Crazy Love (2022)

An Underrated Gem Destined To Become a Comedy Classic

WHY I LOVED IT . . .

Crazy Love is so unique and unpredictable and LOL crazy yet at the same time, unexpectedly moving, it’s really a shame it’s not getting more attention. While it does get off to a bit of a slow start—which is often the case with early ep exposition and all the players being introduced—each ep is better than the last and this trend continues even after the halfway point.

One minute you’ll be laughing so hard your stomach's sore, amazed at how truly batsh!t crazy Kim Jae-uck and Krystal are acting on your screen, the next you’ll be hurting so badly for them as you learn their backstories, especially that of Noh Go-jin (Kim Jae-uck).

The character development is so compelling and believable and well-acted, you can’t help but root for the OTP couple, despite the fact that the ML starts off as an arrogant, insufferable jerk and he and the FL really, really hate each other’s guts when the story opens. And when he does finally start to realize the error of his ways, it’s not solely the result of his falling head over heels for the FL.

Crazy Love’s got a bit of everything—enemies to lovers, a fake engagement, a sweet romance, swoony kisses, hilarious knock-down-drag-out fights, intrigue, tons of unexpected LOL moments, and a FL who gives as good as she gets, if not moreso, when pushed hard enough.

We also have a lead couple who, much like the OTP in Her Private Life (which pairs Kim Jae-uck with Park Min-young), actually communicates openly with each other and works together to resolve issues and potential misunderstandings—once they’ve stopped hating each other, of course. Sure we’ve got a few tropes but the show revels in its tropiness, subverting them in fun and surprising ways, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Kudos to Kim Jae-uck for throwing his suave, sexy image right out the window. (Although he's still plenty sexy as Noh Go-jin, despite the less-than-flattering CEO hairstyle, and the man knows his way around a kiss.) This is a great role for him as it’s really given him an opportunity to flex his formidable acting chops, tugging at our heartstrings with his beautifully nuanced emotional scenes and tickling our funny bones with his physical comedy skills. And despite what happens in Crazy Love, Kim Jae-uck can actually carry a tune. He majored in music in college and is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and composer for his indie rock band Walrus, named for The Beatles song “I Am the Walrus.”

It’s been a revelation watching him and Krystal really let loose as I never imagined they could be so funny and they are clearly having a blast. I was not a fan of Krystal’s before, having only seen her in Sweet & Sour, but I like her portrayal of Lee Shin-ah and their chemistry is surprisingly good. The show’s at its best when they’re the focus so I did sometimes find myself wishing it spent less time on the supporting characters, but I guess that’s true of many dramas with an appealing OTP.

ABOUT THOSE RATINGS . . .

Crazy Love’s Nielsen ratings in South Korea started out at 3.4% and spent much of its run at 2.5 - 2.6%, but the show finally broke into the 4s with Ep 11, building to a series high of 4.6% for the Ep 16 finale. One issue may have been that dark, edgy comedies like Crazy Love don’t tend to appeal to older women, who are the primary viewers of dramas during their initial television broadcast. (This older audience is why the longer “family” K-Dramas with 50+ eps often achieve ratings of 20% and even higher.) Younger viewers who are more likely to like this genre often watch online and on DVRs but these views are not reflected in the ratings. (In the U.S., most networks use Nielsen's Live Plus service which does track these delayed views.)

And to make matters even worse, KBS screwed up big time by delaying Crazy Love’s release because of the Winter Olympics, giving its time-slot competitors A Business Proposal and Military Prosecutor Doberman too strong of a head start, especially as the latter two have global marketing support from Netflix (ABP) and Viki (MPD), whereas Crazy Love’s international distribution has been relegated to Disney+, which doesn’t seem to know what the heck it’s doing with its K-Dramas. For some inexplicable reason, D+ has only released Crazy Love in nine APAC countries: Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand; hopefully, D+ will make the show available to the rest of the world ASAP now that it’s ended its run in SK. (Shows like Grid and Soundtrack #1 are in the same D+ limbo as Crazy Love.)

IN CONCLUSION . . .

Kim Jae-uck said he chose to do Crazy Love after his three-year hiatus because he wanted to make people laugh and help relieve some of the stress brought on by the pandemic. If the 6,200+ comments here and its 8.3 rating (as of the 4/26 finale) are anything to go by, he and Krystal and the rest of the cast succeeded.

Please give Crazy Love a try! It’s a lot of fun and keeps getting better and better—although the last few eps focus less on romance and more on figuring out who-dun-it—culminating in a satisfying ending that manages to give closure to not just the main characters, but the supporting ones as well. The show is not perfect by any means but I tend to judge entertainment based on whether it delivers more than the sum of its parts—and the way it makes me feel and think—and Crazy Love comes through on all counts with plenty of feels and food for thought along with the laughs.

(Full disclosure: I’m a big fan of Kim Jae-uck but most of his dramas and movies have landed in the 8s and 7s for me rating-wise. Even gave one drama a 6.0.)

[1/14/23 Update: D+ U.S. has made some of its K-Content available on Hulu, including Big Mouth, Grid, May It Please the Court, Connect, Kiss Sixth Sense, etc. Sadly, Crazy Love is still not available outside of Asia/Oceania.]

[5/24/23 Update: As of today, more than a year after it first aired in South Korea, Crazy Love is finally available on Hulu in the U.S., Disney+ in Canada, the UK, and Europe, and Star+ in Latin America.]

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Romcom done write

Before starting I just want to add no "childhood connection" and romance that is built on "conversation" is an automatic ++++ for me

Romcoms don't mean they're "brainless". Sometimes I nag about the crazy jerk ML or the naive doormat FL and people say "it's just a romcom" but that's not an excuse and this drama shows that

The ML was crazy and rude enough that I'd totally punch a person like him but this drama not only gave him a solid backstory, a great slow growth but also kinda showed how to him he wasn't unreasonable
Being vulnerable was his weakness so he put a wall to hide his nativity and it became normal to him

But it only worked out because of the FL. She didn't fix him but he saw his wrongdoings and how he can fix it because of her.
Now the FL is also the complete opposite of romcom FLs. She had enough bs so she took action. Whenever she saw injustice or unreasonable behavior she pointed it out. At 1st she needed the strength of her life being too short to realize literally life is too short for bs

This drama moved in steps. Amnesia, cohabitation, fake relationship, evil past girlfriend, revenge, misunderstandings, ML trying to control the FL, FL having her own dreams, revelation and redemption with a final touch of sweetness♡

Another usual move romcoms do is gloss over things too fast, the past is revealed and they get married but this dissected both and gave enough ingredients for the revenge to be turned into redemption and conclusion and marriage wasn't the end but the beginning of their love and I found that sweet


Actually the best part of this was the ML apologizing and realizing all of his wrong doings. Protectiveness and wanting the best for the FL never means control.
And the FL once she realized her worth knew how to choose her own path.
That's something I always hate in romcoms. The ML says I don't want you to leave my side and the FL gives up her dream and follows his orders.. ML forces a kiss but it's ok cuz secretly the FL wanted it..
But not here, they even showed the depths of their "villains" without an easy whoops they're ok now


Another thing I hate about romcoms is the past connection. 99% of the time it's just an excuse for writers to not build a step by step relationship.
But sometimes a fake relationship also is used for that reason. To casually show the vulnerable side they couldn't see before, and this was used well here

Overall as a romcom it's one of the best

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