bmuze
Vancouver, BC
Annoying female lead and poor character development
I don't understand. The concept of this drama is not unique but it's fun so while I expected to suspend some judgement, I was looking forward to being entertained. But there were just too many distracting flaws in this drama, not least of all the poor character development and acting. While it's impressive that the female lead has to switch between two different characters, her delivery fails for both. Part of that could be blamed on the scriptwriter because there are a lot of inconsistencies in the way her characters act/react to the situations they found themselves in. I mean, why, even if it is not her body - or especially if it's not her body - would she have no regard/respect for the disruption she is causing to the real owner of said body. Like seriously? Some parts defy logic to the extent that it's offensive (and I'm usually pretty open-minded). Where the scriptwriter fails, the lead actress's lack of skill also really shows through. I don't know this actress but I have seen other actresses charm their way through really bad scripts before and Liang Jie is not one of them. I tried really hard to give her a chance (and cringed my way through 20+ episodes) but I feel like she needs to get some basic acting training or something. Other than a pretty face, she offers little charm to her character. I've seen anime characters with more dimension.Was this review helpful to you?
Great ingredients overcooked
I feel sorry to give this show such a low rating because this show has actually turned me into a big fan of the two leads, Mao Xiaotong (Song Jiaming)* and Mike D. Angelo (Li Yuzhe). Each has a charisma that easily shines beyond the screen, and together, their chemistry is mesmerizing. It is to their credit that this show was made just barely watchable. Unfortunately, the poor script, overblown plot, horrendous editing, and ridiculous pacing of this series really put a damper on what could have been an excellent performance.Seriously, there were so many plot holes and incongruences, I finally gave up and skipped ahead to just enjoy the scenes with Xiaotong and Mike. I really hope the two will star together in another show so I can watch them again under better circumstances.
*Note I actually came to this show after seeing Mao Xiaotong in Love O2O. Her character in LO2O was actually quite annoying but something about her made me suspect that she is capable of more so, I am glad at least Delicious Destiny gave me the opportunity to see "Momo" in a different light. I look forward to her next projects. In the meantime, I will also be looking for more of Mike, who is very delicious indeed!
Was this review helpful to you?
Refreshing, clever and fun!
This was a surprising gem. This is obviously a story written by writers for writers and people who know and can appreciate the craft. The lines made me laugh so hard that tears came to my eyes and then cry so hard that I started laughing again.The chemistry between the leads was so sweet and engaging that it helped me survive a 48 hour fast (during my second rewatching!!!) The rest of the cast were also very fun and played well - especially Zi Rui, Bai Ji and Meng Guo.
I'm super impressed by the young actors in this show. All props to the comedic genius that is Rosy Zhao and what a charmer Ryan Ding is. Those two are just too cute. I really hope they come back in Season 2. I seldom want to see another season of a particular show, but now, I'm actually very excited and glad!
Highly recommended!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A fun twist on "Sleeping Beauty" that falls just a tad short on the romance....
The Sleepless Princess is a fun twist on “Sleeping Beauty”, with just enough fantastical and mysterious elements to engage one to look forward to the next development. The visual fx are decent for a low-budget production. And the ending OST is the best I've heard in a while.The romance, however, is the one area that I am not sure about. Overall, the scenes were well-played, although some of the scenes were a bit cliched. The only thing is (fans - please don’t hate me for saying this) as nice looking as ZYC is, I must say that I found his acting a bit stiff. He never seemed to be able to look the main actress directly in the eyes. It was like he was acting around or in spite of her, even when she was supposed to be his main focus. That made the most romantic scenes feel like they were missing something. After seeing a number of other Chinese dramas, I confirmed that this is not necessarily the norm – although stiff acting is not unusual.
On the other hand, HYX really carried this show – at least in the first three quarters. She portrayed the titular princess and various transformations with charisma and charm. It really made you fall in love with her.
Sadly, sometime after episode 20, the show started to drag. As many had indicated on the discussion board, the late introduction of another unnecessary SF and the numerous forced misunderstandings seemed excessive. Also, as much as I had come to love the Princess’ character, HYX’s serious side felt less engaging after a while and I started to lose interest. It even seemed like the producers themselves might have felt the same because the last three episodes felt particularly rushed.
Overall, it was still an entertaining enough show, so I recommend it for a light distraction.
Was this review helpful to you?
