She Was Pretty

This is what I wrote after just first two episodes:

I am only on episode two of this series and am already frustrated with the extreme overacting of the female lead. She is presented as "ugly" even though she is quite decent looking. I don't know what the hell Korean beauty standards are. And then her ugliness entails being extremely loud and clumsy and doing completely stupid things that you would never expect from a 30 year old. And on top of that Park Seojoon's character is shown as so arrogant and demeaning. He just insults her to her face. In any workplace that would be grounds for dismissal. I am not sure how much of this drama I'll be able to tolerate before I quit.

Now, after finishing the series, here is my genuine review: Really liked the whole series except for one glaring flaw. There was no reason for the leading lady to undergo the transformation that she does in the second half. Everything was going her way- her job was good, the male lead was falling for her.. the series did a bad job of explaining the transformation. And then, when she becomes a writer she goes back to her previous self. It's weird. Anyway, there were several things I liked about this series. The biggest one was that the male lead falls for the girl BEFORE the transformation and isn't just miraculously struck by her beauty after the transformation. I think that is what made it realistic and likeable. Also, the side characters are not annoying like in other dramas which is so refreshing. I didn't have to skip the parts with side characters. Also, I really liked the second female lead.

Lovely story very relatable to most women. Her character is very very funny and sweet . Ther story line was unpredictable it was really fun to watch .

I only gave a 9/10 because I became emotionally invested in Siwon's character, and do not accept he way the show ended, otherwise it's a good show.

Jeong-eum Hwang is a gifted comedian as well as actor. Her physical comedy is of the same type as Jerry Lewis, but it works better for me. Where Jerry Lewis' neurotic character makes me cringe with discomfort for his pain rather than laugh, Hwang's neurotic character while panic-stricken and shaking with fear nevertheless comes across as being strong in spite of that. Her physical comedy and her mugging is inspired... funnier to me than Lucille Ball, in the same class as Madeline Kahn or Claudette Colbert.

Beyond that, though, she is able to mix up completely straight acting, heart-warming and genuine, with outrageous clowning and make it work. She is supposed to be ugly, but it's a comedy, and the fact that she really looks like a model made up like a clown, or Little Orphan Annie, is part of the fun. She is actually gorgeous with very fake painted freckles and a frizzy hairdo to provide a pretense of ugliness.

Korean cinema is producing actors like Hwang and Ji-hyun Jun who rival Hollywood's classic best in charisma and talent.

All the actors did a great job. Si Won Choi carried off his own intensely over-the-top comic role.

Someone said the story was illogical. Classic comedy from ancient Roman times to Shakespeare and right up to the great screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's is all based on an engine of preposterous coincidence, mistaken identity, and entangled love triangles. It's wildly improbably but the conventions of the genre allow it to highlight aspects of human behavior that are dead accurate, compressing lifetimes of intensity into a few hours. The exaggeration and compression is what turns observations of human behavior into entertainment.

In fact compared to the comedic plots of Plautus, Shakespeare or Frank Capra, I found "She Was Pretty" to be much more believable as well as more complex and intricate. Several people thought the plot was unlikely, that characters would not make those choices. I found them very plausible. People in intense emotional relationships, and even in distant work relationships, don't make rational choices. They don't make good choices. At least from what I have seen, people do dumb and self-sabotaging things more often than not. The reasons the characters give for their actions might in some cases seem a stretch, unless you consider the strong emotions of fear and shame that drive them.

The soundtrack was also criticized. I enjoyed it. Lyrics are sung loudly right over dialog, where the lyrics are classic songs expressing the emotions the characters are going through even as they are barely able to acknowledge it themselves. I thought that was unusual and creative and that it helped to communicate the great timeless feelings people have about romance.

One of the themes of the film is panic, panic attacks, both from trauma and from love-obsession. The examination of psychological stress and the support of friendship gives the series a weight beyond just making us laugh, although it did that for me very well.

One of things Korean TV is not is subversive. Don't expect insightful social criticism or political commentary. The story basically exalts conventional Korean social values, as well as the worship of fashion and conspicuous consumption, in spite of some egalitarian themes. These writers would not have had to worry about being put on the Hollywood blacklist (1947-1960). Nor is it Monty Python or Douglas Adams, comedy that is often built on brilliant philosophical questioning. The Korean Wave is strictly pop culture as far as I have seen... I gather a sort of Confucian social conservatism and conformity is a Korean national value.

Have only watched about 2/3 of it so far although as such comedies go the outcome is 200% predictable after a few episodes; I don't expect to be surprised. I don't want to be. The fun is how you get there.

I waited until the end to write my review and well, i liked it! I'm totally fangirling over Siwon and loved his role in it the best. I wish his ending was a bit better though. The male lead was really obnoxious at first but thankfully grew out of it; i'd have thought knowing his background he'd have been a bit nicer to the underdog but i guess there's a story to tell. The humour was great (the port-a-loo/toilet scene in the countryside was the BEST) and well, as predictable as it was it was a nice, happy show with a feel-good vibe and good laughs :)