leorionpo

The movie is painfully average. It had a lot of potential exploring this generic idea in a modern way and it tried thanks to some good acting from the MC - but the tone was just ridiculously weird for the story it was trying to convey. The cast was mostly okay, they just had bad dialogue to work with and an obviously low budget.

There was enough space for a lot more heart in this movie, especially given the seriousness of the topic at hand but it felt like it wasn't handled well.

The show attempts to be a refreshing insight into an Indian-American family and sometimes pokes fun at stereotypes but then goes on and jumps right into them just for the sake of some cheap laughs. The characters are surface-level, including the main love interest despite the opportunities to expand his character more, including the relationship with the protagonist and how he views her - instead, his justification is only "I cool jock, she not."

The protagonist is a complete mess and while it seems she was written in that way, she makes a 180-degree turn around the second episode from a loyal friend (apparently since they were kids!) to downright insulting, berating and ignoring her friends at their most important moments, despite all their own pressing problems. The result is an unlikable protagonist that makes the show incredibly difficult to watch.

The plot is cliche and easy to predict and that isn't always bad but it feels as if the show wants us to cheer on Diva despite all of the nasty things she has done to everyone around her. From that perspective, a show following any of her other friends or even her main rival would prove a much more interesting watch than this narcissistic dramedy.

I don't usually like Korean shows. Overacting, clichés and incredibly lazy writing almost always plagues the shows. But this show changed my mind about it. It does fall into some of the usual lazy writing you've come to be disappointed from Asian cinema but it boasts a colourful cast of individuals with separate story lines and can surprisingly manage to balance the comedy with a bit of drama without taking itself too seriously or falling into incredibly unbelievable or convoluted plot lines. A show to be proud of, and with excellent acting from the leads. Thumbs up!