Kim-Park-Lee
Los Angeles
Reviewing this drama objectively is a little hard for me, because I always feel compelled to defend the underdog. The drama is receiving a lot of criticism (which, in general, is pretty justified), and yet not only is it one of the rare shows I watched live, but it also drew me from my 2 year long drama slump: I watch way less dramas than I used to and I bet I drop about 80% of what I start, so if I watch a drama until the end it means it really pulled me in. So is Radio Romance boring, as many said? Yes, but not for everybody. It brought me back each week, and I'm not the kind of person to make efforts for a drama, so for me, it definitely wasn't boring.
Many point out the plot was very thin, and I totally agree. It was the same thing that was streeeeetched out throughout the 16 episodes. But I didn't mind that: in real life, things often aren't so fast-paced, and though I enjoy plot-driven dramas it often feels like it comes at the expense of time spent on the characters. Good plot-driven dramas compensate by making their characters vibrant by the writing, but in this one, I wouldn't even say the characters were exceptionally well written: rather, we really spent a looooot of time on them, on their developing relationships, and that, with the excellent acting, made the characters extremely touching for me, in a way that felt natural.
It was my first time seeing both Do Joon and Kim So Hyun. Do Joon (Su Ho) was perfect, and so expressive in subtle ways. Kim So Hyun (Geu Rim) was wonderful as well, in a surprisingly mature way. Geu Rim got under Su Ho's skin from episode 1, and it was thrilling (for me, more thrilling than watching epic action scenes or CGI) to watch all his poorly repressed attraction and affection. Su Ho's villain mother and PD Lee were complex, unusual and endearing characters, as well as a handful of other smaller characters. I must say the casting made it all: Yoon Park, Oh Hyun Kyung, Ha Joon, Kim Ye Ryung and Kwak Dong Yeon (but his talent was wasted!) all struck me as very very good actors, and without their talent their characters would've been one-dimensional and flat. What I appreciated about the drama was that all these characters relationships evolved, but in a way that didn't feel cheaply dramatic. I mean there were no epic misunderstandings, the characters remained coherent with themselves... I always admire characters that resolve conflicts without betraying themselves, and without creating too much damage: there was plenty of that in this drama, to the point that some found it boring. Most characters didn't go off their rails at a conflict. I liked that. Song Geu Rim especially fit the bill in terms of what we want in a modern female romantic lead: sensitive, resolved, competent and grounded.
This drama should really be watched purely as a romantic show. As a romance junkie, I was delighted, but if that's not what you're looking for there's no reason to watch this drama. Radio Romance took a lot of time to detail the different stages in a romantic relationship, pre and post dating. Angsty looks, tender looks, jealousy (and even a little sexual innuendo) galore! Yayyyyyy! They certainly didn't skim the romance in this show, and it was both grand (all that love! all that intensity! all that longing!) and realistic (learning to deal with the possessiveness in the early stages of the relationship, needing some space...). This is what sailed me through the show, despite its flaws, such as: Jason was an odd character played by a talented actor that never truly made sense in the story, there were good but small characters that were sort of dropped along the way (Geu Rim's mom, DJ Moon were great characters that had more importance in the beginning), and there were some pretty cringy lines (but this is an emoooooootional drama hehe, so I can deal with the corniness).
On a purely superficial note, I was in love with Do Joon's style from beginning to end, despite many protests -- I guess I just have bad taste like that :^)
I loved this drama! But not everyone will, hehe :^p
Many point out the plot was very thin, and I totally agree. It was the same thing that was streeeeetched out throughout the 16 episodes. But I didn't mind that: in real life, things often aren't so fast-paced, and though I enjoy plot-driven dramas it often feels like it comes at the expense of time spent on the characters. Good plot-driven dramas compensate by making their characters vibrant by the writing, but in this one, I wouldn't even say the characters were exceptionally well written: rather, we really spent a looooot of time on them, on their developing relationships, and that, with the excellent acting, made the characters extremely touching for me, in a way that felt natural.
It was my first time seeing both Do Joon and Kim So Hyun. Do Joon (Su Ho) was perfect, and so expressive in subtle ways. Kim So Hyun (Geu Rim) was wonderful as well, in a surprisingly mature way. Geu Rim got under Su Ho's skin from episode 1, and it was thrilling (for me, more thrilling than watching epic action scenes or CGI) to watch all his poorly repressed attraction and affection. Su Ho's villain mother and PD Lee were complex, unusual and endearing characters, as well as a handful of other smaller characters. I must say the casting made it all: Yoon Park, Oh Hyun Kyung, Ha Joon, Kim Ye Ryung and Kwak Dong Yeon (but his talent was wasted!) all struck me as very very good actors, and without their talent their characters would've been one-dimensional and flat. What I appreciated about the drama was that all these characters relationships evolved, but in a way that didn't feel cheaply dramatic. I mean there were no epic misunderstandings, the characters remained coherent with themselves... I always admire characters that resolve conflicts without betraying themselves, and without creating too much damage: there was plenty of that in this drama, to the point that some found it boring. Most characters didn't go off their rails at a conflict. I liked that. Song Geu Rim especially fit the bill in terms of what we want in a modern female romantic lead: sensitive, resolved, competent and grounded.
This drama should really be watched purely as a romantic show. As a romance junkie, I was delighted, but if that's not what you're looking for there's no reason to watch this drama. Radio Romance took a lot of time to detail the different stages in a romantic relationship, pre and post dating. Angsty looks, tender looks, jealousy (and even a little sexual innuendo) galore! Yayyyyyy! They certainly didn't skim the romance in this show, and it was both grand (all that love! all that intensity! all that longing!) and realistic (learning to deal with the possessiveness in the early stages of the relationship, needing some space...). This is what sailed me through the show, despite its flaws, such as: Jason was an odd character played by a talented actor that never truly made sense in the story, there were good but small characters that were sort of dropped along the way (Geu Rim's mom, DJ Moon were great characters that had more importance in the beginning), and there were some pretty cringy lines (but this is an emoooooootional drama hehe, so I can deal with the corniness).
On a purely superficial note, I was in love with Do Joon's style from beginning to end, despite many protests -- I guess I just have bad taste like that :^)
I loved this drama! But not everyone will, hehe :^p
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