Cinderella and Four Knights #review

Based on the Novel by -  Baek Myo
Screen Writers -   Min Ji-Eun, Won Young-Sil
Genre -  Romance, Drama, Comedy
Network -  tvN
Episodes -  16
Released -  Aug - Oct, 2016

CAST

Park So dam as Eun Ha won, Jung Il woo as Kang Ji woon, Ahn Jae hyun as Kang Hyun min, Lee Jung shin as Kang Seo woo, Choi Min as Lee Yoon sung, and Son Na eun as Park Hye ji

PLOT

Based on the novel published in 2011, the drama is about a group of passionate young people in their 20s who live together, and is said to be similar to the 2009 TV series Boys Over Flowers. The series was fully produced prior to its release. ~Wikipedia

REVIEW

If everyone thought the BOF hints were real and anticipated a remake, I'll bet they're pretty bummed right now.

Unoriginal is the bottom line.

Done-to-death plot device (Cinderella and multiple wealthy hot dudes all vying for her pathetic ass) written way too soon after BOF aired, which screams "hoping to cash in on something that works" thinking on the part of the writer(s).

Unfortunately (for them and us) it only works its magic once and then the spell is broken.

But Korean producers, writers, and authors continue to bludgeon this story line to pulp and honestly, I don't know why.

And I can't say I hated it even though I can't really say I loved it, either.

What I did love was Park So dam.

Park So dam

I'm glad she isn't interested in the double-lid eye procedure because it is her eyes that not only set her apart from the herd but also what makes her so pretty.

The surgical procedure, by the way, doesn't work and I don't understand why it continues to be so popular.

She's unique and appears that way, which is great!

Very pretty and not at all boy-ish, though she did dress that way for the 4 Knights role.

Of the four Knights -- three, actually, though they included Lee Yoon sung (Choi Min) as the 4th Knight because his duties as 'butler' and their grandfather's assistant meant he was around the others quite a bit -- I liked him best.

Choi Min

I rooted for him start to finish, hoping he'd be the one who ended up with Cindy, but alas, that wasn't the case.

[sad face]

Anyway, the plot actually involves a goofy grandfather (wealthy, of course) with three sons who married and produced sons as well, leaving three grandsons who are obviously cousins.

Their parents all died tragically, leaving the grandfather responsible for them.

The eldest is simply handsome and doesn't actually 'do' anything in life other than pine away for a girl he hung out with as a child, and he can't get past the fact that when her twin brother died, he ran away instead of helping.

The second oldest cousin lived with his discarded mother, who sat around weeping over her loss until she died tragically in an apartment fire.

The third cousin is a Pop star.

The three live together in a (ugly) mansion (which was actually a club house on a golf course somewhere in Korea) but don't get along and never communicate with one another or hang out together.

The grandfather hires Cindy to live with the boys for 3 months in order to teach them how to become a real family.

They're called 'missions', and for each 'mission' that Cindy accomplishes, another year of her college education is paid in full.

She starts out attached to the eldest cousin, but they don't get along.

He's cocky, overly confident, and brash but always secretly pining away for Park Hye ji (Son Na eun), the pretty girl with looks, money, and an interest in fashion design.

This is where the story gets childish, overdone, and boring.

Not to mention Cindy's stepmother and stepsister, who both behave childish and by-the-book Cinderella style. which is just stupid.

Then the youngest cousin starts to crush when Cindy becomes enamored of the 2nd knight, Kang Hyun min (Ahn Jae hyun).

Now, I have to admit that I enjoyed the romance, which started out rocky, cocky, and lopsided (big surprise) then suddenly became elegant, mature, and gutsy -- three things I adore and long for in any Korean drama.

And the surprise near the end about those two and their shared past was just as delightful to watch being uncovered.

I also have to admit to skipping the odd episodes after 10 because it was simply too boring and tedious to want to watch every, single episode night after night.

The OST was okay but not amazing enough to even recall the main theme song.

Ah, yeah -- the croker voice chick whose horrible English somehow sounds cool -- I remember now.

And the subs? Yeesh.

This time they were legible, but it was SO obvious that the subber wasn't giving us verbatim, which is annoying and condescending on the part of the subber.

There were too many instances where I was thinking, Right. That's so not what he just said!

Anyway, the tweeners probably ate this one up even if the ratings say otherwise.

For me, it was a bit of a yawn but with a surprisingly mature-content romance (once it actually got off the ground, that is).

Cinderellawa Ne Myungui Gisa

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Beautiful Gong Shim

미녀 공심이 , Minyeo Gongsimi

Aka -  Pretty Ugly, Beast's Beauty, Dear Fair Lady Kong Shim
Genre -  Romance, Comedy
Cinderella -  Oh, yeah
Writer - Lee Hee myung
Channel -  SBS
Episodes -  20
Released -  2016, May to July

CAST

Namgung Min                              Minah                                On Joo wan                           Seo Hyo rim

PLOT

Love story of a mouse and two overly eligible men. The older sister has everything including a beautiful appearance, and the younger mouse has a warm heart. One of the men rents her rooftop apartment. The other man is from Chaebol. ~AsianWiki.com (w/edits)

REVIEW

Because this is about as feel good as it gets, I offered a half-star.

To an Asian Drama newcomer, this would be the stuff of got-me-hooked legend, but for a sixteen-year vet like me, it has the opposite effect.

And, twenty episodes seriously pushed the is-it-necessary boundaries to an annoyance level that ruined it for me.

No one in the writing/editing/producing departments bothered to spare an ounce of discretion here.

Every Trope you can think of is used in this drama.

ALL of them.

Intrigue to include a kidnapping that we figured out a lot quicker than 20 episodes.

A Cinderella plot with that edgy, she's pathetic but still able to make it on her own formulaic twist most writers have figured out and latched onto within the past few years.

The lovely older sister with an ugly personality.

A former beauty queen eomeoni married to a troll because he used to be wealthy, but then bankruptcy threw him a curve ball, so now she hates his guts and treats him like dirt.

A suspect chaebol family, complete with the stuck-up wife of a clueless husband, their martyred Prince Charming son, and a bitchy halmeoni whose only care is her kidnapped grandson.

Another Prince Charming, the one who is more deserving because he's the oldest.

And last but not least, we have three ... count them ... THREE hit n runs.

Brain tumor.

Memory Loss.

Alcohol-induced confessions.

Secrets meant to spare but that only make matters worse.

Tons more.

And on top of all this madness, we are forced to endure the Product Placement inclusion and outright intrusive plugging of at least two consumer goods.

Subway plug

Gotta wonder if Subway sales went through the roof as a result.

I'm not stupid and understand that advertising is a huge part of a studio's revenue.

I get that the constant and sometimes even unlikely product placement throughout a show is what helps pay the bills (if not the actor's salary).

However, this is a first for me ...

Nivea plug

... and just about the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen.

But let's stick to the story.

A mouse lives in abject isolation with a Queen Mother, Princess Sister, and the Dolt Male, so she occupies the rooftop apartment above their house, which is above a 7/11 turned 25-Mart.

She's artistic and brooding, ugly but sweet, and itching to set off on her own by saving up money to go to Italy and study art (even though she's pretty good self-taught but hardly what you would call a Michelangelo or Botticelli).

She's dumb, too.

Her poor parents made it impossible for Gong shim to attend college even though her older sister did and went on to pass the Bar to become an attorney.

Along comes a slob named Ahn Dan tae who is interested in renting the Rooftop because it's so cheap.

He and Gong shim don't hit it off and the episodes start with them as unwanted lessor/lessee who forever bump into one another until their feelings begin to mellow and change.

In between this, we have Prince Charming, who just happens to be the grandson of a prestigious chaebol Industry, where Gong shim lands her latest job as secretary to his father.

No one likes her because she's ugly, and the model-like employees gang up on her at regular intervals to act like middle school idiots.

Ahn Dan tae also happens to get a job there as the secretary to the Chief CEO, halmeoni.

He's already an attorney with his own practice, but because he keeps helping the homeless, desolate, and underachievers of the world, he's pretty much broke and doesn't live the upscale lifestyle his career could afford him.

Now, I'll admit that Namgung min did an impressive job of convincing me that he can pull off a comedy and a romance.

Especially since this is his first male lead role.

And while I found myself laughing most of the time, there remained that underlying suspicion about him as a person, or as a believable actor portraying someone else.

Always at some point I expected this guy to pick up a chainsaw and . . .

Namgung min as Ahn Dan tae

Not sure about anyone else, but I kept seeing his Kwon Jae hee (The Girl who Sees Smells) crop up to creep me out and make me wary.

Love the man's manly voice, though, and he's got a terrific bod even if he is on the short
side.

Still, he makes me nervous so I'll have to dig into his profile and watch his earlier work to see if there is something I can use to counter his current negative, disturbing, and psychopath-ish vibe.

I thought these two did really well as a team and a convincing couple, but as for chemistry, no.

She was too sheepish, childish, frumpy, and unlikeable for me to gain anything by her becoming romantically involved with anyone let alone two potential stud muffins of the wealthy Prince variety.

What was more weird, though, was how different she looked in that stupid wig.

The wig reminded me of the porcelain dolls produced in a by-gone era.

Without the wig, Minah is rather stunning in a young, mod kind of way.

She's also kind of top-heavy, too, eh?

And while I can't say the chemistry was there or that Gong shim needed or deserved a romance, it did serve its purpose for this kind of tale.

Personally, if she had hooked up with the dude working at the 7-11 turned Mart-25, it would have been credible and more worth the watch.

So, that brings me to 2nd Lead Syndrome, which didn't occur for me, either.

Nice guy with the cute smile was okay.

On Joo Wan

Love his Ju on name, btw ;-)

His acting is on par with a lot of other 2nd Lead males, so there's that, and he's nice and tall, too.

Unfortunately for cool-name guy, I thought that Shin Soo ho beat him to the punch in every scene he appeared in.

Ahn Dan tae wins

The connection here is that the writer for Beautiful Gong shim is also the writer for Sensory Couple.

Same quirky attitude, and with a few of the same cast, but if you're going to compare the two, this one is a total miss.

The Soundtrack is unmemorable and not invasive, either.

The Hospital Scene Korean Drama Style

Gong shim ends up needing an appendectomy, and following the surgery, she's able to do a host of things anyone else in the same situation wouldn't want or be able to do unless they enjoy pain and suffering.

lies on stomach where sutures are supposedly at

lies on side where sutures are supposedly at

She also sits up as soon as Dan tae enters the room (hiss), is dressed in elastic-waist pants (ouch), and slips out of bed to don a pair of Crocs (ugh).

She sits up in bed with her legs crossed (I'm dying here), and leans forward a few times (Dang! Am I making my stomach hurt).

She's also able to walk at a normal pace and without the need of a wall or railing or a body to cling to while fighting against the agony that is freaking post-op pain!

Which occurs a lot in Korean Drama hospital scenes.

I guess because it is listed as 'minor' surgery, that means it is so minor that the invasion of ones body by incision and resulting flesh probing that is stitches aren't supposed to affect the human body in any way.

And of course, she's there for a few days after being rushed to the hospital via ambulance, but her parents and sister never phone to find out why she's not coming home nor visit once they learn what happened.

Finally, we have the nurse who mosey's on in at random holding her clip board to touch the IV and then ask Gong shim if she's farted yet.

See, until you fart in an Asian drama, you're not allowed to leave the hospital.

Over here, it's taking a dump, and then expressed/written permission from your attending.

Over there, the surgeon never shows up to check on their patient's progress.

Never.

I heard you Fart, Gong shim

wid -- it's gotta mean something, I just don't know what

Dearest Fair Lady

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