Synopsis
This bubbly, Sex and the City-esque drama tells the story of the love lives, careers, and families of a group of twenty-and-thirty-something friends. I Need Romance stars rising film actress Jo Yeo Jung as In Young, an independent, lovable woman struggling to survive in modern-day society. In this endeavor, which she tackles with confidence and grace, she's helped by friends Seo Yeon (Choi Yeon Jin) and Hyun Joo (Choi Song-hyun of Prosecutor Princess). Kim Jung Hoon, much-loved for his Goong role, returns to dramas after a two-year hiatus as her love interest. From the writer and director behind such lovely, solid romantic comedies as I Love You and My Sister-in-Law is 19, respectively, this is a witty and charming affair, the latest in a series of dramas such as The Woman Who Wants to Marry to depict the struggles of contemporary women.
Cast:
- Jo Yeo Jung as Sun Woo In Young
- Kim Jung Hoon as Kim Sung Soo
- Choi Yeo Jin as Park Seo Yeon
- Choi Song Hyun as Kang Hyun Joo
- Choi Jin Hyuk as Bae Sung Hyun
- Ha Yun Joo as Yoon Kang Hee
- Kim Hyung Min as Duk Soo
- Ricky Lee Neely as Alex
Ok so let me start off by saying that this show in many reviews is either a hit or a miss. When I say hit, it's an all out I love this show, the ending was so great, everyone should watch hit. OR it's a miss. A complete What were you thinking?! How could it end like that? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! adhfsa;lkfhdsaklfh;dsalkjgh MISS.
So then the question is where do I fall? Well let me first start by saying the show should have been titled "I need a Clue" not "I need Romance" or even "I need a therapist" would have worked. I'll get to why I feel this way here in a short bit.
What attracted me to this show was the fact that it was very "Sex in the City-ish" in the description. Well I'm a fan of Sex and the City for the most part, so I decided to give it a chance. We start off with In Young basically finding out a bunch of stuff her boyfriend is hiding from her. I'm not talking little, I'm talking he made a movie, got paid a ton, bought his own house and went to a premiere without her and she found out when her friends asked her cuz it was in a magazine STUFF. Yeah that happens in like the first couple of episodes. I don't try to give spoilers, but seriously it was such a crappy thing to do I was in shock. The bad part is that at one point or another we have all been In Young. She supported her boyfriend as he rose to the top, but to do so she had to give up her dreams to support him. Now the question becomes since he's there will he keep her or toss her aside? It's also a matter for In Young who has another would be suitor who basically adores everything about her. It's not just a physical thing, literally he picks her up when she's down, is patient and asks very little except for her to be happy. Oh and throw in a hottie that is acting in In Young's man's next film and you have yourself a love square.
Now like I said at first I totally understood In Young. I've been there when a romantic relationship morphs into friendship, but you pick up and move on. If the list of cons in a relationship outweigh the pros, it's time to take the friendship and cash out on good terms. Through the whole show, In Young basically rehashes what is wrong with her boyfriend, all the while pining away for him and being jealous. Just when you think she has moved forward and on with her life, BAM she's back where she started. No rhyme. No reason. (well the reason was so weak and lame. There is basically no reason.) She's a weak willed, confused heroine at best. While sometimes she seems to be growing, give her an episode and you'll see that she was really just faking you out to make you keep watching.
The funny part is that you would think that her friends would encourage her to move on with her life. But instead make a big deal about being there for each other no matter what. (Sorry but if I was making the BIGGEST mistake of my life I would hope my friends would love me enough to tell me and kick my butt to see reality.)
The only saving grace of this show was actually In Young's friends. Not that they were the best of friends to her, but their stories were worth finding out about. While one is the "Samantha" of the group being very lose moral wise, you find out there's a hidden sorrow there and it plays out and resolves itself on screen. Sometimes almost comical and at others heartbreaking. The lesson being there that women always seem to blame the other woman, while in reality the man is as much to blame (and in some cases, like this one in my opinion, more so.) The other friend is the "Charlotte" of the group. She is in love with being in love, but wants it to be absolutely perfect. Again after a major turn in her life, she once again finds the faith in herself to move on. Her journey is more comical than heartbreaking. The situations she finds herself in just made me laugh and shake my head. The side stories in this case definitely stole the show, while the main story line stalled and was repetitive.
By the end of the show I was loving the friends, but at the same time restraining myself from throwing the remote at my TV. You literally waste 16 episodes for the heroine to end up right where she started. If you watch the first episode or two, you don't need to watch the end. TRUST ME. While some may argue that this is a story of forgiveness, I would argue it should have been a story about growth and the strength to move on. Sometimes there's just too much that has been said and done, or not done to resume or find what was lost.
If you are looking for a main story about strong women and love, this is not the show for you. If you want to watch the side stories and fast forward through a lot of wasted time, this story is for you. While the love interest is from Goong so definitely eye candy, I would just suggest that you re-watch Goong instead.
The only reason it's getting two is because the friends saved some of the story line...or it might just have gotten a negative popcorn.
~ONYX
