I have mixed feelings about this drama. Although I did like watching the dual bittersweet love stories, I was also frustrated by it's overall pace. I generally don't mind slow paced storytelling if it enhances the storytelling. My biggest problem with Love Rain is that it felt like it overstayed it's welcome. This drama could have easily been wrapped up in 16 episodes, and If they had simply made this drama shorter, my overall score would have been much higher.
Love Rain is basically two typical romance dramas rolled into one. The first 4 episodes are dedicated to the first romance, which begins in the 70's. This couple frustratingly hides their feelings, and has to deal with rivals, which is nothing new in kdrama-land. The pace was slow, and the romance takes an innocent approach, but I was not bored. I was never tempted to skip ahead, and I think the 70's episodes set up the characters, and their conflicts, nicely. The general tone of these episodes was moody, so don't expect a lot of cute flirty scenes in the beginning. Episode 5 is the start of the 2nd romance (my favorite episode), and there is a dramatic change in tone. This romance is your typical bickering-opposites attract story, which includes the quintessential mean meddling mother. It supplies plenty of cute/flirty scenes to give viewers butterflies (epic kiss scene included). The way these two love stories were weaved together is what made this drama feel original. I was interested in watching how both romances would unfold.
the cast is great in the 70's, and in the present day. Im Yoon Ah, Jang Geun Seok, Kim Shi Hoo, and Seo In Guk really pulled off creating two distinct generations of characters. I was impressed with adorable Im Yoon Ah, and doubly impressed by Jang Geun Seok. I expected him to be good, but he really shined in every scene he was in. They also had really great chemistry together. I had no problem believing that Ha Na & Jun were completely different from their identical parents, and I didn't find the fact that they looked so much like them farfetched either, since I have often been called my mother's twin/clone. I thought that the older actors (Lee Mi Sook & Jeong Jin Yeong) were well matched as the older versions of Yoon Hee & In Ha, though their chemistry was much more subdued. I thought the entire cast was good, or at least entertaining (loved the assistant & the flaming gay dude), though I would give Jang Geun Seok his own "10" score if I could.
The direction was great, the cinematography was gorgeous, the music was catchy, and the story was mostly good. Around episode 16 things start to fall apart. It was obvious that the story was being stretched to fill another 4 episodes, so scenes moved incredibly slowly (including the dialogue), and the plot started to become repetitive. Many of these episodes are filled with people barely getting a sentence out, or saying "I'm sorry" over & over again. I kept watching because I still liked the characters, but I would understand if someone dropped this drama at that point. Combined, the last episodes have a few good moments that could have probably fit into one episode (maybe two, maybe...). The final episode tries to bring back some of the spark from earlier on, but by then it was too late for me. I thought the ending was a little too corny. Everything gets resolved, but I wasn't quite satisfied. I also think the older characters deserved an on screen resolution, especially after an epic 30+ year love story. The last moments felt ironically rushed, compared to the other episodes.
The homage Love Rain pays to the movie "Love Story" gives you some idea of what to expect. It's not exactly light hearted, but it's not just a tearjerker either. I never cried while watching, but there were moments that I thought were really touching. I did laugh, so there is enough comedy to balance out all the heartbreak. I don't see myself watching this again in it's entirety, but I already want to rewatch certain scenes. I think I could only recommend this drama to Jang Geun Seok fans, or die hard romance fans. I consider myself sorta both so I was not exactly disappointed. My only real disappointment is that a potentially great drama ended up being just ok.
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