Passarela de Sonhos (2020)

Phew... Such a rollercoaster. Of disappointment.

This drama stole 4 month of my patience, so I gonna be brief and pinpoint. I was surprised looking at low ratings when I was on the first episodes but by the end I think that even low ratings are too high for it.

?️For me it's obvious that the main character Sa Hye Joon is based on Park Bo Geom, or at least relies heavily on his persona. He just finished his service the last year right after this drama. I was never a fan of him but I see how his fanbase ramped up the ratings. 8.7% wouldn't be possible with such crooked storytelling if there weren't the two Parks (Park So Dam).

Now, facts only:
▪︎Hye Joon's dad looks like Kim Jeong Il.
▪︎After the 8th episode Hye Joon already achieved everything somehow and starts earning millions and riding a luxurious car out of blue because the drama producers have signed a promotion contract with BMW.
▪︎The story goes nowhere after he reaches success. Hye Joon obviously doesn't give a damn about scandals, so why should I?
▪︎Endless dialogues about feelings and morals that sound like even the actors are sick of them. As if the characters were zen Buddhist monks. Cut to 1 hour per episode, nothing to lose.
▪︎Army sucks. Stealing 2 years of life. I got it.
▪︎WTF? "Hi how are u"? This is the ending?!?

I started watching Record Of Youth when I felt bad and needed motivation. Mistake. Please, don't watch this drama if you're having hard times. It's not motivating, it's manipulative.

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Gets boring as it proceeds.

This drama started as a good one. It had everything, start actors(PBG and PSD) good story(only for few episodes) good music and direction was okay. But all these things got bad after episode 7-8. There was no development between the two leads, the whole drama was mostly focused of ML while the FL seems to play a supporting characters instead of main. The bad guys were just bad and the good guys turned bad were going no where. The families will get on your nerves.
This drama is a big disappointment and huge waste of talent. The writer did a really terrible job. It's not the actors fault they are just doing whatever the script has.
If you ask me that if I should recommend this drama, I will say hell no. Don't waste your time on this you will be disappointed.

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I think that "disappointment" is the word for my feeling now watching the end of "Record of you". Certainly not just for me, based on the many comments that I saw here on MDL and in some other places, but I will try to explain what made me feel like this.

When I started this drama, I was in the same vibe that most people were. The story, the romance and chemistry of the main couple, the way how we could saw another face of the entertainment industry... Everything catches me at the first sight. I really love the way how they construct the need for persistence and work to catch your dreams, the first episodes create an amazing image to the show. I think that maybe this was one of the factors that we can feel this feeling of frustration: the expectations. Mostly on Park Bo Gum and Park So Dam's performance, but also in the story and the promise of something great. With so many expectations, some script choices made the story lose its shine. One thing that disturbs me was the relation between Won Hae Hyo (Byeon Woo Seok) and Ahn Jung Ha (Park So Dam). I'm not talking about the plot itself, but the fact of this started with so much strength and in the middle of the process just was faded. We couldn't see a satisfactory closet to the feelings of Hae Hyo or an exposition of this, and the things just go on. Jung Ha doesn't show strong refuse to these feelings but also doesn't make this clear... I don't know. For me, this was very weak. I could point some others loose ends, but this isn't a spoiler review. I can say that many things are left without a good closer and leave a bitter taste on our mouth. I know that is an "adult drama" with real stuff and a really interesting message, but this isn't an excuse to sloppy with the story.

About the acting, I already said that I didn't know Park Bo Geum's work before, but I love him on this character. The way how we could saw the kindness and sweetness of Sa Hye Joon through his eyes was beautiful. Park So Dam also did a great job, but as I said, I couldn't embrace her character with all my strength. Something didn't catch me on Ahn Jung Ha, but this has nothing to do with Park So Dam's performance. Some characters seemed a little out of the story to me, like Kim Jin Woo (Kwon Soo Hyun) that had quickly moments on screen. When I thought that his plot would go deep, everything just vanished. The same for Jung Ji Ah (Seol In Ah) and Lee Tae Soo (Lee Chang Hoon) that could be great antagonists in the story, but just lose power in the process. With Won Hae Hyo (Byeon Woo Seok) the path was inverted... I started disliking him, but in the process, I could appreciate some characteristics of this character. I still don't like some attitudes, but I thought his plot the most coherent until the end. Honorable mention to my precious cameo: Park Seo Joon. My love. Owner of my heart. LOL.

I'm a little sad about the inconsistencies in the story and the high expectations made us a little frustrated with this show... But I still thought this a GOOD ONE (★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★). You won't find a surprising story here, but for sure you will see some life lessons and get emotional with many moments.

See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.

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The best actors, the worst story

I had high hopes for this show, I saw Park Bogum and Park Sodam and expected a top tier drama to match this top tier actor list. But what did I get? Boring predictable drama. I like that they tried to keep it on a mature level, but the story was so predictable it was hard to sit through, and the characters were so ridiculously scripted into cliche characters. I dropped the show for a bit after episode 11, and ended up skipping all the way to the last episode. And guess what, I wasn’t even surprised that all the stuff they mentioned happened, and I wasn’t surprised by the ending either. I was so disappointed.

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So much wasted potential

Sigh. This drama was a total disappointment.

Context: I LOVE Park Bo Gum. I enjoy Park So Dam. Slice of life? Sign me up! And yet something didn't quite click from the start. I hoped things would pick up, but the plot line became more convoluted and frustrating. We spent too much time on annoying side characters and side plots instead of developing our protagonists, so I didn't end up caring what happened to them.

My issue from the beginning was that the dialogue was weirdly snappy and unnatural. People didn't speak like they do in real life, and that took some of the immersion away. Another key issue was that a lot of the characters felt one-dimensional —  we only saw the bad side of our bad characters for so long, with POTENTIALLY some last-minute redemption towards the end. I suppose I can understand the parents and miserable people like Lee Tae-Su, but at what cost?

We never got strong enough development for Jeong Ha or Won Hae Hyo, and that's what bugged me the most. I would've preferred if the show took us down the love triangle line!

I did enjoy how the show was somewhat autobiographical for Park Bo Gum (lol @ his Love in the Moonlight remake), and I liked seeing his range. I liked the messages on enlistment, and the depiction of this cultural nuance that feels so foreign to outsiders. It's like homework hanging over your head, and it's an experience that unites people of all ages, socioeconomic classes, and walks of life. As far as the ending went, I was as satisfied as I could possibly be, considering the circumstances. Everything tied up with a neat little bow, although that meant some people acted ridiculously out of character. The unfortunate part is that the show was consistently so lacklustre that the ending was unfulfilling anyway.

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Non capisco la votazione così bassa.

Se avessi visto letto prima le recensioni su mydrama forse non lo avrei guardato questo.
Sinceramente mi è piaciuto e ho letto che è stato rinnovato per la seconda stagione, non vedo l'ora che arrivi il 2022 per sapere come finirà questa storia.
La storia principale è bella ma anche le secondarie sono affrontate nel modo giusto. Lui è un modello che sogna di fare l'attore, è buono e non scende a compromessi, lei ha avuto una vita difficile e affronta la vita con razionalità.
Si incontreranno per caso, si troveranno per caso.
Sapranno affrontare le sfide che la vita riserverà loro?
Mi sento di consigliarlo, potrebbe pure scapparvi qualche lacrimuccia se siete come me.

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Good but not a very satisfying ending

(Spoilers regarding the relationship)

This drama came along just at the right time in my life when I very much needed some comfort. For that, thank you, Record of Youth :)

This drama had the most wonderful, non-toxic, respectful, kind, and not-cold ML. For the majority of the drama his and the FL's relationship was beautifully communicative, healthy, fun, flirty, and understanding. They also had great chemistry together and had their own separate lives and goals apart from each other.

I wasn't truly mad about the break-up like I thought I would be. That probably had to do with how the drama wasn't solely focused on the romance. It was more slice-of-life with a slice of romance. Lol. Pardon my lame joke. That being said, I can understand why many reviewers and commenters were upset by it. I get it. I didn't like the break-up either. I think she should have held on.

Now, aside from the romance, I loved the side characters. Hae Hyo's story was very well done in particular. And the commentary on the difficulties right from the start of being born into a poor family versus having an advantage right from the beginning was hard-hitting. He started several feet in front of Hye Joon in the race of life. Of course it would be almost impossible for him to catch up or pass him when he lacks the support and resources he has.

I hate when those in power say "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps." Easy for you to say. Sure, it's possible for someone from the poorest family in the poorest neighborhood going to the poorest school to become a millionaire someday. But, it's close to impossible. Possible, but close to impossible. And you can have all the talent and drive in the world but if you don't have connections it's almost impossible to get many jobs. They always ask if you know someone in the company/industry. And if you do you always have an edge over even the most hard-working candidate. It's sadly why the cycle of poverty continues. Generally, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

Anyway, in conclusion, I found this drama very soothing as well as true-to-life a lot of the time.

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20s is a Beautiful, Messy Period of Our Times

Okay, I just finished this drama yesterday, and I actually need a day to completely re-arranged my headspace and write.
As a fellow 20s-years-old, I feel like this drama resonates so well with me. Record of Youth is astory of people in the 20s, of Sa Hye Jun's, of An Jeong Ha's, of Won Hae Hyo's, and other people around them. It was messy, hopeful, uncomfortable and beautiful.

During the first episodes, I almost dropped it because it looked so cliche. A kindhearted man got bullied, scammed, doubted and being cast aside, I think Sa Hye Jun will be another Cinderella character. The family is also infuriating and a bit dysfunctional. But I went on watching, and found out it was not like that at all.

Sa Hye Jun's family became one of my favorite story in this drama. It's a family consisted of a warmhearted but guilt-ridden grandfather, a lonely and prickly father, a loving mother, an arrogant and self-centered older brother, and our main lead. They fought and clashed every so often. Not your ideal family, right? But as the episodes went by, more dramas unfolding, the family actually became more united and got closer.

An Jeong Ha and Sa Hye Jun's relationship is also one of my favorite. It's a healthy relationship, for start! It's really hard to find one among so many dramas, but theirs are one, and I'm happy to find it. At the start, it kind of felt like a Y/N story in fanfiction, with it being a romance between a fan and the idol and makes me giddy with laughter. But the following episodes turned so serious, so I think, huh, maybe not.

One point I really liked about their relationship, is that they've changed over time. Your way of thinking, your idealism, they changed as you grew up, and sometimes you found out that some promises couldn't be kept. I loved every emotion the two portrayed when they're together!

Won Hae Hyo is another thing. I really admire him. With his situation, there is probably a lot of things that could push him through the villain line, but he stood still. It really tickles me actually, how every time he looked like he's about to do something bad, he turned around last minute and choose the other way.

Oh! Also, there were a candid manager, a black hearted and toxic ex-manager, an ex-girlfriend, a misunderstood reporter, a jealous senior, a money-oriented mother, and all those actor cameos. They brought many spices to this story, so let's honor them all, except the ex-manager, I really hate you I hope you go bankrupt.

For me, I recommend watching this if you are a fellow 20-s years old currently navigating through life. This is a good one, though it will be better if you watch this in a good headspace, because if not, you will be a sobbing mess like I was.

Happy watching!

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I wanted to love it so bad! But...

This show was so disappointing! I started to watch it when it first came out and took my time on it. I read some of the reviews on here and thought everyone was nuts because it was really good in the beginning. But then it dropped off and just got worse!

Story... was good up until about episode 13/14. The main leads started to drift apart really fast after they started dating. And it went downhill from there! No communication and they tell each other that they love each other but break up???? Really?? “I love you. Let’s break up!” And she dumps him when he needed her the most! I hated her character! Like the actress but poor part she chose to play. I just can’t believe they did not get back together. She still said she loved him but could not be there for him!? She was the problem. Poor guy! I felt bad for him. Yes, they left it to your imagination if they got back together or not. But honestly I HATE that! Just end it nice and give them a clean happy ending!

Acting... was really good. I think they did a great job. But dang that storyline hurt them and the show! Park Bo Gum is a cutie and I really loved his character and thought he did an awesome job.

Music... loved! Hope I can find it on Amazon.

Rewatch? Probably not! I hate endings they way they did it. And I hate the storyline! It was disappointing. I have to agree with all those low rated reviews.

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If you are a fan of the actornor actress give it a try if not check it out for the plot

I have seen some works written by the writer so I decided to check it because of the hyped it was getting prior to watching the drama, but while it does talks about youth and chasing their dream. In the end, the second half wasn't as good as it could be and they have brought on some unnecessary sub plot and it just loss the sense of direction. However, I give credit to the actors for doing their best in their role, but it wasn't enough. If you are a fan of the actors/actress definitely give it a try or if you are a fan of the writer do not let my review stop you from watching it because this is just my opinion. You have to watch it and let yourself decide whether or not you like it.

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So bad that I need to rant

I rated this drama very low, the reason being that it somehow got me in a depressive mood whenever I watched it. "Slice of life" doesn't have to be so disheartening. I don't know how to explain it really but maybe there's too much going on in the world already and instead of I don't need my daily dose of drama to tell me that everyone breaks up anyways and life is full of struggles, nothing lasts forever etc. Even the supposedly happier moment between family, friends and lovers don't seem genuine or noteworthy.

I am not a huge fan of PBG and sometimes I'm astounded by the cult following he has. He was pretty disappointing and dull. And although PSD was part of the legendary Parasite, watching her in this show was rather dry. The chemistry between the leads was more like disinterested grandma her sleepy grandkid than lovers. The other members of the cast did an okay job, but none of them impressed me. My favourite person was definitely HJ's brother who was exceptionally charming in the short amount of screentime he had.

The positive about the show would be: great idea to tell the story of an emerging actor.

While I'm writing this I realise I'm being a little irrational, but then I watch dramas so they make me happy, and this one really sucked the joy out of me. I'll let myself be a little mad.

In my opinion: don't waste your time on this.

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