Casal Ohlala (2012)

The drama was pretty decent. But as usual with dramas that are given extensions (2eps)- the last few episodes get somewhat wonky. I watched this for Shin Hyunjoon, and I was excited for a romcom. Towards the middle, the laughs get fewer and the feels get bigger, maybe even too big. Having just completed it, I feel a little confused about certain elements. But after a few days it'll be fine I'm sure. So while lots of people are upset right now, with time it'll calm. The leads are great actors, and when they soul-switched -some thought Kim Jungeun was "over the top," but hello they switched souls -it's supposed to be over the top and funny. There was laughs, crys, feels, anger, shock, hope, and cameos galore. It was also nice to not hate the second leads. The downside, elements seemed to be contrived for the extension (but its dramaland- everything's contrived anyway), and so the last episodes seemed hasty or rushed. By ep14 I thought I finally knew where the drama was going, I was wrong. And while being surprised is generally a good thing, this drama would've been better sticking to the plan.
Overall, the drama had 2 great leads, some big laughs, and some big feels. The storyline goes a little awry towards the ending.

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Awful over dramatic acting and boisterous characters that assault your senses.

First things first, is this drama worth watching? NO!!!!!!

If you are not in a hurry, continue reading to find out why. I was ‘gifted’ this drama as a challenge watch from a MDLer’s least favorite dramas collection. And there’s a reason why “Ohlala Couple” receives a MDL rating of 6.5 and my friends’ average rating of 3.0 at the time of this writing.

If it wasn’t for the challenge, I would have dropped this drama within the first 5 minutes (within 2 minutes of the introduction of the present-day ML). I am not sure if it’s the screenwriter or the two directors to be blamed for this disaster.

Soo Nam (ML) has my most hated male lead introduction ever in all 800+ dramas I’ve seen so far. Not only did he cheat on his wife, he is a narcissistic, sexist, self-centered, chauvinistic pig. Since he’s the male lead, it’s to be expected that there will be a redemption arc for him throughout the drama. Unfortunately, I am not sure how many watchers made it past the first episode to want to see him redeem himself.

Compounded with the worst male lead introduction ever, is the over dramatic acting of the WHOLE cast. Not just the male lead, but the female lead, their family members and hotel employees. When the annoyance level is exponentially multiplied, this becomes harassment and assault to my senses. There’s so much screaming and yelling, physical hitting and verbal insults. Is it because this is produced in 2012 and watching this in 2024 causes this intolerance of mine? I was never a fan of the overdramatic acting or boisterous characters, but “Ohlala Couple” wins the gold medal right here.

Luckily, the craziness and the annoyance settled down a bit once the body switch was over. I am so glad I didn’t have to wait till the end of the drama for that to happen. But at this point, I already lost interest in the drama and there’s no way in hell for me to love it.

The drama is also way too long with many illogical inconsistencies. You can just walk into the hospital or doctor’s office and expect to have a medical procedure done right there. Who in their right mind (even if you have never worked at a hotel) tells a VVIP customer off and calls her husband a cheating rapist? Who drives an ambulance so recklessly for just a liver transplant?

Let’s end on a positive note. It’s lovely and nostalgic to listen to some old English songs played in the background. I’m so glad we actually have two lovely secondary leads. The only thing you could fault about the 2FL is that she fell in love with someone’s husband. But as a person, she is kind and sweet, and really deserves to be loved by a great man. Her obsession with the male lead might have caused her clinginess and stalkerish behavior, and a few poor choices, but she was just craving love. And our secondary male lead definitely deserves someone better. He’s smart and just, kind and considerate. Aside from making a noble idiocy choice when he was young, he’s a perfect guy. I shed some tears for him in the last episode. Despite how I hated the acting of everyone, I have to give the actors props and salute their dedication to the craft. The amount of cringe and secondhand embarrassment is off the chart. Yet, the actors did what they were asked to do and performed. It’s all the directors and screewriter’s fault!

I am going to rate this as low as my least favorite, Love Syndrome III, with a grand rating of 2.5. I disliked these two dramas for very different reasons. Objectively, “Ohlala Couple” isn’t worse. But subjectively, it was a torture to watch, even when I was watching it at 1.3x speed the whole way. I can’t even laugh at the mediocrity like when I was watching LSIII.


Completed: 7/28/2024 - Review #467

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