A Vida Privada Dela (2019)

🌼Holi, ¿Cómo están?🌼 Hoy por fin les traigo la reseña del último kdrama que vi: Her Private Life.

🎨Si no saben de qué se trata, acá les cuento un poco: Sung Duk Mi es una curadora de arte que esconde un gran secreto: es fanática del Idol Cha Shi Ah. Ryan Gold es un importante director de una galería de arte en Nueva York con un pasado traumático. Un día, mientras Duk Mi está esperando en el aeropuerto a que llegue Shi Ah, se termina chocando con Ryan Gold, deseando nunca más verlo. Lo que menos esperaba era que se convirtiera en el director del museo en el que ella trabaja.

💖Este drama tiene dos personajes principales muy bien desarrollados y súper queribles. Ambos protagonistas son todo lo que está bien, tienen una química increíble y sus personalidades encajan tan bien que les creí todo. Obviamente este es un drama de romance, y por eso quiero decirles que todo está muy bien hecho: los sentimientos van avanzando paulatinamente y, cuando por fin se concreta la relación, ellos son muy maduros a la hora de solucionar sus problemas de pareja. Además Ryan Gold se lleva todos los premios como novio de una fanática jajajja.

🤔Siento que los traumas del protagonista están bien planteados y tienen mucha consistencia, pero me pasó que los plot twist en torno a estos fueron bastante predecibles, incluso uno ya te lo venían adelantando más o menos desde el principio. Este último no me terminó de gustar porque siento que utilizaron algo que era completamente innecesario y que encima ya se vio en otros kdramas (para colmo lo metieron en los últimos dos capítulos, medio al pedo).

😔Otra cosa que no me terminó de gustar mucho es que el second lead, el cual amo como personaje, no fue muy bien manejado. Da la sensación de que dijeron: "tenemos que tener a alguien rechazado por la protagonista, tomemos a este". Con la relación de él y la protagonista podrían haber hecho algo muchísimo mejor.

💥Sin dudas es una serie que a pesar de tener algunas cositas medio flojas, me gustó mucho. Así que si tienen ganas de ver un dorama súper entretenido, gracioso y lleno de personajes queribles, denle una oportunidad.

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The beginning started out strong. The two leads have chemistry and are easy on the eyes. My favorite actress Park Min Young and one of the hotties from Coffee Prince together in a drama, what's not to like? Well, what started out as fluffy and funny about the fangirling life became a boring story about the curating process. The story was too predictable for me, and too sweet for my tastes. The drama switched from the female's story quickly to the male's story and different arcs in between, which is fine if the elements were introduced smoothly. Alas, what you get from this drama is bits and pieces of everyone's story but not fully baked. Disappointing one-dimensional secondary characters that could have contributed more to the drama.

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Cute Little Drama

I usually take notes while I'm watching a drama so I can write a thorough review later on but this was the first drama in quite some time that I didn't watch over the course of months. I got into it pretty quickly and then forgot about notes.

The cast is great. I love Park Min Young so I'm always happy to watch her in any role. I wasn't a big fan of Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook) at first, but I think that's the point. I was a big fan of the character Cha Shi An (One). He was super charming and charismatic from the jump.

Overall the story was super cute, although I did think it would go the route of ML vs 2nd ML with one of them being Cha Shi An, but the alternative story was sort of interesting. A little too intertwined if anything. I will say that FL and ML did eventually have some great chemistry.

I was NOT happy with the fact that they never revealed to Cha Shi An that Deok Mi was his number one fan, "Shi An Is My Road". Considering how much he adored that fan, and then how much he came to adore "Noona" that really bummed me out. I like a good old classic k-drama that ties up all the things and everyone gets there happy ending, but the fact that they didn't tell him was the worst.

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I know what you're thinking. How could I give only 7.5 stars to Her Private life when I gave 8.5 stars to What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, which is usually considered inferior to HPL?

THE GOOD: MATURE ROMANCE
Park Min Young and Kim Jae Wook play two grown-up adults who are very work-oriented and possibly didn't have many previous relationships. Yet, they are believable. They are real. They communicate. They support each other but also give each other space. And they have this amazing chemistry. They hug, they touch and their make-out scenes are to die for. And when the FL spends a night at the ML's place, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

I believe that it's mostly due to this reason that this drama has such a high rating. We are so desperate for a more mature approach to romance in the rom-com genre, that when it appears, we fall for it, hook and sinker while ignoring the more mediocre aspects of the show.

THE BAD: IT'S A SNOOZEFEST
I was so bored. I started this drama in April 2019 I think and I finished it in May 2020. I totally might be an exception in this but (despite the OTP's chemistry) I often had to force myself to press the "Next episode" button on Viki.

The plot was practically non-existent. The fangirling aspect which drove the first couple of episodes just slowly disappeared into the background and by the last episode, it became completely irrelevant.

The second male lead (Ahn Bo Hyun) was super problematic and the show failed to make him into an interesting and sympathetic character. The epilogue suggests he gets together with Kim Bo Ra's character – why the show didn't make them into a fun beta couple during the course of the story?

Park Jin Joo plays the FL's best friend, who had a subplot going on involving her not-so-perfect marriage. But the writers only scratched the surface of the conflict and resolved it before it had a chance to become deep enough for us to care.

The side characters were extremely generic and they lacked depth. FL's colleagues, her quirky family, K-pop star Cha Shi Ahn (played by ONE), even potentially antagonistic fellow fan "Cindy" (Kim Bo Ra) – all ended up being bland and forgettable.

The search for the artworks that eventually reconnected one family was not a bad idea, but it could have been executed in a much more thoughtful and meaningful manner. And then it went to hell when the writers decided to add the most idiotic "we met as kids" storyline to the last two episodes. (don't get me started on how nonsensical the whole childhood story was, the less we say about it, the better)

ACTING/CAST
Fantastic leads. The rest was ok, honestly, considering the weak writing, they just did the best they could under the circumstances. Park Jin Joo as FL's best friend was super cute.
It was also nice to see Kim Mi Kyung and Park Min Young starring as a mother and daughter again and they were the saving grace of the idiotic melodrama in the episodes 15–16.

MUSIC
Unusually for me, I didn't even download any of the songs from this drama: they were just...there...nothing special. And I admit I get bad vibes when a girl refers to herself as "precious little girl", as in the opening lyrics; I just cringed every time I heard it.

REWATCH VALUE
I think that the first couple of episodes with the fangirling and fake dating shenanigans are very rewatchable. The rest of the show...kissing scenes only :).

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Fangirling Over Ryan Gold

I had gotten very tired of hyped rom-coms that had leads in their late twenties or thirties acting like teens and dead fish kissing scenes. I heard this was a more mature romance and I was not disappointed.
Park Min-Young seems to have amazing chemistry with every actor she’s paired with, but her chemistry with Kim Jae-wook was really next level. The chemistry between the two of them paired with a fake dating trope? Forget it, I’m in.
The absolute main reason to watch this show is because of the male lead, Ryan Gold. Ryan was such a green flag and he was written in a way that went against so many drama stereotypes. There were many times where I expected him to get angry about a situation, and if it had been any other kdrama, it would have led to a miscommunication that lasted multiple episodes and probably also an unnecessary breakup. Instead, Ryan and Deok-mi communicated so beautifully with each other. The fights they did have were portrayed in such a healthy way and ended with them laughing and/or kissing. I think miscommunication is such an overplayed and boring trope a lot of the time and I loved seeing this show do things so differently.
I loved Kim Jae-wook’s portrayal as Ryan. He was so attractive and I loved that from the very beginning he was protective of Deok-mi, even if he had a completely wrong read of the situation. The way he was delighted by her fangirling and impressed by pretty much everything about her was so cute. The real first kiss scene was one of the best I have seen and they had many others that were just as good! I loved that the main couple was so playful and affectionate. I think the show did a great job portraying a realistic relationship for people in their thirties.
I think Shi-Ahn was actually adorable. I saw the twist coming, but I do wish that they had built it up a little better.
This show was well on its way to being in my top ten based on the main couple, but I did end up having a couple of gripes with it. I think basically everything with Eun-gi was poorly done. I hate a love triangle where one person has just no shot but tries to force it anyway. I think it was weird that he had those feelings in the first place, but I think that he definitely should’ve kept them to himself. I did really appreciate how unbothered Ryan was by their relationship and fully trusted Deok-mi, but I just think that whole plot was not needed. The big reveal at the end of what had happened to Ryan and his connection to Deok-mi was also a major weak spot in the series. It didn’t make much sense and also added a layer of drama and mystery that this show really didn’t need. The show also really took it easy on some of the darker aspects of fan culture. Deok-mi being so understanding of the people who stalked, assaulted, and doxxed her felt really unrealistic.
All that being said, I had so much fun with this drama. The leads had me giggling and kicking my feet. I want to see Kim Jae-wook in more rom coms for sure.

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Relaxing Drama

It’s a very easygoing drama with no second lead trying all sort of evil to exaggerated plans to separate the couple.
One thing that I really like about it is how everyone behave like adults!!! Adults actually acting like adults and not being overly childish or trying hard to be cute.

I feel like this is a story fangirls of KPop would really enjoy. The way the male lead supports the female lead will certainly make fangirls dream of getting such a supportive life partner!!
It was very relaxing and dreamy for me.
No big catastrophic twist, if that’s what you are looking for.

Though of course, as so many Kdramas, we have the not so shocking news that they grow up together or met in childhood.

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Flow cerita yang nggak rapi

Aku mulai review dari alasanku nonton dulu ya, satu-satunya alasanku nonton HPL adalah om Jaewook. Saat udah nonton, di pertengahan season aku udah mulai bisa naruh perhatian ke karakter-karakter lainnya selain yang diperanin Jaewook. Park Minyoung sebagai female lead charming. Sayangnya, struktur dan pacing cerita nggak bisa ngebuat aku cinta sama series ini.

Dulu, waktu aku masih bisa marathon drakor 16-20an episode, aku nontonnya full durasinya, no skip. Masuk di 2020s ini, aku lebih prefer untuk nonton series yang satu seasonnya ada 12 episode. Kenapa? Nggak ada filler dan struktur cerita bisa lebih rapi. Kadang, ibarat makanan, kalau porsinya pas dan ceritanya enak banget, penonton bisa minta lebih seperti season 2 atau spin-off. Win-win solution. HPL ini, karena masih pake sistem satu season 16 episode dan aku udah mulai aware juga sama story/naskah dari series, setelah episode 11an, semuanya berasa filler dan lackluster.

Goals dari setiap trope fake relationship adalah menjawab pertanyaan "apa endingnya mereka bakal jadian?" dan pertanyaan dari plot utama ini udah selesai di episode 10-11an itu. Terus sisa sekitar 5-6 episode lagi buat apa dong? Untuk wrap up subplot. Iya, struktur ceritanya aneh buatku. Kalo dibagi per-empat episode, untuk plot utama, empat episode awal (1-4) set-up untuk main character kita bisa ada agreement untuk ngejalanin fake relationship ini cukup lambat. Mereka baru deal di episode 4. Empat episode selanjutnya (5-8) untuk build-up tension antara main leads lalu empat episode setelahnya (9-12) dua karakter utama ini udah sadar akan perasaan mereka dan mutusin untuk menyudahi fake relationship mereka. Sisa episodenya? Bagusnya sih nggak pernah ada ya.

Alasan kenapa menurutku HPL dengan sistem 16 episode itu adalah strategi yang salah karena di empat episode terakhir, saat cerita utama udah berakhir bahagia masih ada subplot yang belum beres dan twist yang menurutku cheap. All of a sudden, setelah Ryan (Kim Jaewook) dan Deokmi (Park Minyoung) udah push and pull, the writer decided that they were childhood friends. Like...? Ou, that's not it. It's lazy writing. It should've stayed in the draft.

Another cliche that I hate adalah plot twist kalau Ryan dan Cha Shi-an (idolanya Deokmi) adalah saudara tiri. Deokmi life couldn't get more dramatic than this. Her idol and her lover are technically half-brothers. Jadi, yah, keliatannya writer ini kewalahan harus ngisi empat episode terakhir. Jujur, aku belum baca webtoonya tapi menurutku serial ini punya potensi kalau aja si subplot itu bisa di reworked atau malah nggak usah ada sama sekali.

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A sweet but slightly messy rom-com.

I really enjoyed this drama overall - I think the casting was good and I love that it depicted such a mature and healthy relationship, however I had some slight issues with the plot. It felt like it was trying to do a lot of things all at once and I'm not really sure if it succeeded in balancing them very well as it often felt like the plot had completely changed direction to what it was doing a few episodes before.

While I appreciated the representation of "fangirls" who are older and not just teenage girls, this whole part of the plot ended up feeling completely inconsequential to me. At the beginning of the show this is such a huge portion of what the show is about and it kind of gave me the impression that that was what the drama was about at it's crux, but at some point along the way it was almost completely dropped and I honestly kind of forgot that that was where we even started. Duk-Mi's fan site was made to be such a huge deal, but then it reaches a point where it's basically not even mentioned again until the very end, and I'm just not really sure any of this was needed in the show as it had no real consequences on the plot or the characters.

It also felt like it was trying a little too hard with all of the side characters having feelings for other characters, when again these storylines beared almost no impact on the overall plot, and all of the sudden backstory we get at the end also felt like it was trying a little too hard and felt unnecessary when it was all just rushed in the last couple of episodes.

Overall, despite having some issues with the plot, I am glad that I watched it, and I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy rom-coms as I think that element of the show was very well done and the leads did an amazing job.

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I read a number of reviews before I watched "Her Private Life", many reviews mention that the ending is bad in one way or another. This almost made me skip over this drama. I am glad I didn't.

There is some truth to the ending being bad, but that is really only concerning the last episode. This drama feels like it ended on the 15th (second to last) episode and the 16th episode was really just a flash back and where they are now episode, while also wrapping up a few loose ends. Was it needed? No, no it was not. Does it hurt the story? No. Was it boring to watch? Maybe a bit.

I only say all that to hopefully help others that were on the fence, about watching this drama, due to the talk about the last episode.

With that out of the way, on to the real review.

Story: 7.0
The story it's self is fun. It has many moments where I found myself laughing out loud, crying, feeling anger and over all just enjoying my time with the show itself. Some parts of the story feel cliche. Some gags feel over used. But none of that is to the point of making the show unenjoyable.

Acting/Cast: 10
The cast, the acting, and the writing was stunning. The actors all have this amazing chemistry that is helped out even more by the realistic writing that help lend to make the reactions and relationships feel real. This may be the first drama I have ever watched and never thought, "Why would they do/say that".

The drama and romance is handled in a realistic manner. There never seems to be any points where a character in the story does something only to push the plot along and that is both really refreshing and enjoyably.

Music: 7.0
This drama is pretty light on music, many of the scenes have none and I found that really nice. Not every scene needs to have music to heighten the mood and this drama understands that. It uses music where it is needed and in scenes where it makes sense. None of the music was overbearing or over the top. While at the same time none of the music really stuck me as something amazing.

Rewatch Value: 5.0
This is not a show I would rewatch. If I did I think I would still enjoy my time with it, but there are dramas with much higher rewatch value that it has to contend with.

Overall: 7.0
I recommend this drama, with the understanding that the story is nothing new. Expect amazing cast and acting, but the story is really just a place to allow the actors to shine and the relationships and drama to grow.

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Healing drama and healthy relationships

This surpassed my expectations. It was funny, sweet, and emotional, with great acting by the two main leads, and her parents.
From the synopsis here and on Netflix, I started this thinking it was something I would be able to watch over time, not binge. That quickly turned out to not be the case!

Fangirling took a backseat in the story as it progressed, and the story turned out to be more of a healing drama, with mature, healthy relationships - both romantic and family-wise.
It was so refreshing to see a couple in a drama that actually were communicating well with each other, as well as being considerate for the other person. I would also say they had rather good chemistry.

What I did not quite like was the character of the first director (Cindy's mum). She was just overly exaggerated - made me cringe. That character could still have done it's part in the story without being so extreme.

I saw some comments about not seeing the point of the second ML (mr Nam Eun Gi), but I thought he played a part in the story, without it taking too much space. I would say that his story, together with Ryan's, showed two different "versions" of a similar issue (difficult to explain without giving away possible spoilers).
If anything, her friend's employee/artist was the character that felt a bit unnecessary to me, even if he didn't take up too much of the story.

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