Korean title: 커피하우스
Aired on SBSFrom 2010 May to July
18 episodes
Main cast:
Hello Grandmother from Full House!
Review: Maybe a +? a +/- ?AND SPOILERS
Title: Coffee house. There is a coffee library owned by Girl and they talk about coffee. That's still random because it's not a plot point and they don't spend that much time in coffee houses. At least similarly titled Coffee Prince made sense.
Boy: He's a famous writer with odd habits. He hates promoting, doesn't own a mobile phone and just disappears when he feels like it.
Girl: She is Boy's publisher but also his friend of 10 years. She's likable. She has her own mind, she's vulnerable but not weak.
Girl: She is Boy's assistant. She is 25 years old at the beginning but she moves and behaves more like a child or a puppy. She's likable because you can't hate puppies. Boy is kind of abusive to her in their work relationships in that he berates her. I guess it is not as disturbing as it should be because Girl actually takes his words as advice to progress. In real life, her self-esteem would be crushed but hey! it's a drama.
Other boy: also known as Jackass Stalker. Girl's former boyfriend who had an affair. Yes, he is a cheater too. She dumped him and doesn't want to see his face but Jackass Stalker is persistent. And annoying. To the characters and to me. He gets humanised and bearable but it takes many épisodes. It's never really clear why he considers himself a friend of Boy who clearly doesn't like him. I guess he's delusional too.
Relationships: I have to say, I wasn't invested in the relationships but I was still looking forward to the next episode so something was right.
I wasn't invested because the drama takes several episode to hint at romance, some motivations are unclear or don't really make sense. I also wished for more flashbacks to have the full picture of what happened between some characters. Finally, there's another reason but I'll discuss it after the jump.
Other characters: Other other boy is interesting though saddled with an unnecessary development in the last part of the drama. Typical drama family for Girl but not annoying like it is in other dramas. Also, Girl's employees at her publishing company and at the coffee library.
Funny factor? Yes! Actually, the first episodes are more comedy than romance and I loved a 1st ep scene involving an outline and a glass of champagne. Comedy comes from various sources but mostly via embarrassing situations and Boy playing Girl who can be quite dense.
Music: As usual in Korean dramas, it's good.
What the? (it's a new category: random things that makes no sense) Boy studied medecine? Why? It's so random and it increases the mystery of how Boy and Other Boy got to know each other since Other boy definitely didn't study medecine (probably business or stalking).
Bottom line: It's the first time I'm not sure of a grade at the end of a drama. I know it should be a + because the comedy is quite good, compared to other dramas, and you want to know what's next, characters are interesting and evolve (though making it happen off screen is easy) and it plays on our expectations. But in the end, it plays too much on our expectations and it wasn't satisfying so I want to +/-.
To discuss it, let's head to the spoiler space after the jump.
Normally, I would say "do not proceed" but I was myself actually happy that I had been slightly spoiled before watching it. Had I not been, I would have felt stronger discontent. Anyway, you read this review, you might have noticed there is something different, that's because the drama tries something different. Now you can watch the drama with adjusted expectations.
OK, now, seriously, do not proceed if you haven't watch it. When you do, come back to vent or to defend the drama choices. I want to do both.
Two Girls... that's a first in my reviews. Usually, there is one main girl whom we follow and who ends up with the guy. Usually, she's more relatable whereas Other girl (aka Rival in love) is stylish, beautiful and smart. Here, there are two girls: one who ends with Boy after overcoming many obstacles (and who has the attributes of an Other girl) and one who makes us root for her, who we watch grow during the drama.
Thus, the drama subverts our expectations that Audience girl is going to be Endgame girl. Which is original and makes sense in this case. But it's frustrating. (yes, this is the outline - Coffee house made me think. Hard).
Why it makes sense:
Boy and Audience girl's relationship is mostly based on him being a mentor for her and then her being someone who shakes his world. It's a really common type of relationship in romance but it's not an equal relationship. Boy has power over Girl, he's noticeably older therefore reproducing a patriarchal type of relationship. Besides, in this particular drama, Girl is so childish that it's hard to see her as a romantic/sexual love interest. (I think she acts less childish around Kim Dong Wook?). So, if you look at it, it's kind of refreshing to have a mentor who has no romantic interest in his mentoree.
Meanwhile, Boy and Endgame girl are equal, in their frienship and professionally. They've been friends forever, tease each other and look out for the other.
Why it's frustrating:
The drama keeps teasing the possibility of Audience girl getting Boy by putting them in situations that usually leads to romantic connections: being forced to work for someone, playing with water, sleeping in the same room, and finally, pretending to be girlfriend/boyfriend. But these scenes and plot points are not steps to propel the main couple, they serve no purpose, except torturing Audience girl and misdirecting us. So yes, frustrating.
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