Roteiro do Amor (2020)

Unique & Cute Historical-Contemporary Romance Mix

The plot of this drama was quite unique to me and I gave it a try. The first few episodes were pretty interesting and funny, and I enjoyed watching more than I had expected. There are a number of funny scenes but they were not overly comedic. The storyline developed steadily for the first half of the drama with Zhu Xuan Wen's illness and his treatment by Luo Kai Huai. However, halfway through the drama (like episode 11-12), it started to focus more on the male lead's company power struggles more and there is a big reveal. There is also too much of a focus on the two supporting characters' love lines ( Luo Kai Huai's bro and Zhu Xuan Wen's secretary). I had to skip much of those parts because their stories were not as interesting. And, because the plot lost its focus, I skipped through much of the last half of the drama and only watched the main couple's scenes.

On the other hand, I really liked the loveline of Luo Kai Huai and Zhu Xuan Wen. I really felt their chemistry since they first met in the drama even though I did not really like the male lead at first. They're cute together but not in a too sweet/cringey way. The actor and actress playing them did a great job at these two roles. ALSO, I really love the OST of this drama. It always played at the right moment and added to the mood of the scene.

Overall, I would recommend it as a drama filler if you are waiting on some other ongoing dramas since it was still a pretty cute and interesting drama to watch. You may need to use 1.5x speed in the second half though.
.
.
.
.
SPOILERS AHEAD
.
.
.

Things I liked:
1. Main couple's loveline
2. THE OST!!
3. Unique storyline (first half at least) - it was refreshing to see a drama where it was a mix of historical and contemporary because the male lead has mental illness [although in the end it was all an act]. It was also fun to see their past lives being told during Luo Kai Huai's dreams.

Things I didn't like:
1. How their past lives story seemed to have been forgotten after half of the drama
2. How it turned cliche and they have a childhood connection which Luo Kai Huai has a trauma over
3. Too much focus on supporting characters' lovelines- they were boring to watch

Leia Mais

solid & clever descends into cliches: warning spoilers ahead

Let me start this off by saying that I REALLY enjoyed this drama for the first 16 of 24 episodes. Its layers were well-crafted: historic romance, present deluded CEO, present CEO conspiring to unearth homicidal board members. Even the transitions between past and present were smooth with written pages turning either forwards or backwards to demonstrate the passage of time. The tension between the FL and ML was palpable and the FL's struggle to balance professional and personal integrity was shown well. I enjoyed watching the two side couples as they jockeyed back and forth into possibility. And I was assailed by some serious SML syndrome.

Then at the moment when the story felt like it was finally resolving, the less desirable bits began to emerge. After the FL spurned the ML for betraying her trust, the drama began to drag. One entire episode was mostly devoted to showing how miserable each of the characters was. I mean how many crying jags and flashbacks do we really need to be convinced of their despair? And as that disconnect was finally being resolved, suddenly another major business crisis rears its ugly head with the SML showing a jealous bent to undermine the ML. Simultaneously, the FL is faced with a hitherto unrecalled childhood trauma--which, of course, was connected to the ML, the only one who could truly help her. Then once everything was almost resolved, I was particularly annoyed by the FL faux extension of her 1-year study abroad. Seriously, who plays that sort of trick on someone they love?

I wish that everything could have wound down before these final crises/challenges occurred. I would have rated this a solid '8' then. Was the last third truly horrible? No, it had its moments (brother presents FL friend with all the birthday gifts he had prepared but been too afraid to give for 7 years; ML assistant meeting his partner's family who believe he is unemployed and poor; the resonance of the dead mother's story and its revitalized ending). I just hated watching the same actors who sensitively enacted this well-written script forced to portray overdone cliches. It was like I'd been savoring a delectable confection, but then after I was full I devoured a reduced-price, mass produced, store-bought cake. I'm left feeling uncomfortably over-stuffed with pleasant memories of the initial pastry and only regret for the bland sugary dessert I shoved in after.

Leia Mais