Pretendente Surpresa (2022)

This Rom-Com had me smiling through the whole thing!

***I just had to add something to my original review. I just re-watched this show, because I had just finished watching a couple of no-so-great shows and I needed something I knew I would enjoy. Upon re-watch, I think I enjoyed it even more, and this is why. The development of relationships was very evident, of both couples. I loved seeing even the most seemingly insignificant conversations, you could really understand why they felt the way they did about each other. So many shows, you never quite understand why the people like each other. It was just as much fun the second time around.

What a fun show!

Let's be honest, there's nothing too terribly original about it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if the things that they are doing are what you enjoy. And enjoy I did. It's full of the typical rom-com cliches, but it's put together in a very endearing way. The identity confusion didn't go on too terribly long, the main leads were strong characters that didn't let their families walk all over them, and I can ALMOST forgive the obligatory time jump. There is a lot of heart, a lot of humor, and a lot of fun to be found in this show. I also appreciated the fact that there weren't misunderstandings just to push the show along and keep the couple apart. We get to see an actual development of a relationship here, which I really enjoyed.

ACTING: Ahn Hyo Seop as Tang Moo - I had a bit of trouble with him toward the beginning, because it seemed he was trying to channel the lead from What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, but then a couple of episodes in he seemed to hit his stride. I ADORED him as Yoo Chan in Thirty but Seventeen, but whereas there he reminded me of a gangly puppy that hadn't grown into his body, here you can see that he has definitely grown into himself and is full of that cool grace of a romantic male lead. I thought everyone in the show did a very good job.

CHEMISTRY: Wonderful chemistry between both the lead couple and the second lead couple. No fish kisses, which is a nice change. Both couples had healthy relationships and there was time spent in honest, everyday conversations. I loved the scene of the lead couple when she went back to talk to him at the hospital when it was raining. there was a good balance between sadness, support and love as they discussed survivor's guilt.

The bromance was okay but tempered by the fact that they were employer/employee.
Sismance - amazing! While watching these two women from such completely different backgrounds interact, they were always supportive of each other. I love to see healthy friendships in the shows that I watch.
The ending was okay, a little more rushed than I like, but definitely better than most.

I have so many shows on my list to watch, I'm not normally one to re-watch anything, but I may revisit this one again soon, because it's an easy watch and it left me smiling.

Leia Mais

An overall enjoyable show hampered by a terrible character

I get that it's a drama and there's some suspension of belief necessary, but Kang Tae Moo was the worst. Like, run, Shin Ha Ri, run. If I found out that a friend was seeing someone who had done even a fraction of the stuff Kang Tae Moo had done, I would have been hosting an intervention.

The second leads were way better and I really enjoyed their story! I would have much rather seen more of them.

I thought that the show did a good job of showing friendship though! Shin Ha Ri and Jin Young Seo were adorable together and Kang Tae Moo's most redeeming stuff was with Cha Sung Hoon.

Leia Mais

Sympathique

Avec ce drama, pour moi, on s'éloigne un peu de ce qui fait l'essence des dramas romantiques coréens : Tout dans la lenteur, la suggestion et autre.
Cela ne veut pas dire qu'il n'est pas bien, loin de là, j'ai passé un agréable moment. Mais force est de constater quand même que la romance est clairement assumée et montrée et , et ce, pour les deux couples.

Le couple principal matche bien, ils sont touchants, même si plus long à démarrer.

Par contre le couple secondaire démarre vite et fort, et les questions viennent après. c'est une façon de mener la chose différemment. Cela dit, j'ai beaucoup aimé ce qu'ils apportaient à la série, et ils ont très bien porté ce couple.

La série est pleine d'humour et c'est aussi ce qui fait que j'ai passé un bon moment.

Le petit bémol : 12 épisodes, certains trouveront la longueur parfaite, d'autre trop court. Personnellement, j'ai surtout été déçue du dernier épisode. Beaucoup parle d'épisode "bâclé" et je crois que je suis d'accord. Dommage.

Cela reste quand même une comédie romantique à découvrir, sympa, et plus "réaliste" que la plupart des Kdramas quand on aime ça.

Leia Mais

One of the best ROM-COMS in KDRAMA Land.

I have watched and rewatched this drama many times, even after a year and a half after it has aired.
It is your typical cliche rom-com, but DONE RIGHT.

STORYLINE : is the one you would expect in this kind of drama, so nothing out of common.
ACTING : The cast has done a perfect job at portraying the characters CHEMISTRY is on FIRE, that's why they've also won BEST COUPLE AWARD.
COMEDY : 100/10 Really funny, there is no episode without a good laugh.
OST: Beautfiul, especially the popular "Love, Maybe".

So yes, watch it if you want a classic rom-com and a good laugh.
Remember : when it comes to dramas, it also comes to what you are in the mood for!

Leia Mais

A 2022 Drama, with a lot of late 00's energy

Starting of with my headline, this drama do remind me of a lot of the k-dramas that where released in between 2007-2012, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. First of all, the show is packed with tropes that where popular during this period (poor woman meets rich man, demanding/controlling parents, secret relationships, woman in love with childhood friend etc) and the fact that the show in it's essence is pretty simple and straight-forward. However this was quite refreshing as most new k-dramas tend too be slightly more serious (or at least have darker subject-matters to them). Because of this, Business Proposal is a super binge-worthy show, I was able to watch the entire show in just 2 days, something that is rare for me. I would recommend Business Proposal for anyone that is looking for something simple to watch at the end of a long day. Below I go in a bit more with the details...

Highlights:
1. The side-couple actually felt like a romantic relationship you could see in real life.

2. Good Pacing. Doesn't drag on too much, the second part is just as well paced as the first (A lot of k-dramas have this problem).

Aspects the show missed the mark on:
1. The music: Now this is ofc super personal, but the music in a show/movie can do so much for me. And Business Proposal simply doesn't have a memorable soundtrack for me.

2. I honestly wish we saw more of the friendship between Ha-Ri and Young-seo. It's almost like the show forgot about half-way through. In the same vain, I wished the show explored the relationship between Tae-moo and Sung-hoon.

3. The ending felt a bit rushed. I understand that the show only had 12 episodes but I just wished the show would maybe take 30 more min to wrap-up.

Leia Mais

A Super Fun Drama You’d Not Want To Miss!

I rarely watch k-dramas, but I finally made the decision to binge “A Business Proposal”, after it constantly appeared everywhere, and being recommended to me by the MDL community. I’m so glad I made that choice, because this drama proved to be one of the best modern dramas I’ve watched in a while!
I think what pulled me in to the drama so much, was the whole plot itself. I love dramas that include changing appearances (like “True Beauty”), and so I was basically hooked from the very beginning. However, I must add that I did loose a bit of interest near the middle/end, because the climax of the drama had ended. This was what made “A Business Proposal” go from a 9.0 to a 8.5 for me.
Next, I want to say that the whole cast was extremely well picked. Kim Sejeong’s smile and expressions perfectly fit her role as Shin Ha-Ri, and she has that playful side of her that showcased during her act as Shin Geum-Hui. Meanwhile, Ahn Hyo-Seop overwhelmed me with his stellar appearance and acting skills. He really made Kang Tae-Moo’s arrogance and bossiness come to life. The bonus was that the two main leads had an awesome chemistry that peaked my attention towards them even more.
Moving on to the second leads… they were just sooooo perfect! I have to be honest, I sometimes even loved them more than the main couple! Seol In-Ah’s acting was so on-point, and I can visibly see her development as an actress from “Mr. Queen”. Her chemistry with Kim Min-Kyu was all too good, I totally ship them in real life!

Leia Mais

Your typical rom-com, but with a few new jokes for your books

When I say typical, I mean that it has a lot of the common tropes from romantic comedy dramas that we see normally. The rich man, poor woman; the unhappy parents; the contract relationships; misunderstandings; and secret dating... so if you like something predictable and heart-warming this is, truly, for you!

Story
A common story but the comedy is pretty good. Some of the jokes in this drama are just iconic and must be seen! The story doesn't dwell on unnecessary plot points, which makes the pacing good. Thankfully, it does explore the second lead relationships, which is a big bonus towards the end of the drama.

Comedy
Have you met Rachel and Samantha yet? That will answer your questions about the comedy in this drama. The comedy does ebb throughout the series, but they keep a few tropes and jokes for you to enjoy in the end. It is mainly slap-stick comedy.

Romance
If you hate love triangles between the leads, you are in for a surprise...this one doesn't really have one. The sismance and bromance are strong and you would definitely appreciate them if you are a fan of strong friendships. Because this is only a 12 episode drama, misunderstandings are short-lived, so you don't have to suffer too long!

Pacing
The 12-episode format, and the developed second-lead storylines make this drama fly by. Though I can't say whether it will be good to binge, it is worth a watch for those that love to feel their hearts flutter.

Leia Mais

Funny, heartwarming romances, interesting characters but...

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 12, 60 minute episodes. It is known by the alternate title "The Office Blind Date."

Shin Ha-ri (Kim Se-jeong) often does odd jobs for her friend and heiress Jin Young-seo (Seol In-ah). This one is even a bit much for her but she still agrees to pretend to be her friend and go on a blind date, playing a vixen, in a deliberate attempt to "botch" it. Little does Ha-ri know but the blind date is none other than Kang Tae-mu (Ahn Hyo-seop), the new CEO of Ha-ri's company. Tired of the whole blind date circus, Tae-mu vowed to just get it over with and marry his next blind date. Tae-mu did not realize that the next blind date would be a deception and that he was not going out with an heiress, Young-seo, but an employee at his company. It is not long before he discovers that Ha-ri is not Young-seo but he is not sure who she is and when he asks for her real name she gives him another psuedonym she often uses with her friend's friends and not her real name which would have revealed she was actually his employee. Tae-mu still does not know Ha-ri works for him and hilariaty ensues as she hides the fact from him. Tae-mu's grandfather, Kang Da-goo (Lee Deok-hwa) has been pressuring his grandsone to find a suitable marriage partner as he is the heir to the conglomerate. Tae-mu bullies and bribes Ha-ri into pretending to be his fiancée in exchange for 800,000 won per date. While Ha-ri is not keen on this level of deception she agrees as she is constantly looking for money to cover her families' financial woes. Young-seo takes another route to escape the constant pressure of finding a marriage partner, she moves out of her father's house and finds herself next door to none other than Tae-mu's, Chief of Staff/like a brother, Kim Min-kyu (Cha Sung-hoon) who finds the heiress very alluring yet is angry at the way she deceived his boss/like a brother. The set up is ripe for laughter inducing moments and a multitude of misunderstandings. Can the four young people navigate the expectations placed on them and be able to find their own path to love?

I loved this and would definitely recommend others watch it and I would rewatch it. That being said, there are some flaws that exist when compared to the web toon it is based on. The web toon was more flawless in my opinion as it stayed away from some tropes that can be tiring where this returned to them and deviated. Spoilers* In the web toon the grandfather liked Ha-ri throughout and would chastise the Tae-Mu anytime grandfather felt Tae-Mu was not treating her right. In the drama rendition the grandfather was more of a stereotypical Korean wealthy parental figure and disapproved of the relationship. In the end, there was a very short piece about him not coming back until she accepted the ring which indicated she finally won his approval but it was way too short relative to the length of time he had disapproved. There was also the separation trope in the drama rendition that did not exist in the web toon. I am not a fan of the separations that are usually a year or more. In real life it rarely makes the heart grow fonder and more often just causes people to grow apart. It was not necessary and they could have stuck with the way it was in the web toon. The chemistry between the actors was really good. Kim Seo-jong reminds me of Emma Stone in both her looks and her voice. It is said we all have "twins" running around in people that have similar features and I see that in international stars. I think Kim Seo-jong was well cast in the Ha-ri role as she was a pro at carrying out the comedic aspects of hiding like she did whenever her secret was about to be discovered. As many have observed, 12 episodes did not feel like enough. There was still room to carry out aspects that were reflective of the web toon. In the web toon Ha-ri did not give in to marriage right away and he was insistent on marrying her because he vowed to marry the next person he went on a blind date with and carried that through despite the deception. There was a lot of comedy associated with that in the web toon. There is also the concern that Netflix is setting a standard of a shorter number of episodes and one thing many like about South Korean dramas is the depth of story and character development that can only be achieved in at least 16 episodes. In this case, 12 episodes meant they rushed certain aspects of the story and did not fully tell others. I loved the relationship of Ha-ri and Young-seo and it made sense how she came to do the blind date as they would do practically anything for the other. Tae-mu and Min-kyu's brother like relationship was also very enjoyable and heart warming. It went a bit more risque in the bedroom scene than was necessary and I felt it deviated from the way South Korean dramas typically portray intimacy. All of the characters were well cast and it was enjoyable watching the character and relationship developments. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama but hope that Neflix will not continue to deviate from a formula that works so well for South Korea drama. As a huge South Korean drama fan I do not want to see South Korean dramas "Americanized." I rarely watch American dramas for many of the reasons that make me love South Korean dramas. American dramas are typically too short, too risque, don't have a lot of character or plot development and unnecessarily introduce sad elements.

Leia Mais