This show is all kinds of schizophrenic, so I don't feel like I can talk about it in a logical way unless I just go through the rating categories. I'm going to rearrange the categories a bit because I want to mention the music first.
MUSIC- This show has great music. I cannot recommend the soundtrack highly enough. In fact, I just suggest you listen to the music and just pretend this train wreck of a drama never happened. Have you ever watched a show that was so good in the first half that a bad second half made it you hate it more than if it had just started out bad? That's what happened to me with Fall in Love with Me. The music, however, could always make me feel something. I didn't actually realize Aaron Yan was a good singer until I heard one of his songs for this show, but the minute I did, I was sold.
STORY- Aaron Yan does a fantastic job acting as two different characters for the first part of the show, which is the original main conflict- the leading lady is not very fond of one of his personas but likes the other. When this changes from being the main conflict, the show takes a serious nosedive into melodrama. It isn't unusual for romantic comedies to introduce melo elements, but this show completely changed from one genre to the other. I don't have an issue with melodramas if they're done right, but Fall in Love with Me not only became a melodrama, it became a bad one with a lot of repetition and insane and/or illogical characters. The shift in tone is so drastic and jarring that it really feels like two different shows. (It reminds me of the movie Hancock, which, if I catch it on TV, I watch up to a point and then turn off.)
ACTING- The cast is mostly very good. The second lead female turned- well, you'll see if you watch- was actually very good. And I really like Aaron Yan as an actor. I just started watching Taiwanese dramas less than a year ago, so the only other thing I saw him in is Just You. I didn't really like his look, but after a few episodes I really started to like him. I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's competent. Some actors, especially if acting is not their primary profession, deliver their lines and or expression, and then their face goes back to blank as they wait for their next line to come around. Aaron Yan's always acting, and his expressions always express a great depth of emotion. He does occasionally over act, but not too often. Unfortunately, Tia Li's acting is not to the point were she should be cast as a leading lady. Her facial expression is always the same, whether she's crying, laughing, eating, whatever. I feel like achieving that is actually difficult, so I don't know what's up with that, but it's not great to watch. She was better before the melo came, but she wasn't very good then either. But anyway, there are a lot of good character actors playing supporting roles, also.
Rewatch Value- I almost rated this a 1, because who would want to put themselves through this again? But I have to admit that the first 11 or so episodes were really good, with a lot of cute moments. There is also a cute side romance that managed to stay cute even through the craziness. I am a re-watcher, but if I ever watch Fall In Love with Me again, I probably will not watch the full run and will maybe just find one or two cute moments on youtube.
Other: I love whoever came up with Xiao Lu's look. It took years off of Aaron Yan and created a kind of hip urban nerd vibe that I really, really liked. I would love a show where the lead actually dressed like that the whole time.
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