chillikun

8/10

Spoilers

Honestly I did not expect anything about this drama, I just randomly looked-up for something similar to Go Back Coupe!! and it got me hooked. [spoiler]I was watching the most depressing and irritating show D-Day and this show has salvaged my weekend!![/spoiler] I think this is one of those dramas where you sit back and say "Wow, so this is also a way a Korean Drama can be made". I mean, don't get me wrong, there were some kdrama cliches in Marriage Not Dating but nothing was overbearing. In fact, I loved those cliches too. And it was an extremely refreshing romantic-comedy. PLOT ------ I admit the description for this drama is cliche but when you get into the drama itself, it was so refreshing. In most romcom kdramas, I usually know or my expectations were right on what will happen next but Marriage Not Dating is just pure surprise. They made the cliche worth watching, you don't even know what to expect. The plot was very interesting throughout. A guy wants to stay single while his family (mostly his mom) threatens to get him married (This is My First Life!! copied from here) . So he decides to make Jang Mi his fake girlfriend as he knows his family would never approve of her as their daughter-in-law. The funniest ride starts right there at their first meeting. I loved how they started every episode with some fast-forwarded scene that made you go, "did I miss an episode or something?". It generally bought guessing game from **Reply Series** back and made it more interesting !! even if we knew we are falling in to a K-Drama Troupe/Cliche . CAST ------ The actors are so perfect esp the main leads. I already forget the last time I root for the main couple so much. Props to Han Geu-ru and Yeon Woo Jin, it's like this drama its tailor-made for them. Though the side characters Jin-woon and Sun-hwa did not appeal to me, Jung Min (Hoon Dong), and Kim Hae Sook are so great I kind of forget the 2nd leads. The characters were all amazing. I haven't loved a female lead in a long time the way I loved Jang Mi. She was hilarious and had a kind heart. I mean, sure, she got a little clingy at times but that was funny too. Ki Tae was great. Out of all their friends, Hoon Dong was the best! I didn't care much for second leads, which was pretty much a bonus because I hate having second lead syndrome. Both the families were great. I think Ki Tae's mom's character was the most interesting. Sometimes I loved her and there were times I really hated her (can't believe Jang Mi never disliked her). But there were also times I pitied her. By the end of the drama I realized she was the character I became most emotionally invested in. I loved her and loved how she grew as a person. In fact I loved the growth of every character in this drama. I think when it comes to creating beautiful characters, TVN is the best. Whether it's the characters from Reply 1997/1994 , they all impressed us and it had nothing to do with fancy celebrities but rather with the script. MUSIC ------ The music is great. "Love Lane" and "Stop The Love Now" have been a part of my daily jam for a while now. It's a cute, cheerful OST overall. Moreover I loved the funny background music (people who have watched this would know what I'm talking about). I think I haven't loved any bgm this much since the "meh" for Sam Chun Po in Reply 1994. Hahaha. I hated the second lead music though it made his advances more irritating !! VERDICT ------- It's really hard to stand out in a sea of romantic comedy dramas but this one managed to be memorable because it actually managed to be funny and romantic until the end. The story didn't have any melodramatic moments. From the writing to the directing and of course the acting, everything was just pitch perfect. Everything was in perfect harmony with each other. There were some flaws but they were too minor and not enough to derail the whole thing. I would definitely watch it again. Overall I would recommend this drama for the slightly-different but cute love story and the hilarious family situations. Definitely worth a watch and a re-watch!