Bela Gong Shim (2016)

La ricetta per la commedia perfetta!

Al di là del voto che si può dare a una trama, alla recitazione, alla sceneggiatura o quant'altro, per me il metro di valutazione di un drama si riconduce spesso a un solo quesito: quante volte ho riguardato la serie? Nel caso di Beautful Gong Shim, direi abbastanza da farla finire tra le mie preferite.
Ci sono i tratti spensierati e divertenti - a volte proprio esilaranti - di una commedia fresca e frizzante. C'è un mistero da risolvere, questioni da dipanare, situazioni difficili da affrontare nel presente e da ricollegare nel passato. Non è una serie insipida e senza trama, che non sa bene dove inizia e dove vuole arrivare. Il punto di partenza e la linea di arrivo erano evidentemente ben chiare in coloro che hanno ideato la storia. E, nel mezzo, c'è lo spettacolo: quello di qualità, che intrattiene, che emoziona, che fa riflettere. C'è una protagonista che inizialmente mi ha spiazzata, nel suo aspetto un po' scialbo che non si mostrava come il finto brutto anatroccolo pronto a trasformarsi in un cigno, ma che così rimane fin quasi alla fine. Kong Shim si rivela un personaggio espressivo, dove l'aspetto perde di significato e consente di aprire una finestra che guarda dentro il personaggio, alle sue emozioni, alla scarsa autostima, ai desideri. Si entra in empatia con lei e si torna a seguirla "da fuori" osservandola con simpatia, perchè se non è "carina" esteticamente, è "carina" nel suo modo di essere. Se poi a un'attrice che per l'appunto si rivela davvero una notevole sorpresa si affianca poi uno dei migliori attori coreani - anzi diciamo pure il migliore, per quanto mi riguarda - non può che derivarne una coppia sensazionale. Namgoon Min, attore superbo su tutti i fronti, riveste i panni di un personaggio ben studiato e complesso, che gli permette di dare prova della sua versatilità e capacità recitativa, dando vita a un An Dan Tae espressivo e affascinante, singolare e intrigante, sensibile e intelligente, divertente e profondo. Gli attori secondari un po' scompaiono, al confronto, ma non è poi un gran problema: la chimica che c'è tra la coppia principale domina lo schermo senza mai annoiare. Entrambi i personaggi subiscono un'evoluzione, che se per lei è la conquista della propria autostima, della fiducia nelle proprie capacità e nel riconoscimento di queste da parte degli altri, per lui è un po' la ricerca del suo posto nel mondo, il venire a patti con le proprie radice, scoprendo i tasselli di un passato che mancava. Azzeccata la colonna sonora.
SPOILER: se dovessi proprio trovare un difetto, un unico passaggio poco sensato in una trama che per il resto è certamente coerente, è la motivazione - nella parte finale - dell'allontanamento tra i due: che fosse "preso" (24h su 24?) o che il mantenersi in contatto il vivere a distanza...nessuna delle due spiegazioni è sensatamente valida e realistica. Ma, del resto, senza una separazione - non solo geografica ma anche relazionale - non avrebbe potuto esserci il grand finale con la coppia che si ritrova. Diciamo che il meccanismo causa-effetto aveva bisogno di una "causa" un po' più credibile, al di là della riuscita dell' "effetto" desiderato. Ma si tratta giusto di una piccola svista, di poco conto rispetto al resto. Concludendo, un drama che vale davvero la pena vedere, una piccola perla che rischia di passare inosservata (io stessa ammetto l'ho scoperta solo perchè ero alla ricerca di altri drama con Namgoong Min).

Leia Mais

A good show with cute characters - for the most part.

(Possible spoiler at the end of review, clearly marked.)
I really enjoyed the majority of this series, but the ending was so terrible that it pretty much ruined it all for me.

The show starts out as a wierd cinderella style story with a lot of toxic family behaviours, and then takes a turn into mystery/intrigue/crime with dark secrets from the past etc etc.

The romance and "mystery" are all laid out for the audience by episode 10, but who's in alliance with each other keeps you guessing til the last episodes.

I did wonder how they could possibly stretch it out for another 10 episodes after the audience already knew everything. Surprisingly it kept my interest til the end.

I'm sad to say that I really really hated the ending.


*SPOILER AHEAD*
Spoiler for the ending: I thought the last episode was going to be a feel-good episode where you get to see all your favourite characters get their happily ever afters, but this one just really let me down in that department. I know there's a trend in k-dramas for the couple to be separated for a year or more, and then reunite, but there's no frigging way this particular relationship problem could be forgiven THAT easily.

Leia Mais

Idol-turned actress, Bang Min-ah has honestly surprised me with how well she acts. In my opinion, her acting was better than Nam-goong. The plot was intense with a bit of mystery and not as much romance as I would have thought. Min-ah has honestly ditched her idol looks and opted for a bowl cut to fit into her role which I thought was really cute. Her character was relatable to many younger siblings in the sense that she was the shadow to her beautiful sister. Jobless and without much looks but quipped with kindness that melted the two male's hearts, in my pessimistic opinion a bit unrealistic but you know, kdrama magic. I did cry a few times at places where I empathised with Min-ah's character and felt sorry for her.

If you're looking for a typical kdrama with a predictable plot then watch this drama. However, I can recommend you a bunch more drama with a better romantic plot? Overall, the drama left me with a mind that I should be a better person to others like how every heartwarming-happy-ending (does this count as spoiler?) kdramas always do to me.

Leia Mais

Beautiful Gong Shim (2016) – this drama started really great for me as a watcher. I think it is my first Minah drama and she is a great actress from being an idol, and she really suits the role Gong Shim. Namkoong Nim always delivers, he is really good in different roles and is a great actor overall. The cute banter between the leads at the start was so cute to watch. But as the story goes it became too serious to what it was supposed to be at the beginning. The pacing becomes dragging as the drama does not seem to hold its original stance. I did felt uninterested in the drama as it goes and somehow felt regret to how the story turned out.

Leia Mais

Cute story ~

I watched these series after finished with The Girl Who Can See Smells because of Nam Goong Min. I got a crush with the 2nd lead hero so because of that it leads me to this drama. 😂

My personal opinion, Nam Goong Min can play a psycho role better than the romantic one. I think he is not good in romance and I just can't feel the love that he was trying to deliver. But he is good in comedy also.

This drama is good. There is multi feelings mixed inside. There is sad, there is happy, there is funny. There is crazy also. If you are looking for a drama for you to laugh, yes you can choose this one. And it's not stressful also even there is conflict. And some of the problem in this drama, you can predict what and why.

I love all the character except the FL sister, Gong Mi and I'm not happy to see her until the end of the story. And I think the 2nd lead hero deserve someone's better. Ops! I'm sorry to reveal it.

So far, the storyline, the acting, the songs, all are good. Not very good but it's just good. Thank you for entertain me. Hope others will enjoy watching.

Leia Mais

A drama that is divided into two halves with fun chemistry between the ML and FL

Beautiful Gong Shim is a fun rom com with fun chemistry between our ML and FL. But the drama was a a tale of two halves. It falls into my lists of dramas where I loved the couple more than the plot.

Plot: The first half of this drama up until episode 10 mainly focus on the life of Gong Shim and Dan Tae. How they became involved in each other's life and developing their relationship later becoming romance. These first 10 episodes include some of the funniest scenes I've seen in Kdramas. Their chemistry was clicking with me. Gong Shim is a person who doesn't have a stable career bouncing from various part time jobs. She isn't treated as equal as her older sister in her family. She is stressed out that she has hair loss in a small part of her hair where she wears a wig. Her wig makes her character lovable for who she is and others might just hate it. I didn't mind it. But she is not all that weak and hopeless. She has a attitude where she stands up and speaks truths to rich arrogant folks. Nothing is going right for her until Ahn Dan Tae moves into the roof above the building her family lives in.

Dan Tae is more of a eccentric ML. He's not the typical ML you find in Kdramas(perfect and flawless). He wears flip flops around in his free time, he tends to eat food that were dropped on the ground for 3 seconds, he loves to eat food at a convenience store, he is a lawyer, has a law firm, has buddies that look up to/help him with things, and is a fun wacky character. He's weird but kind and not a jerk. He is the person that comes into the life of Gong Shim and slowly helps her back onto her feet to improve her life. Sometimes the drama felt like one of those long daily soap opera kdramas. They had the awful older sister character trope but at least they didn't feature her a lot. That was surprising since in the description the drama said it was a love story involving her sister too. Lots of funny moments between them like the dreaming sequence or the hair pulling. This is what made Beautiful Gong Shim fun.

The second half from episode 10 to the end changed the drama into a different style. There was a other main plot you can say throughout the drama which was solving the case of a little boy named "Joon Pyo". Joon Pyo was kidnapped at a young age and his mother died from a car crash when she chased after the kidnapper. To note, Joon Pyo was from a chaebol family. The grandmother of the family is the only one still searching and having hopes to find him as that is his only blood related family member left. Gong Shim who had no connections at all to the case was left out and pretty much a side character in the second half. Sometimes they throw a plot twist where the FL is funny enough apart of the ML's past that she is now involved with the mystery but not here. So the FL who the drama is named after is shoved in the background for some mystery melodrama. Also note it was mostly filled with the cliche chaebol family drama. The second half lost the charm of the drama and probably lost the viewers who liked it. It dragged and fit in cliches along with some dumb writing.

Acting/Cast: Namkoong Min was a great choice to play Dan Tae. The weird wacky personality he put into Dan Tae was very fun. First drama I've seen of Bang Min Ah and she was good. I think their chemistry together matched very well. It can be difficult to act with a wig to their character but she nailed it. I only wished they made her drop the wig at the halfway point to show she as grown as a character waiting to be together with Dan Tae. Because by the end, she has grown out of the wig which felt kind of weird to me. I got used to her character with it that there wasn't enough time for me to get used to her character with her normal hair.

Music: Nothing special that stand out. It's alright.

Rewatch: The first half of the drama is worth rewatching for the enjoyment. Second half is pretty skippable.

Overall: The drama to me was a 2 person show that carried it. Chemistry is amazing for rom com lovers. Not alot of lovey dovey romance moments tho. It was more of a he fell first trope. Watch for the first half and just skip to the end if you don't like the second half of the drama.

Leia Mais

Why i dropped this drama...

Because I began to get tired of it. It started off very well Gong shim (GS) was lovely and endearing. You felt for her and really wanted her to succeed. Ahn Dan Tae (ADT) - Nam Gung Min (NGM) was too funny, if you've seen him in other stuff like The Girl Who Sees Smells he plays a villain really well to the point that I was so shocked when I saw him play this role, he brings a goofy, lightness to the comedy that makes you laugh out loud. Joon Soo is too adorable, really fell in love with him and was kind of upset he was the second lead.

Now my problem and the reason why I dropped this drama...bare with me...

It went off track bizarrely....

This is the synopsis 'This drama is about the Love story of two sisters and two men. The talented older sister has everything, including a beautiful appearance, and her younger sister, who is less attractive but still has a warm heart. And two men appear in front of the siblings: a progressively more attractive man, who moved into a humble rental room on the rooftop of their building and another man who is handsome and wealthy from a plutocrat family. The romance-comedy drama depicts an eventful and unpredictable love story by the four people from such a warmhearted point of view.'
So you expect to not see the underhandedness of the older sister (cant even say her name she annoyed me so), the extra storyline of hidden identities and playing guess who became annoying because unfortunately we as the viewer knew what was happening before anybody else which made it seem like we were watching a trainwreck happen.
Characters began to change, GS didn't seem to grow anymore as her character was hidden by the 2 male leads storylines. Watching it on Viki all people seemed to comment about her after awhile, was about that bloody wig.
The bromance between ADT and JS (which was so endearing to watch deteriorated quickly which angered me as it was all a stupid misunderstanding.

It was almost like the writers got changed mid-show.

Music is alright (couldn't find on Spotify though)

Bare in mind I did drop this drama...so I don't know if it had a marvelous ending which brought it back. That's why I rated the rewatch value as 8 as when I have the time and energy to marathon watch it I may enjoy it more......keyword - MAY.

Do you know what. watching this drams is like watching someone run a race and they start off very well, even cracking jokes because they are in the lead then they stumble, you grimace, they get up and you hope they will be fine so you keep watching....then they keep
falling and don't even make it to the finishing line.....yeah....that what this was.

Leia Mais

Why call it a romance?

This was a wasted 20 episodes of a typical run of the mill drama.
The genre is comedy, romance and drama.
The comedy is cute in the first few episodes.
The drama drags on and on.
The romance - seriously don't trust it.

There was no attention paid to the development of relationship, no chemistry and not one single heart fluttering moment.

After I finished the 20 torturous episodes, I looked up the details on the cast.
The ML is 15 years older than the FL, which is not the problem at all - but then it all fell into place.
He was just so uncomfortable with her, barely held her hand or hugged her.
He was also presumably confirming his dating relationship that same year, so the romantic scenes may have been painful.

The second pair was even worse. Not their acting, just their situation. Pooooorly done.

Watch it for any other reason except the misnomer of romance.

Leia Mais