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Coffee Prince korean drama review
Completed
Coffee Prince
16 people found this review helpful
by PrettyCarEye
Dec 7, 2012
17 of 17 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
Coffee Prince was good. I liked it. In most dramas the first few episodes are usually a dud for me. I suffer through them until something happens to grab and hold my attention (often around the 3rd or 4th episode). This drama, on the other hand, had me the moment Gong Yoo's Choi Han Gyul stepped out of the shower in EP1! :) What can I say? I'm shallow when it comes to my drama men. I want them to look damn good and in that department Gong Yoo sure didn't disappoint! Besides that the lead characters and main story lines were introduced with a bang. As just one example, Eun Chan was a great character from the start. She was a girl just trying to make the most of the hand she was dealt. She had spirit, she had gumption, she wanted to be self-reliant and make something of herself. I didn't waver in moving on to the next episode for a minute. I haven't seen that many dramas so with Coffee Prince I also experienced a lot of firsts: first time seeing second leads kiss in a K-drama, first time seeing authentic intimacy between the characters in a K-drama, first time seeing (and coming across) a drama which tackles the risque topic of homosexuality in a K-drama. It was all unexpected, but wonderfully refreshing. I found the main premise of the story to be a bit far-fetched given that the girl was clearly a girl & situations and circumstances in the drama should have alerted the hero to her rightful gender. But to go on this sweet, romantic journey with a pair of very likable leads is to suspend belief. Coffee Prince was otherwise delightful in its cuteness. I enjoyed the side story of Han Seong & Yoo Jun, even if Yoo Jun worked my nerves with her often selfish, manipulative ways. The acting for me was not top-notch, but it was acceptable. From behind the scenes footage I understand that this was the lead actress's first major role. I could tell because at various points I felt she struggled with her character. She wasn't able to lose herself completely into the role and it showed. I loved Gong Yoo's interpretation of Han Gyul in the first several episodes, but somehow in the latter ones it felt like his character transformed. He became juvenile, a bit whiny even. Overall I give Coffee Prince a 7 because even while I enjoyed it, there were a few significant flaws I couldn't overlook. First and foremost, Eun Chan & Han Gyul's relationship, though sweet, had a very strong teacher/student/sister/brother vibe to it. There's no denying the chemistry between them, but it waned significantly after they went steady (the final episode being the only exception), and their interactions, from where I sat, lacked the passion of two people in love. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the show dragged in more than a few areas. There was a lot of meaningless exposition, (filler) scenes with characters who had little significance to the plot. I had to fast-forward on several episodes just to keep myself interested. My third and final complaint is that I didn't really like how the men were portrayed in this drama. Pretty much all of them were in a state of distress over women who treated them poorly. There was a lot of unreasonable behaviour from the women going around (Yoo Jun, in particular, but even Eun Chan took her deception to point where I began to question how sincere was her love for Han Gyul when she saw how he was suffering & did nothing to ease his distress). This is a general issue I have with female led productions no matter where in the world they're made. There's a tendency to reduce the men to pathetic chumps. Some women may enjoy this, but I'm not a fan. Male or female, I just can't stand to see characters act like doormats, esp in love. I'm satisfied with this drama, though. I don't know if I'll watch it again, but I'll certainly remember many scenes with fondness.
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