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Sunday, February 7, 2010

Over the Rainbow (2006)













Over the Rainbow
오버 더 레인보우

(Jul – Sept 2006)

who’s in it
Ji HyunWoo (Invincible Lee Pyung Kang, My Sweet Seoul)
Hwan Hee (former singer of Fly to the Sky)
Kim OkBin (Thirst – film)

what’s it about
The travails of rising Korean singers and their “backup” dancers in the Korean entertainment industry.

Ji HyunWoo and Kim OkBin play a young couple who live to dance but Kim OkBin’s ambitions are far greater than her boyfriend’s. Her dreams include singing and superstardom. When she gets her opportunity, she ditches Ji HyunWoo without a second thought to make a name for herself. The drama starts with Ji HyunWoo and Kim OkBin but when unlucky-but-sweet-tempered Seo JiHye and cold-hearted kpop idol HwanHee are introduced, the quadrangle is complete.

commitment 
16 episodes

network
MBC

wildcard factor
Real kpop singer HwanHee co-starred and he was a surprising bright spot. When we first meet his character Rex, he’s an emotionally aloof jerk, so there was a great deal of room for growth and development for his character and HwanHee delivered well in his acting debut.

after the first episode
Definitely a little cheesy, but a [sometimes] amusing pizza-pie. I can’t believe Kim OkBin is the same actress that recently starred in Park ChanWook’s Thirst and is garnering such international buzz. She’s come a long way because I soooo did not think she was very good in this drama. Just goes to show what a bad role can do to a good actress. Anyway, the drama’s concept was amusing enough to snag my desire to continue to the end.



gave up

snoozer moments
Oh, a lot of it was kind of a snooze-fest, including the angsty pining between Kim OkBin and Ji HyunWoo, who by the way, was totally channeling some Rain in this role. I don’t really think he looks like Rain in appearance but in this context, the comparison has to be mentioned.

soju-guzzling
Not really…just a lot of unimpressive dancing.

what didn’t work
The bad dancing by characters that were supposed to be awesome dancers.

what did
HwanHee started to steal the show.

what made me want to gouge my eyes out
Everyone’s wardrobe and HwanHee’s tall hairstyle.

what kept me going

The slim and unrealistic possibility that HwanHee would get the girl...
______________________________

Other factors:
predictabilityYes
engrish No
originality Well, the idea was sorta original if not the execution.
eye-candy No
hair and fashion Ohmygawd, it was a complete eyesore all the way, right down to the horrendous use of tie-dye. What the hell were they thinking? This was supposed to be 2006, not the 1986!
______________________________

is it worth trying to find?
Honestly? Not really.

total enjoyment factor 
6/10

total disdain factor

why this review is completely biased
Believe it or not, I really like Ji HyunWoo and am not a fan of HwanHee’s, yet it was the latter who made an impression while Ji HyunWoo’s overly earnest interpretation of his character was boring.

could a non-kdrama fan like this
No. Recommend this to your jaded, non-kdrama watching friend and you run the risk of ridicule.

verdict
Only about 40% of it was watchable.

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