1
SKITC
Probably within reach of a coffee
"All of it, boiling it. I looked inside, man, and it was turning gray"
Admittedly, it's a stretch to find a connection between "Apocalypse Now", Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War opus that's a modern homage to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", and "Wedding Impossible", a rom-com-ish enemies-to-lovers chaebol-family-corporate-succession drama. But hold tight for a moment.
One of the "Apocalypse Now" characters in its journey in to a deep and dangerous Viet jungle is somewhat unbalanced Louisiana native nicknamed Chef. During one of the quiet interludes on the boat, one of the handful of other soldiers asks Chef how he got the Chef nickname. And Chef responds with a story about how he was going to study at an exclusive French culinary school and instead ended up in the US Navy with the intention of being a cook. And then one day:
"They lined us up in front of a hundred yards of prime rib. All of us, you know, lined up and looking at it. Magnificent meat! Really! Beautifully marbled... magnifique! Next thing, they're throwing the meat into these big cauldrons. All of it, boiling it. I looked inside, man, and it was turning gray. I couldn't f**n' believe that one!"
Much like Chef and his hundred yards of gorgeous beef, "Wedding Impossible" has the ingredients for a bountiful feast of a drama, but renders it through an uninspired and worn and clumsily exposited narrative that ends with a production far short of its potential.
But the ingredients? [chef's kiss]
Jeon Jeong Seo certainly isn't the classic siren type. She's naturally abrasive and blunt. Her history suggests she's far more comfortable with action and tension than light comedy and romance. But it's this genuine awkwardness that makes her No Ah Jung lead so endearing.
Moon Sang Min is rock solid as Lee Ji Han. He's not just the tall pretty boy. And he's got the "I'm cool on the outside but I'm a raging inferno on the inside" acting thing DOWN.
Kim Do Wan is one of the very best second male leads. Any doubters should skim through his scenes in "My Roommate is a Gumiho" where he throws down a masterpiece performance. Casting him as the closeted gay Lee Do Han, a LGBTQ character that is a three dimensional real human who happens to be homosexual instead of a paper-thin stereotype that populates most dramas, is a perfect choice.
There's a couple noteworthy supporting actors too - Park Ah In as the scheming older half sister is very, very good and Seo Woo Jin crushes as Ah Jung's cute young nephew. Song Sang Eun and Min Jin Woong have some nice comedic relief together.
It may not be a legendary pantheon of heavyweights, but it's a very solid group of actors and characters.
And then it greats dropped in a cauldron of boiling chaebol succession blah blah blah. Press conferences. Paparazzis. Living room confrontations. USB drives of CCTV videos. Secretaries. Suits. Snore. Snooze. Sigh.
It's still great fun to see young actors get a chance to be leads and to work incredibly well together. Despite the plot weakness, the two leads are terrific together. It's a fun show to watch when it sticks to the rom-com side of things. Unfortunately, there's not enough of a story there to fill in 12 hour long episodes and everything else is trite and uninspired.
Lightly recommended.
One of the "Apocalypse Now" characters in its journey in to a deep and dangerous Viet jungle is somewhat unbalanced Louisiana native nicknamed Chef. During one of the quiet interludes on the boat, one of the handful of other soldiers asks Chef how he got the Chef nickname. And Chef responds with a story about how he was going to study at an exclusive French culinary school and instead ended up in the US Navy with the intention of being a cook. And then one day:
"They lined us up in front of a hundred yards of prime rib. All of us, you know, lined up and looking at it. Magnificent meat! Really! Beautifully marbled... magnifique! Next thing, they're throwing the meat into these big cauldrons. All of it, boiling it. I looked inside, man, and it was turning gray. I couldn't f**n' believe that one!"
Much like Chef and his hundred yards of gorgeous beef, "Wedding Impossible" has the ingredients for a bountiful feast of a drama, but renders it through an uninspired and worn and clumsily exposited narrative that ends with a production far short of its potential.
But the ingredients? [chef's kiss]
Jeon Jeong Seo certainly isn't the classic siren type. She's naturally abrasive and blunt. Her history suggests she's far more comfortable with action and tension than light comedy and romance. But it's this genuine awkwardness that makes her No Ah Jung lead so endearing.
Moon Sang Min is rock solid as Lee Ji Han. He's not just the tall pretty boy. And he's got the "I'm cool on the outside but I'm a raging inferno on the inside" acting thing DOWN.
Kim Do Wan is one of the very best second male leads. Any doubters should skim through his scenes in "My Roommate is a Gumiho" where he throws down a masterpiece performance. Casting him as the closeted gay Lee Do Han, a LGBTQ character that is a three dimensional real human who happens to be homosexual instead of a paper-thin stereotype that populates most dramas, is a perfect choice.
There's a couple noteworthy supporting actors too - Park Ah In as the scheming older half sister is very, very good and Seo Woo Jin crushes as Ah Jung's cute young nephew. Song Sang Eun and Min Jin Woong have some nice comedic relief together.
It may not be a legendary pantheon of heavyweights, but it's a very solid group of actors and characters.
And then it greats dropped in a cauldron of boiling chaebol succession blah blah blah. Press conferences. Paparazzis. Living room confrontations. USB drives of CCTV videos. Secretaries. Suits. Snore. Snooze. Sigh.
It's still great fun to see young actors get a chance to be leads and to work incredibly well together. Despite the plot weakness, the two leads are terrific together. It's a fun show to watch when it sticks to the rom-com side of things. Unfortunately, there's not enough of a story there to fill in 12 hour long episodes and everything else is trite and uninspired.
Lightly recommended.
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