Almost made it
Name: She is Beautiful
Writer/director:
Date: April 2018
Number of episodes: 40
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Career
Based on book/manga?: no
Why did I press play? She is beautiful was abandoned on my “to watch list”. Following All is Well, I wanted to see Guo Jing Fei’s other works, hence this drama got revived and shuffled onto the “watched” list.
First Thoughts
For its genre, this drama is a masterpiece. It knows what it’s about and goes full speed in that direction. It strong, quirky, and takes a while to adjust to the stylized and executed script. The scriptwriters and lead actor, both deserve a standing ovation for a job well done.
The characters are fleshed out, and climbed out of the script and become living breathing people. The acting by the two leads is just A+. They took characters assigned to them and raised the bar. The banter, daily and action are so real, but light-hearted enough to enjoy just watching a story and “real life”.
For the most part, the plot is reasonable and logical, this is more evident as the story progresses and you see how things connect more. For example. Only after Xiao Na showing up at Yu Si’s house (which was so random!) do we learn she’s known him for years and they went to the same university.
When things are a bit random, the writers attempt to create a reasonable logic. For example. Early on Chang Qing is “kidnapped”. Xiao Na is shocked, called her brother and can’t let the situation go unless she knows he’s okay or needs to call the police. This is a form of logic.. that Xiao saw a comical kidnapping as something serious and can’t just “move on with the plot” she has to know what happened.
Some good points.
- The detailed insight of Xiao Na and Xiao Wei’s family and home life.
- The unapologetically integrated Products Placement. They have to, so why not logically work it into the script? For example. Audi, because of this PP, we get to see more exterior of buildings – it’s a neat trick to expand the world.
- Sprinkled over the scripts are little touches of English and little Korean.
- This drama has average camera work, but every so often they have a great one, For example, panned out shot of the ginormous window and pool, while two characters are meeting. Love it. replayed it a few times.
Some bad points.
- Of course, there are flaws, but I really don’t see the need to go into detail. They’ll pop out in their own while watching.
Who are the main characters? Which actors play them?
Zhang Xiao Na played by Zhang Xin Yi
Chang Qing played by Guo Jing Fei
Su Yi played by Zhu Yong Teng
Lu Xiao Wei played by Chen Zhe Yuan
Si Tu Hao played by Liang David
Feng Ling Li played by Chen Meng Qin
Theme: Accept any personal shortcomings, don’t be held back by them, and move on with life.
What it’s good for? A pleasant surprise in a form a drama.
Drama Delight 