The story of Marriage Contract certainly isn't anything new. I'm sure we've all seen plenty of contract marriage and illness dramas. But I think that this was a strength for Marriage Contract. The whole drama had a very nostalgic and classic feel to it. It was very cliche, but still somehow felt fresh. It feels like it could be an older drama. The writers brilliantly used a simple plot and made mundane things into something special. The drama as a whole is very simple and doesn't have any crazy plot twists. We got many scenes of our characters enjoying the simple things in life (like singing, or kitties, or riding a bike). I think show did a very good job of making things that are normally taken for granted feel special. With a simple plot and no overly dramatic twists, the show was very relaxing, yet still engaging. We got to focus a lot on the characters instead of the typical tropes that show up in most dramas.
I was very impressed with the acting in Marriage Contract. I've seen bits and pieces of Uee's acting before, but was never extremely impressed. And while I haven't seen her as a main character in a drama before this (besides Birdie Buddy, which I never finished), I must say that she put everything into this role. I've noticed that many people have complained about her acting in the past, but looking purely at this role, I have nothing to complain about.
This is the first time I've seen Lee Seo Jin in a drama as well, but I thought he did a wonderful job. While he was a very rough and typical male lead at the beginning, I never truly hated his character. I loved seeing his growth throughout the drama. And while Uee undoubtedly played the main character, the show focused on Lee Seo Jin's character just as much. Together, Uee and Lee Seo Jin had surprisingly good chemistry. I questioned the pairing at first since we don't usually see such a large age gap between actors, but I think that somehow they really worked well together. The chemistry was very good and I really loved the progression of their relationship.
Shin Rin Ah was a very nice surprise as well. I think this is the first drama I've watched that has focused so much on a child character, but she played a crucial role. I was very impressed with Shin Rin Ah and was even more impressed to find out that she is only 6 years old (about the same age as her character in the drama). I could see her having a promising future in the industry if she chooses to pursue acting.
I really enjoyed the music and think it added to the classic feeling of the drama. The OST really set the mood and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall Marriage Contract was a very nice surprise. I went in expecting to watch a typical drama, but ended up with something that was somehow new and refreshing despite all of the cliches. I really enjoyed the ending as well. While it could have ended very differently, I don't really have any complaints about how it did end. They did a nice job of making a somewhat ambiguous ending feel final. While normally I would have maybe would have liked to see some ending for other characters in the show, I truly don't think it was needed. The focus was the main couple and I think trying to catch up with other characters would have thrown things off. Overall this was a very enjoyable show. It was solid and consistent and left me feeling more calm and happy than depressed.
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B12PR5zlUk8
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If you want to cry your heart out, go on and watch it. If you want to see brilliant acting, go and watch it.
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Now cancer, in itself is no joking matter, so please don't misinterpret my sarcastic scoff as a laugh to the real thing in the real world! But, in Dramaland, it's a pretty infectious concept. Especially in the melodrama department.
STORY: For the most part, it's pretty well-written and handled the cancer story pretty well too! I appreciated how the cancer was not the most PROMINENT thing that carried this story. Yes, it played a major role in Hye Soo's decision to enter into such a contract. But other than that, you don't see the illness take up too much physical screen time away, until much later towards the end where the illness starts to take its' toll on her body. Here, the illness is shown to take on a low-profile while our main characters carry the story. The soft moments really make this drama stand out, where the story highlights the little things in life that make it exciting and entertaining. In my opinion, it really emphasized how people's lives, as they live it, can be all the drama you really need in a story to make things interesting. This drama played out in a very down-to-earth way and really showed the audience the raw of the emotions, frustrations and conflicts. The only thing I disliked was the father. I was really hoping that they would flesh out his character a little bit, to explain maybe why he is the way he is, but alas, they did nothing, really, with the father. But I understand that not every story is going to be perfect, and stories do need a villain, so I guess I can let that go considering the bigger picture.
And as far as the age-gap between the two main characters, I honestly didn't even notice it until I read someone's comment on it. That really tells me that their chemistry was so flawless that I didn't even notice the age gap when watching this drama! Pleasantly surprised when I realized that they do have quite an age gap, but really made me fall in love with this drama even afterwards!
CHARACTERS/ACTORS: Here, we see flaws in the main characters with a rich/not-so-rich chaebol who is dismissive but has a heart of gold. The quiet and somewhat timid looking girl, who is just trying to get by in life. These two character profiles could've been taken on a wild ride of over-exaggeration and just too much, but our actors (and I'm sure writer) really took off with them and made them both lovable and realistically so. I really enjoyed in the fact that these characters were written with more than one dimension! Ji Hoon, our rich and bratty chaebol, showed many sides of himself that are different. When he's with his mother, or with his father, or with his friend. I've seen Lee Seo Jin only once before in 'The Lovers', and I gotta say, pretty impressed with how he took this character to new heights. He showed a variety of complexity with Han Ji Hoon, especially when he's with his father. I think any characters most complex sides show the most when they are interacting with their parents. In MC, we see Ji Hoon show pretty conflicting emotions when he's with either with his mother or his father, and the way he acts with either of them are completely different. When he's with his mother, he shows his more childish and needy side for the love he was denied from her and yet expresses his aggravation towards her, for that denied love. When he's with his father, he's all business, very professional and very logical and direct, yet still shows an air of bitterness in his interaction with him. Loved how Ji Hoon grew up a little as he became more involved with Hye Soo. Hye Soo and Ji Hoon's mother mirror a lot with another seeing as how they both loved a man that left them, both try to do what they think is best for their child, and both, in the end, are also sick. We can see how Ji Hoon acts out a lot in the beginning towards Hye Soo, perhaps because he sees so much of his mother in her. But we see that love mature as does Ji Hoon's attitude towards his mother as well as
Uee, is a actress I've kept an eye on for a little while now since I watched her drama Ho Goo's Love. It wasn't the best written drama ever, but was mildly entertaining. I skipped High Society because I could just tell, it was not going to be good. But, seeing her act in Ho Goo's Love, I saw real potential. Any actor is going to start off rough as they gain more experience in grasping their characters and showing a complexity of expression and body language, so I don't blame some people saying that her acting was bad in the past. I'm sure any one of us would start off pretty bad ourselves in the beginning of an acting career. But in MC, her hard work has really paid off! I've seen such growth in her acting since Ho Goo's and that ugly crying scene is still leaving me with heart-wrenching feels! I feel that crying scenes shouldn't be pretty if they are coming from somewhere genuine, and if it is pretty, than the director/actor/actress is more concerned with how they look rather than performance. Uee really grasped her character well, and delivered an amazing performance as a single mother, struggling to raise her child in this harsh world. Uee performed Hye Soo with a silent strength of will. Most strong female characters I've seen in dramas, yell pretty loudly to project their strength, and that's not always a bad thing, but I've seen a lot of them do that, haha! Hye Soo is a refreshing take on a "strong female lead" whose strength is measured in her restraint and not her struggles. I really appreciate that Uee conveyed Hye Soo as a very level-headed and calm character despite facing so much struggle.Great job Uee!
A big round of applause to the child actress! It's pretty mind-blowing how old this girl is, and yet able to deliver a realistically believable performance in MC. There were no hints of line-reading, sounding like a robot, or flat-toned acting here. Which still blows my mind! You can tell that Shin Rin-Ah and Uee really bonded while acting and it shows through in their performance together, you really wouldn't believe that they aren't mother and daughter in real life.
This part of the review is sooooooooo long because the drama did so incredibly well because of our actors/actress performance here. Gotta give a shout out to the mother, Lee Hwi Hyang. I've seen her is several dramas, and started calling her the "Dragon Lady" when I first saw her in "Stairway to Heaven" because she often played the not-so-nice step-mother or mother-in-law, and also, she has a fierce look about her too. But really liked that she didn't play one in this drama though. We saw how she can be a very warm, kind and caring mother with an affectionate expression. Kudos to the whole cast as well!
MUSIC: Not really one to pick on the music of a drama, but I enjoyed the selections that they chose to compliments the ups-and-downs of the moments. Other than that no complaints. Like I said, not the kind of person who will pick on the music too much, unless it really doesn't suit the drama, or it did a really good job of complimenting it. Such as Kill Me, Heal Me, which I thought was an edgy decision to make it the dramatic theme song. Haha!
OTHER POINTS: Something I really wanted to point out, that I don't think a lot of people noticed is that the director made a very subtle, yet prominent decision to dress Hye Soo in very frumpy looking clothes and nothing too pretty either. If you noticed the way Hye Soo dresses, outside of work, she dresses in very comfortable and loose clothes because she's a mother. Mothers are usually too busy taking care of their child or paying the bills to be concerned with the way they look, and I think this makes the feelings Ji Hoon has towards Hye Soo all that more genuine and real, because he fell in love with her heart and her inner beauty, not for her outfits or pretty face (although, I'm pretty sure that didn't hurt either, haha!).
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama! It's rare these days for me to find a drama that I look forward to watching every week and get pretty sad when it ends, but also pretty happy that I saw it. I took away one point because of the lack of a need of Na-Yoon as a character and really how unrealistic the father turned out to be in the drama as a whole and how they never delved deeper into his character either, but other than those two factors, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this and would put this as a re-watch drama and do RECOMMEND this drama to anyone considering watching it!
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Melodrama DONE RIGHT
Normally I avoid the Tag "Terminal Illness", or "Tearjerker" like a plague... But I sensed this Melodrama would be different.And it was. It was a rare one that I enjoyed.
Perfect cast. Just Perfect.
It's not that I would really cry watching:) I mean, everyone was just SO perfect in their role, either perfectly good or perfect villain. Also the cutest looking little girl they could find, I know that little girl of her age would not be capable of such behavior, would not be so adorable to strangers, or would not be capable of saying the stuff she was sometimes able to say. But it was all made so the drama would be the most enjoyable. And enjoyable it was.
Lee Seo Jin was perfect. So handsome, and not too prettyboy-ish, not too young. Uee did a great job, physically she looked both ordinary and attractive enough to be convincing in her role, and she portrayed the illness symptomps great. Her character sometimes cried in self-pitty which is something they usually don't allow for main heroines but I could understand it perfectly. Who would not cry when in pain and fear of dying? Her best friend, the one that had a nail salon, was pretty on the outside, and absolutely beautiful woman on the inside. His best friend, who seemingly was just an employee was also totally adorable & funny. It was all perfect to make it most moving, like still keeping the relationship with mother of your deceased husband... Everything was a melodrama, but melodrama DONE RIGHT.
I appreciated the romance it had, and the moments of happiness, because I agreed: people should be happy even in the worst circumstances. That's what I also appreciated about this drama. It had the best possible ending I've seen in such stories.
I can definitely recommend this "sad story" over many "sweet and happy" ones about young girlies who are all virgins and know nothing about love and loss.
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Story
It's nothing new- boy meets girl, and slowly falls in love with her when he needs to stay with her despite hardships. This drama is about daily things that happen in your life, whether you're meeting up with a friend or just going to work and taking care of a kid. However these small daily things make up the drama entirely as it depicts the lives of these two dysfunctional people trying their best to live each day.
You might think that this drama is boring since its quite simple, but what really hooked me with this drama is the emotions expressed. The pain of having to live alone and push everyone you love away in order for them to be happy no matter how much suffering you have to go through is terrible, and Uee did a great job portraying these emotions.
Some people may think this drama is boring and nothing really interesting happens, however this drama is not about sudden events like car crashes or revenges; but this drama focuses on the emotional aspects and the relationships between families. No matter whether you're related by blood or not- the friendships and relationships you form are the important ones.
Acting
A lot of people seem to hate Uee's acting since it's 2-dimensional and that she's just reading her script- however I found her acting to be realistic. This is my first time seeing her act, and I think she did a wonderful job portraying as Hye Soo; someone who continually has to suffer despite her trying to live a good life. I would like to applause her acting especially when she's suffering in some of the scenes as she made it very realistic.
It also seems that Lee Seo Joon who played Ji Hoon was getting a lot of hate due to the fact that he looked much older than the female lead- and honestly, I think that notion should go to the trash. Yes, he's a few years older- but I think he did a magnificent job at portraying Ji Hoon! Sure he's not the most handsome actor out there, but looks are not the most important thing- it's acting and his chemistry with Hye Soo was endearing as you can seriously tell that he loved her and has shown that he is willing to do anything to help her.
Special mention of Cha EUn Sung (her daughter). She is such a sweetheart, and of course like all children- her attitude was quite annoying in the beginning since she acted like such a spoiled brat, but it's all forgiven since she's just so adorable and such a great child actress, especially as her character becomes more understandable as she's just a child that's scared of losing the person that means the world to her.
Music
I thanked the heavens that this drama didn't reuse the same 5 songs over and over again. The playlist had an exceptional list of instrumental music that I fell in love with as it truly beautiful. The songs with actual singing were pretty good as well as it was totally was the mood-setter.
The Bad
I didn't find much to not like about this drama, although people might think that this drama is too slow and nothing interesting is happening, however I liked the simple small things that happen. I didn't expect any craziness, since like I said- this drama is more about the relationships between family.
You might think it's a bit slow in the beginning, but it becomes much more emotional later on the episodes and then you will wish that everything was back to light and fluffy like the beginning.
Overall?
I recommend this drama to anyone who's looking for a family melodramatic drama. Of course, it's not the best drama I've seen but this drama will surely touch your heart and you can't help but feel for all the characters.
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This show is well Written, Acted, Directed and it has great Chracter development.
If you like deep romance, with deep meaning in stories, and hate over acting and cliches, You will definitely love this show.
This show has relationship as jewel, It starts as a rough then get polished by losing some chunks, later it sparkles brightly, Relationships and character interactions with each other is the strong point of this show.
This is first show that made me write a review.
(PS: I did not write a review even for "Goblin")
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don't watch if you want to watch it now in 2024
The story is predictable nothing new, even the execution is not greati did not like the FL's acting
FL's character in the story is v.typical asian homely girl-epitome of love, forgiveness; pure and innocent girl
but i don't know if one can be that way
the leads even with the age difference they kind of pulled the romance off
ML is cute, his character in the story is shown with character development but something is missing
i really could not figure out the takeout message from this drama, there should be some message from the drama as it talks about complications of human relationships
i don't recommend this drama if you have already watched many k-dramas, c-dramas and want to watch it in 2024 bcoz the drama is of 2016 and i think they are many dramas with deeper concepts ,better execution, better cast with better acting
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The normal Rich people being mean to poor people,but then you get roped in.
The first episode almost made me give up. I took a chance and continue to watch it. Lee Seo Jin,Uee and the child actress Shin Lin Ah made this worth watching. That little Shin Lin Ah and Uee were amazing in this . The mother and daughter bond was so loving and sweet. Lee Seo Jin played an jerk . You know the love hate relationship guy lol. This had its share of comedy ,but also had abuse of power issues. I have watched this a couple of times and still get mad at episode one and two. It's worth the watch if you can hang on after episode oneWas this review helpful to you?
I am writing this right after finishing the drama.
I am writing this review straight after the feels train of the last few episodes , it will most certainly leave a biased review , but then what more there is to a kdrama than giving this perfect moments of pure euphoria , dont you think ? Even if we come to change our minds later on.Cliche is as Cliche gets. What you will get from this drama ?, What you can expect is spelled out for you from quite early on. I would though , as strongly as I can, say to get on with the journey , as I feel in this case was very beautifully done , no matter if you know where you are going.
Han Ji Hoon is a playboy slash capable entrepreneur , He is touted as the heir to a very successful hotel business. Things get messy when his birth mother gets diagnosed with liver sclerosis , which makes him go to the extreme measure to arrange a contract marriage to obtain the liver for the transplant , hence the entry of Kang Hye Soo into his life.
The drama has many subtle moments which we feel only from the visuals which require no further explanation , the hardships which the characters endure are brought to life with some heartbreaking moments and brilliant direction. Especially in the 14th episode , watch out for that.
For the causal k drama fan , this will seem a bit of a bias review , this drama is not in anyways perfect, It could have some better acting from the male lead , the story-line could have been developed in a less cliched way, but at the end of the day, I gave it 9 where I should I have given it a 7 , I stayed with it and I enjoyed it , way more than I thought I would, and that counts for more than a blatant rating system.
Also, it has one of the most cutest child actors in the whole industry :) .
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Story: 8/10 because it is actually pretty cliche, but the way the cliches were handled were so refreshing that it didn't feel cliched at all. The only part of the story that I didn't like is that the seconds leads were only one dimensional characters. I wished that they developed them a little bit more.
Acting: 10/10 because everyone brought their character to life. I felt that Hye Soo, Ji Hoon & Eun Sung were a real family to a point, that sometimes, I had to look away for a bit because they were having the time of their lives & felt like I was looking in on them. I give props to the actors and actresses in the drama. Especially Uee(Hye Soo) because this is the first time that she gave it all to her character and it showed in her acting. I seen her in a few projects and she was good, but I think this is her breakout role in her career. I laughed, smiled and cried with her. I felt the same was with Lee Seo Jin(Ji Hoon). I was seeing that he truly starting to fall for Hye Soo & Eun Sung. Ji Hoon's father was just evil!!!! I'm glad he got the ending he got. The second leads weren't written very much in the drama, so I couldn't really sympathy for their situation because of how undeveloped they were. I really hated Jung Hoon because he was very immature; at the same time, I understand why he acted the way he did. There was amazing family chemistry between the main leads. The chemistry between the leads felt realistic. It builds up as you continue watching it.
Music: 9/10 because it really fit the scenes very well. I would get a couple of the songs from the soundtrack & listen to it.
Re-watch Value: 7/10 because there were moments where I cried a river even though there were lots of humor & light hearted moments. Bring tissues just in case.
Overall, I really loved this drama. If you are hesitant to watch the drama, then bring tissues with you just in case. There are moments where you get some laughs & smiles on your face. Have fun watching(if you are)!!
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Story:
Something simple where a mother is dying and needs someone to watch over her daughter and enters into a contractual marriage, but we enter into Hye Soo's life when she really doesn't have that except in her friend Joo Yeon. Cue in Ji Hoon who plays the time adage of a rich chaebol playboy with more enough money in his pockets and enough girls in his bed that he doesn't have time to be serious or particularly nice to anyone around him. Despite the expectancy of knowing that the main lead character will change the main male character as understanding that he isn't all bad, Ji Hoon represented a character i haven't seen in a drama in a really long time. A character knowing he is flawed, knowing and believing he is the worst human being and not seeing himself as being redeemable. He didn't believe he was any good, he didn't get the love nor care and wasn't seen as being redeemable by his family or in his own eyes so for a woman that he barely knew, a stranger such as Hye Soo to point it out that he was a good person and with such firmness .....it just got to me that he wasn't such a simple character and there were layers in this jerkish playboy and they were nice layers and just needed tender loving care and someone to actually stick around but not wanting to take advantage or use it against him.
Acting/Cast
Ever since the first drama I seen Uee in(which was You're Beautiful....she made me truly hate her character as a second lead female that just dripped two-faced and a bitch all at once), I had a feeling this girl could act but it was just the lack of a really great drama to pull it out of the ballpark to show everyone that she could. I knew she could meet the challenge and wasn't surprise that her and Lee Seo Jin had chemistry. But WAS surprise by how HOT that chemistry was!!!!
The two of them complimented one another, whether they spoke or not you got what you needed from their eyes, they portrayed their characters longing, their passion, their fear, worry, confusion and it all with just their eyes....they fitted completely together like pieces in a puzzle
The child actress Shin Rin-Ah or the little Eun Sung who seemed more like a brat in the beginning (in all honesty I wouldn't dare run off when my parents told me to stay put or ignore when my parents told me not to do something) but in all honesty she is just a child and is naturally going to be defiant. But this little girl was just so freaking adorable, sassy, and fiesty. Eun Sung was smart, knew when people were lying, considerate, and importantly her interaction with her mother, Hye Soo was just at times adorable, cute, and heartbreaking. That a mother would go above and beyond her ownself to secure her child's future and at the same time Eun Sung went above and beyond in loving and protecting her mother in the only way she knew how as a child. Also her interactions with Ji Hoon was just freaking adorable of being able to finally have a father of her own and no matter what happened to her mother she would still have someone that she will love and be by her side.
The Supporting Character such as the chef Hyun Geol, the manager, and even Hye Soo's best friend were so wonderful, funny, and were able to add comedic relief during times when shit was getting serious and you wanted to cry (which happens ALOT in this drama so have some Kleenex nearby).
Music:
I love me some music, but I HATE it when dramas use it as a filler in trying to bring out an emotion that actors or actresses cannot effectively convey. This drama didn't use music for that AT ALL. Instead the music was simple when it came to soft humming (don't know the singer's name) to small little instrumentals it only helped amplify the emotions whether it was pain, passion, or the confliction of the characters feelings that they couldn't put into words but we knew as viewers that they felt, the songs just amplified them ten times more. Instead of the music carrying the drama, this drama and music worked hand in hand in making scenes even sadder, or more upbeat, and etc...
Overall:
After successfully waiting weeks for this drama to finish airing this has to be one of my top five best dramas that i have ever watched. Aside from the romance, this drama showed that its never too late to seek forgiveness for our sins towards the people we've wronged. Whether its family or friends, we have a second chance to make things better which was evidenced by Hi Joon's mother and his uncle and Hye Soo mother in law. This drama also displayed that realizing what is truly important in life, realizing that family is everything and chasing after idealistic and materialistic items will only leave you at alone at your dining table at the end of the day; valuing life, taking up for our errors and trying to be a better person, and just simply appreciating everyday and not take it for granted. To love ourselves and one another but importantly don't take life for granted. This drama breached on so many things we sometimes forget in the repeated cycle in our lives and it takes a drama like this to remind us that we shoud appreciate the people that we have around us. If it was possible I would rate this drama more than a 10, but since I can't I give it a 10/10!!!
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