Intensivão de Amor (2023)

RESEÑA <3

¡AME ESTE DRAMA!
Me enseñó a que hay que luchar para conseguir lo que te propones por muy duro que sea el camino.
Tanto los personajes como cada una de sus historias, al fin y al cabo, te acaban conmoviendo. La historia principal es encantadora, dulce y muy familiar. El personaje de Nam Haeng-seon, es pura lucha por el futuro, un personaje fuerte, pero demasiado agradable.
Hay una historia que me entristeció un poco por como acabó todo y terminé llorando.
La serie en si, es especial.
Los episodios se hacen muy cortos de ver, y no puedes parar de verlos. Nada más terminar uno, quieres empezar el siguiente.
El OST me gustó.

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Lovely drama

This will probably rank as one of my favs for 2023.

While I was initially skeptic about the ML and FL's chemistry, after watching this, I believe both suited their roles very much.
This is my first time to see the FL (can't wait for her next project Kill Bok Soon), but I loved how she portrayed and gave justice to her character. The fact that she can make the viewer feel her sincere love and affection for her niece, is a testament to her acting skills.

Beyond the romance angle of the story, the FL's relationship with her niece is the best part of the whole drama. It reminds me so much of my relationship with my nieces. Roh Yeon Soo has been one of my fav young actresses after seeing her in Our Blues. It helps that she looks like my niece :)

The ending was also very fitting. Unlike some dramas which just gives you an ending open to interpretation, this one was unpretentious. It ended just like how it should be. No feeling of dissatisfaction at all.

Hope there would be dramas like this coming out soon....

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Such a mix!

Another well-rounded drama.
It hits a home run: most of your feelings are played with by the characters or events.
Different genres, charming characters to root for and an immersion in the school world.

The cast illustrates the feel of the story: It's okay to not be okay + Hometown cha-cha-cha (same director as the latter)

Urban setting. Seoul life is suffocating because of the stress adults exert on the kids.
Since then I have heard a former teacher complaining about "Gangnam mothers" ; now I know what they are!

The young actors have a big part to play and they are perfect. I hope they were well taken care of.

2 things bugged me:
The age of the female lead... I love her age and talent!
But she does not look "too young to have a teenage daughter".
+
A creepy thing is the time chosen for the first lovemaking of our leads.
My biased self figured a guy must have written the script to choose that specific day in the story (wrong! LOL).

I have rewatched this drama 2-3 times already ^^
(I can focus on the acting and not on subtitles).
The mothers were too intense for me : turns out I have missed some story bits by fast-forwarding.

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Great Family Drama

I really enjoy this drama from beginning to end. The emphases on the demanding parents for their kids to study to be the best and get into the best college is so correct. I felt it hit the nail in the head. The demanding mothers and their involvement in everything of the school reminded of so many parents I have met that are exactly that way. The main character is sweet, kind and and strong. She is a mama lion and protects her family. I love the cute romance between the leads. We get to know the kids and how we see how different their point of view is from their parents. I like the character of Mr. Jin even when he gives us the mean and angry look and that he is the murder. I kept thinking how cute he is. But my favorite was the brother. Nam Jae Woo was a great character and the actor Performance of this character was great. I love how cute he is when he be lives he likes his sisters friend. I think this is one of the top 10 in my catalog this year.

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Crash Course in Poor Parenting

I believe my headline is a more accurate title for the contents of this show which Netflix seemed to have marketed as a romantic comedy. I really looked forward each week to watching new episodes and watched as it came out. Overall, this series is solid and enjoyable but with a few things I didn't like.

While the story of romance is indeed there, you will find early on that the show actually has a darker side plot. Some felt this darker side plot wasn't necessary, and to some degree, I agree. That being said, I did find the side plot interesting as it progressed further and at one point felt I was watching a full-on thriller, no comedy to be found. I was not quite satisfied with how it concluded. I was really hoping the writers were going to go in a different direction with the character involved and to me this is the one of the biggest strikes on the series. It is a complete tragedy that ends up virtually forgotten in the end.

The show also introduces a secondary romance which I felt wasn't necessary late in the game. It definitely felt tacked on.

Going back to my headline, you will find at least five examples of HORRIBLE parenting. Ultimately, I think that is really the main takeaway of this show, especially once you see a key conversation of realization between two of the teens. Some of these horrible parents will be triggering and may be upsetting to watch. One of these horrible parents is really the root cause for the darker side plot as well.

I enjoyed watching the romance bloom between the leads and enjoyed their chemistry. When the comedy was there, it was great. I don't think is a must watch in terms of all the dramas out there, but if you enjoy seeing a fresh romance between a more middle-aged couple and can also stomach some annoying school-obsessed moms and murder mixed in, then by all means give this a try.

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Hilarious main romance, with some other blah stuff

As a rom-com, this is awesome; I love how chaotic both the characters are at the start and seeing how they went from that to gradually enjoying each other’s company.

As a more slice-of-life drama, this show hits the spot as well. The theme of motherhood is really powerful, especially seeing the “found family” aspect between the main female lead and Hae-e. I also loved seeing the different types of families and seeing how academic pressure played into familial expectations in different ways.

And then we get to the other genre: the mystery or thriller or whatever. This part of the show didn’t work for me at all. I don’t think the show was very good at switching between tones, so it was jarring to go from a rom-com scene to seeing a random murder, especially because it felt like show often forgot about its murder subplot; there would be few consequences for things that happened so the tone of the show never balanced itself out.

Other than that, I think there were almost too many threadlines sometimes, and the show sometimes dropped the ball on them, or there were smarter ways to tie storylines together that the drama didn’t think of. For example:
- When Hae-e wakes up, the entire murder plot is already over. It just makes everything feel pretty anticlimactic.
- Su-a, whose arc is about academic competition, should’ve played a much bigger role in the Sun-jae/Hae-e accidental cheating arc. Instead, she just disappeared during these episodes.
- Su-a, who started getting hallucinations about hurting Hae-e, could’ve also played a role after Hae-e’s accident, like not being sure if she’d been involved or not. Instead, her hallucinations just randomly stopped in the penultimate episode.
- Hae-e’s mom comes and causes a rift between Haeng-seon and Hae-e, which they never resolve through communication. Instead, Hae-e’s mom leaves of her own accord and the problem just goes away. I felt like this could've been a really good opportunity to highlight the motherhood theme again.

The second couple romance also feels really out-of-the-blue — it comes in halfway and by then ’d really much rather have the show focus on the familial relationship between him and Haeng-seon and Hae-e, because most of the time he seems to just be…there. There’s no chemistry or depth between him and his love interest, so I think the show should’ve either built up the plot more from the start, or not have done it at all.

Overall, I still had a fun time watching this. Even with the murder aspect, it feels generally low-stakes, and is a light-hearted watch.

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Superb acting by ML ..contrary to thqt of the FL

I just wished they chose a better FL. It is so obvious that she is so much older than the ML and looks more like the mother rather than the romantic partner for the ML. Feels more like a possible maternal, than a romantic, relationship , between the ML & the FL. Plus she has such an irritating character that most times I fast forwarded all the scenes with her ramblings, nosey and angry reactions..and it was so gratifying when the ML told her off on the 1st day he tutored her daughter at their residence, as she was trying to be overly welcoming. It was also
very awkward to watch the FL potraying to be much younger and trying to act sweet and naive.. And her mannerisms and facial expressions are far from appealing that I wonder what is so special for the ML to fall for her...apart from her cooking skills. And when she was drunk and will go round kissing or she tried to make up with her best friend after a misunderstanding and started to shower kisses on her friend....ewww! It was far from cute and lovable! On the other hand, the ML and the other casts did well in portraying their characters, except the irritating mother of Hae Yi ..which I feel her character was over exaggerated, irritating and unnatural (perhaps due to bad scriptwriting). I have no interest to watch any of the sequels, which is a pity, as I like watching the ML , since his performance in Hospital Playlist.

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A fresh drama with a good acting cast.

Recently , Korean dramas have been exploiting genres like melodrama, detective, revenge,... There are too many tragedies and I'm tired of watching the dramas where the main character is always also sad or always in a state of stress. It’s refreshing to find a drama that balances society problems with a lighthearted sense of humor. This drama delivers just that - with an excellent cast to boot. Here is my detailed review.
Plot: This drama excels in its portrayal of school life and romance. The screenwriter’s creativity shines through in the multiple storylines that keep the audience engaged. However, this is also the movie’s biggest weakness - with only 16 episodes, some plot threads are left underdeveloped, such as the serial killer storyline. This left me feeling disappointed with the ending and Mr Ji’s motives were not entirely convincing. His suicide also made the drama lose its lightness. Despite this, I have to admit that the drama builds characters very well. No one is perfect and each character has their own flaws that they work to overcome throughout the drama. Some viewers may find Nam Haeng Seon’s personality annoying and criticize her for being talkative and rude especially with Jae Woo. However, I live in Asia where it is common for siblings to tease and interrupt each other. It’s worth noting that in flashbacks we see Haeng Seon’s mother also hitting Jae Woo on the head - perhaps this is a habit she picked up from her mother. In my opinion, Haeng Seon has the best personality in the entire drama. She shines brightest with her kindness and cheerfulness motivating those around her; just look at those around her and we can see they are all very happy when they are next to her. She is truly the heart of the drama. While there are plot holes and some illogical details, I would still rate plot 7.5 due to its well-developed characters.
Acting/Cast: The director made excellent choices in casting talented actors. The acting is top-notch - I would give it a 10/10. None of the actors felt like they were simply playing a part. In terms of casting, everyone seemed well-suited to their roles. Some viewers have criticized the choice of casting female lead. While it’s true that she may not fit the age of her character perfectly, she delivered an outstanding performance and had great chemistry with the male lead. If viewers can accept a serial killer in a romantic comedy along with several other annoying mothers then why is the female lead criticized so harshly? She’s just doing her job - ultimately it was up to the screenwriter and director who decided to cast her; perhaps they could have made some changes to the script. Personally, I really enjoyed Jeon Do-yeon’s performance even though I haven’t seen any of her previous movies. Even in comedic scenes, her eyes sparkled with life. Overall, I would give acting and casting a 9.5.
Music: The soundtrack is pretty good overall. However, there are 7 songs on the soundtrack but I only regularly listen to a few of them. This is unfortunate for the remaining songs. I would rate music 8.5.
Rewatch value: I think I could rewatch this movie many times, especially for the comedic and romantic scenes. As for the scenes involving the serial killer and the mothers, I would probably skip those. I would rate the rewatch value of this movie an 8.5.
Conclusion: This drama brings a breath of fresh air to those who are tired of recent Korean dramas. It can make you feel happy and joyful. If people aren’t too demanding about the looks or age of the actors and the coherence of the storyline then they might want to give this drama a try as a new experience.

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Realistic but Comforting

I appreciate the realness of this drama. The romance took a while to develop in my opinion but that’s how real life is sometimes. You take the time to get to know someone, see their faults and learn to accept your own.

A drama filled with understanding differing lifestyles and realizing that all that glitters isn’t gold. And people can fall in love even if they are from different social statuses.

I also appreciate the maturity level. It’s not just child like adults ignoring each other. Misunderstandings are usually cleared up with some sort of good communication.

Also like the attention the writers placed on persons who are autistic.

I think if you’re looking for a slower paced drama/love story with a few of life’s bumps along the way, this one is for you. Overall happy ending.

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