find better options.  Shining Inheritance came out a few years later and I thought it was much cuter, personally.  Anyways, Goong is a classic and I always felt a little bad for not watching it… so I sat down and let it roll.  I am glad I stuck it out, cause… even though a bit of a bore, seeing our prince and princess finally come together was cuter than a basket of puppies.

Overall Rating 6.5/10.  The Monarchy… When Living Is What You Do For A Living.

Review – My Wife’s Having an Affair This Week / Listen to Love

Review – My Wife’s Having an Affair This Week / Listen to Love

This is one of those shows that reminds me why I am single.  But cheers to all the working moms in the world – cause let’s face it, you are doing twice the work and haven’t been thanked for it since mother’s day of last year, right?  Though Lee Sun Gyun is adorable and has a gorgeous voice (his new drama My Mister is incredible, also someone please force him to read audiobooks), I pretty much found him impossible to love in this show.  I kept thinking, “Let’s see how well you do with your kid for a week without your wife around, ya jerk.”  And then, when we finally get that scene, he can’t even handle it for one day.  He pawns his kid off onto his coworkers and friends, who seem to instinctively understand joint parenting more than the married, child rearing couples on this show.  Not that it is all the husband’s fault.  I hated Song Ji Hyo’s character just as much.  The bland, lowered eyed, push over wife – desperately trying to be perfect, always smiling, always agreeable.  Use your words, people.  If you act like a doormat, you can’t be surprised when people walk all over you.

Though there was a lot to dislike about this show, I did find most of it enjoyable.  The shenanigans of the unfaithful lawyer.  The online community marriage counseling.  The side romance of the two television producers was delightfully awkward and unusual.  And I liked the ending, though I wanted more.  The exploration into the nature of affairs, the motivations, the suspicions, and the consequences were interesting but also only waded into, not fully explored.  I watched the whole show – after jumping ship on several shows recently, it was nice to find something that actually drew me enough to finish it.  So… I give it a “Meh.”  A nice middle grade.  Not bad, not good, but definitely not just right.

Overall Rating – 6.5/10.  Tuna Mayo Gets Her Happy Ending Via a Shotgun & a Hot French Dude.

Review – Emergency Couple

Review – Emergency Couple

Why did I wait so long to watch you???

This show was awesome!  True, I think it would have been better as a 16 episode drama instead of a 21 episode drama… as it definitely suffered from a drag down towards the end… but who cares?  It was fun.  It was funny.  It was romantic.  It was pissy and playful and interesting and enjoyable.

A young couple gets married, despite parental objections, only to have their marriage fall apart within the year.   He can’t see her side of things, she can’t see his side of things, they are both 19 and fully immersed in their own perspectives.  A few years pass, and both end up getting their medical degrees after the divorce.  Fate brings them back together when they both get assigned the same intern positions, in the ER, and are forced to meet again.  They’ve both grown up… but how long will it take them to realize it?

Overall Rating – 8/10.  Resuscitating a Relationship Requires Two Medical Degrees.

More humor, musings, spoilers, and giggles follow….

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