concreteroads
It's a real pity, because I absolutely loved virtually everything else about this drama (though my hatred for Park Si Yeon's acting/the character in general probably contributed to my immense love for the rest of the drama, as I was too busy hating on her to really criticize anything else).
This is one of my favourite romcoms ever, in any language. It's got comedy and it's got romance, and it does both very well. I spent the first few episodes laughing my head off- this drama actually does a pretty good job of finding comical situations that haven't been reused five bajillion times in other dramas and movies.
What really made My Girl for me, though, were the two lead actors. Lee Da Hae and Lee Dong Wook both have a fantastic sense of comic timing (just wait until the hospital scene where Gong Chan/LDW freaks out), and they're both so expressive and have such diverse facial expressions that they can make an already funny scene even funnier. They're amazing at comedy, and really, just amazing actors, period. Even when the drama starts turning more serious and high-stakes, they're able to deliver comedic, serious, sweet, touching, and tearful moments as required, often going rapidly back and forth between the funny and the serious. Together, they're even better. They play off of each other incredibly well, and their chemistry, too, is one of the things that really made this drama what it is. I'd say that their chemistry rivals that of many often-praised kdrama couples: think the sizzling sexual tension from Secret Garden, mixed with the overwhelming cuteness of My Princess, and you have Seol Gong Chan and Joo Yoo Rin in My Girl.
On the subject of Joo Yoo Rin: Lee Da Hae truly shines in this drama. I seriously cannot believe that neither her nor Lee Dong Wook got awards for their acting in this drama, while the awful Park Si Yeon did. Lee Da Hae is brilliant as the quirky, over-the-top, scheming yet loveable Yoo Rin. She makes me laugh and cry here with ease, and she seems to have fleshed out this character completely- Joo Yoo Rin is so realistic she might as well be real, and I really couldn't imagine any other actress in this part.
In regards to the rest of the cast: Lee Jun Ki acts the part of Seo Jung Woo quite well; I just think that it was never a hugely well written character to begin with. Yoo Rin's friends and father didn't stick out that much to me, but I loved Gong Chan's family, and together, they really did present the image of a realistic, slightly weird but loving, oddly knit together family unit. And... then there's Park Si Yeon, who is consistently awful. Kim Seo Hyun is a badly written character, and Park Si Yeon is a bad actor. She has all of approximately three facial expressions, the most common of these being the disdainful/contemptuous/annoyed/sarcastic snort that she does every five seconds, and in the later episodes, that really made me start to want to slap her in the face and skip ahead every time she appeared on screen.
The writing... well, it IS a Hong Sisters drama, but in my opinion, actually one of their best. My Girl has all of their wit and humour, awesome story and romance, and quirky yet loveable characters, but doesn't exhibit some of the flaws that are often associted with HS dramas- for example, weak endings(the ending of My Girl is actually pretty up there, as far as kdramas go). It's faced-paced, well-plotted, and thoroughly addictive.
The music (both the score and the OST) fit the drama perfectly, and as usual for a Hong Sisters drama, the music is excellent, and played at more or less all the right moments. Though it might not make my personal playlist as some drama OSTs do, My Girl's score is outstanding and the OST is a great match for the drama.
Overall, this is a hilarious drama, well worth watching. Basically, my main complaint with this drama is the shallow, poorly written second female lead (a common feature of Hong Sisters dramas/kdramas in general, unfortunately- think You're Beautiful, just for starters), and the poor acting with which said poorly written character was executed. Aside from this, I loved My Girl, and Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae alone make this worth watching again and again.
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