Dear My Friends #review

디어 마이 프렌즈

Genre -  Melodrama, family, friendship, comedy, romance
Writer -  No Hee kyung
Network -  tvN
Episodes -  16
Released -  May - July, 2016

CAST

SYNOPSIS

Depicts the life story of those in their twilight years, who raise their voices as "It's not over. We're still alive."

REVIEW

Lot's of reasons why this is a winner, but there are also as many for its not.

If you really, honestly enjoy serious melodrama done up in Korean script writing style, this is the drama for you.

If you are already in the dumps, suffering overmuch in life, and have lost a loved one, then you might want to skip this until things look a bit brighter.

I'm in the latter category and don't know if this made me more depressed or I'm still just suffering and nothing much has or will ever change.

Stellar cast who worked magically together, and with a few surprises that surprisingly worked just as well with the leads.

I'm talking about a strange yet do-able blend of old vs. young, and these actors came together to portray a mix of interesting, if not fascinating, characters both young and old.

There was only one issue of confusion for me, and that was the woman who ran the dance hall.

Sorry, I don't have any information on her and can't recall her stage name to be of much help, but I had no idea who she was, why she was there, and how she was connected to the rest of the cast.

She was cute but annoying.

My favorite character was Jung A

Na Moon hee as Moon Jung A

I know I've watched her before, but she's done a great many film and television parts that I'm anxious to watch now.

Very realistic, relate-able, adorable, and she gives the impression of being the type of star you can approach w/out much fear or regret.

I just loved her and rooted for her and was doubly amazed at her decision to walk away.

The second thing I really enjoyed about Dear My Friends, something that both amazed and delighted me was Zo In sung.

Jo In sung

When he first arrived on the scene, I got the feeling I knew who he was but then didn't quite know who he was.

Finally, I looked him up while watching and was stunned to learn it was him.

I hadn't much cared for him and couldn't understand or see what all the fuss was about until now.

Something about his character this time around changed my mind and I felt myself being drawn to him until I was almost in love.

Now, like adorable Na Moon hee, I want to go back and watch more of his work to see if he doesn't  work  his magic again.

Bali and That Winter did nothing for me.

Next, it wasn't too much of a surprise to see Lee Kwang soo in a serious role as it was to just see him in this type of a K-do.

Lee Kwang soo

I remember laughing myself silly during his walk-on in Descendants, but I'm only really familiar with his Giraffe of Running Man so, again, I need to delve a bit deeper into his work.

Yes, I've watched City Hunter, Bachelor's Vegetable Store, Dating Agency: Cyrano, and Sensory Couple, but most were like Descendants in that he had walk-on's and not much more.

His ability to pull off the serious part in Dear My Friends worked to earn my respect for the guy since he's proven himself to be a multi-talented actor with a surprising range of emotion at his disposal.

Finally, I was seriously stunned when Daniel Henney appeared.

Daniel Henney

And only because it's been so long since I saw him in anything!

It was a minor role, but it still worked to show me how much he's improved, which is great news and I do hope to see more of him in the future.

So, to wrap this up, this is a terrific drama about older people, but certainly not in the way that you would expect or even think.

It's about old friends sticking together through the years and despite a lot of life's shit having been tossed in their way.

There's eye candy and fluff at your disposal if you're young, but this wasn't the sort of drama to dwell on looks and youth as it was about the elderly and their memories served up alongside the here and now.

If you NEED to shed some tears, this is a great way to get that done without anyone being the wiser.