신데렐라 언니 (a.k.a. Cinderella's Sister)

Cinderella’s Sister

신데렐라 언니

2010

KBS

Main Cast:

Moon Geun-young 문근영 as Song Eun-jo 송은조 (stepsister of Hyo-sun, very cynical, cold, and shy)

Chun Jung-myung 천정명 as Hong Ki-hoon 홍기훈 (young college student working for Gu Dae-sung, Eun-jo’s love interest)

Seo-woo 서우 as Gu Hyo-sun 구효선 (our Cinderella, very naive and bubbly)

Taecyeon 택연 as Han Jung-woo 한정우 (Eun-jo’s friend from her past)

Lee Mi-sook 이미숙 as Song Kang-sook 송강숙 (Eun-jo’s mother, manipulative, the reason for Eun-jo’s cynicism)

Kim Kap-soo 김갑수 as Gu Dae-sung 구대성 (Eun-jo’s stepfather, kind and loving father to Eun-jo and Hyo-sun)

Synopsis:

Song Eun-jo, who lives with her mother since years ago (and also her mother's current lover), finally gets a new family and a home when her mother remarries to a kind man who owns a winery. At first, she denied it, and even attempted to escape rather than dealing with the attempt of being schooled. The cynical Eun-jo is unable to accept the affection of her new step-sister Hyo-sun and step father Gu Dae-sung. Hyo-sun, with her bright character, is the apple in her father's eyes and Eun-jo's mother goes out of her way to fulfill the role of Hyo-sun's mother, causing her to neglect and act harshly towards Eun-jo. However, Eun-jo finds a friend in Hong Ki-hoon, a college student working at the winery who becomes her own prince. Ki-hoon eventually leaves to take care of personal issues, but Hyo-sun's jealousy of Eun-jo causes her to make Eun-jo believe that he has abandoned her. The three reunite 8 years later to begin the main plot - a modern adaptation of Cinderella with a twist. Han Jung-woo, a boy that Eun-jo considered her little brother 8 years ago, appears in order to be near her and fulfills the role of a "fairy godmother" to her. A love triangle forms when Hyo-sun falls for Ki-hoon, who is still in love with Eun-jo. The feeling of betrayal lasts with Eun-jo, creating misunderstandings and difficulties. However, the kindness of Eun-jo's stepfather (Gu Dae-sung, Hyo-sun's father) begins to change everyone's lives, making this a tale of growth and redemption.

Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella%27s_Sister

Review:

        Cinderella’s Sister’s plot follows a few basics of a classic Cinderella story. Evil stepmom and stepsister, daughter of dad who passes away early on, rich inheritance left to stepmom, who is plotting to have everything left to her own daughter (and young son).

        
        However, like the title says, this story is about the stepsister of Cinderella. The plot is much darker and heavier than most other Cinderella story. And Cinderella does not end up with the man. Not that you want her to. Sometimes you hate Eun-jo, the sister. Sometimes you feel very sympathetic and sorry for her. Sometimes you feel so bad for Hyo-seon (Cinderella) for how naive and oblivious she is, and how ill treated she is by her step family, yet here I was rooting for Eun-jo to end up with the man, Ki-hoon. The storyline itself wasn’t all that unique or extraordinary, so the main point of this drama is more about the character development and the interaction and conversations between the characters.

        It did get frustrating that Eun-jo was so cold and hateful to everyone around her, even her stepdad, who genuinely loved her. You could tell that sometimes she wanted to respond differently, but she is surrounded by this defensive wall that she could not break through, so ends up constantly pushing everyone away. The female lead, Moon Geun-young, did an amazing job with this drama. Every time she cried, her grief was so genuine that I cried along with her. The few times she smiled, I smiled. And the rare laugh made me laugh too. The role of Eun-jo could not have been an easy one, especially when compared to her usual happier characters in the movies Innocent Steps and My Little Bride. 

        Chun Jung-myung is Hong Ki-hoon, the kind-hearted and gentle college student living at the Gu Dae-sung Winery. Hyo-seon has a huge crush on him and is always claiming him as her man. Ki-hoon felt a strong bond with Eun-jo when they first meet because he saw his past self in her cynicism and bitter hatred. He changed and became the kind loving man he is because of Hyo-seon’s father, Dae-sung. He begins to warm Eun-jo’s cold heart slowly as he never gives up on her and takes care of her. When Eun-jo won an award in school, the only praise she wanted to hear was his. For most of the drama, you never see Eun-jo smile. Eventually, with the help of her family, Ki-hoon, and her childhood acquaintance Jung-woo, she begins to smile, laugh, and love.

        I was very impressed by the casting. I felt everyone fit their roles perfectly. The people you were supposed to hate really made you hate them, the characters meant to be loved really made you love them. The depth of their characters was believable. The character development was well written. Everyone grew up and became better people. They learned something about themselves and about life and about the people around them. They learned where their loyalties lie, what family is, how to love and be loved. And of course, the villains got what they deserved (my personal favorite type of ending). 

        Overall, the soundtrack isn’t uber amazing, but one or two songs stand out. My favorite is “It Has to be You” by Yesung of Super Junior (directly translated it the title says “If it’s not you, it can’t be”. It went so well with the drama, and the song itself is nice to listen to.

        I would love to watch this drama again (if only it wasn’t so long). I tend to enjoy every drama I watch, so my way of determining if it really stood out is if I would buy it or not. Even though it definitely was a heavier drama, certainly not a romantic comedy, Cinderella’s Sister is definitely on my to buy list!

매리는 외박중 (a.k.a. Mary Stayed Out All Night)

Mary Stayed Out All Night

(a.k.a. Marry Me, Mary!)

매리는 외박중

KBS

2010

Main Cast:

Moon Geun-young 문근영 as Wi Mae-ri 위매리

Jang Geun-suk 장근석 as Kang Mu-gyul 강무결 (Indie band lead vocal/guitar; Mae-ri’s boyfriend)

Kim Jae-wook 김재욱 as Byun Jung-in 변정인 (Music producer; Mae-ri’s fiancee/husband?)

Kim Hyo-jin 김효진 as Seo-Joon 서준 (Actress; Mu-gyul’s ex-girlfriend)

Park Joon-gyu 박준규 as Byun Jung-suk 변정석 (Jung-in’s father)

Park Sang Myun 박상면 as Wi Dae-han 위대한 (Mae-ri’s father)

Lee Ah-hyun 이아현 as Kam So-young 감소영 (Mu-gyul’s mother)

Synopsis:

        Mae-ri is a young woman with the energy of the sun. She looks like her late mother, but her hot temper comes straight from her deadbeat father. Her father always makes troubles as a failed businessman, but Mae-ri also loves him the most. Because Mae-ri can't afford to pay her college tuition fees, she temporarily stops attending school. Without having any special skills, Mae-ri starts to work odd jobs. One day, Mae-ri's father proposes that Mae-ri marry a man named Jung-in (with the agreement of Jung-in’s father to pay of his debts). When Mae-ri hears of her father's plan she devises her own plan. Mae-ri takes fake wedding pictures with her new friend Mu-gyul, whom she has just met over the last couple of days. She sends the pictures to her father's cellphone with the message that this is the man she loves and will marry. Unfortunately for Mae-ri, her deadbeat father has already registered a marriage certificate on her behalf with Jung-in! Jung-in then proposes that Mae-ri spend 100 days of marriage with both men and decide whom she wants to live with.

Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Stayed_Out_All_Night

Review:

        My first impressions of this drama (up to episode 4) are that the story is very captivating and I am dying to know how everything will turn out. The acting is very cute and comedic. There is a decent balance (although at rather odd moments) of serious romance versus comedy. I find myself saying one more before bed, just one more! When I finish it, I’d say “but just one more... I really will go to bed after I watch one more!” Moon Geun-young and Jang Geun-suk won (one of) the KBS 2010 Best Couple awards for this drama. They really do have great chemistry! I find myself wanting to see more screen time of the two of them together. When Mu-gyul starts to get attached to Mae-ri it is totally cute and sweet!!! I really want to see more of their relationship and their interactions and romance. Mu-gyul is a more complex character than he seems at first glance, being the child of a young mom. The two of them are more friends than mother and son. He grew up with no father, always staying at distant relative’s homes without his mom. He really wants what any child wants, a close relationship with his mom, and to live with her, like a real family. But his mom is very flaky and flighty, not at all dependable. It’s the typical story of disappointing family. No matter how many times she lets him down, he still welcomes her with open arms... It is rather heart-wrenching really... Mae-ri’s father, on the other hand, is hilarious! He is such a troublemaker yet he feels like he has the right to be telling Kang Mu-gyul what he should and shouldn’t be doing. 

After completing the drama...

        I agree with other opinions out there, the storyline did go in circles several times. It was excruciatingly frustrating to watch Mae-ri tell her dad and her “father-in-law” multiple times that she had no intentions of marrying Jung-in, to the point where I wanted to smack them upside their heads. And the arguments seemed a little redundant. You would think, after thinking your girl screwed you over 2 times, then finding out that there was a misunderstanding, that by the third or fourth times, maybe you should trust her instead of believing your eyes... But hey, it is a drama. And it does not help that they changed writers after episode 10. I have also heard that this drama felt a little slow in the middle, which I will not deny it since there were no significant events; rather, it was just something to enjoy watching: the bantering, the flirting, the near misses with Mae-ri’s father. I suppose you could call them filler episodes, but at the same time I still enjoyed them. It gave more screen time to Mae-ri and Mu-gyul, which I had no complaints about. Not just because he is enjoyable to look at (no denials here) but because their chemistry was very cute and well, happy. 

        As I mentioned earlier, the parents of all the characters were suffocatingly frustrating. All of them. One dad is a control freak, super strict, and intimidating, the other is trying to have authority without having any right to do so, plus he’s immature and extremely gullible. And the mother... well, she is the prime example of why teen moms have a bad rep: irresponsible, a total flirt, always spending and borrowing money, the list goes on. She does seem to genuinely love her son, no denying that, but she is too selfish to do anything about it. I almost wish she had just cleanly given him up for adoption. But, then again, there would be no story, now would there? As for the casting, I am more than content. Park Sang-myun is an actor I am vaguely familiar with, having seen him in King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu, as well as a few other dramas. His character in this drama is so different from that in Kim Tak Gu; I was pleasantly surprised by his acting. Same goes for Lee Ah-Hyun. I have watched her as the older sister in My Name is Kim Sam Soon and I enjoyed her character and her acting. As Kam So-young, she did a remarkable job! The naive flaky desperate behaviors were quite believable. I do not believe I am familiar with Park Joon-gyu, but my, was he an intimidating father! I would love to see him in an opposite role, someone happy and loving, but for real, not two-faced, like how he treated Mae-ri.

        The soundtrack is pretty good, I actually rather enjoyed it a lot. The songs fit the mood of the drama very well, I thought. Some of the song’s lyrics fit certain scenes so perfectly. The instrumentals and main theme song went very well with the light cheery mood. I will admit, the songs by Jang Geun-suk have got me addicted! I am listening to them as I write this review (my excuse is that it helps me remember the drama).

        This is the first drama I have watched with Jang Geun-suk, and I am hooked! I can not wait to watch You’re Beautiful! His singing is charming, but even more bewitching is watching him perform. Singing and playing guitar? Can’t beat it. I could have used a little more performance scenes, but that’s just me. But hey, that is what you call replay value, right? And I will admit, I rather enjoy his long hair. I know it's a rather feminine look, and I usually hate long hair on guys, but it grew on me. Looking at some of his other pictures, I would say the long hair fits him better than short.

        I’ve seen quite a few movies and dramas of Moon Geun-young’s, and I love her! She’s beautiful and adorable, and in Cinderella’s Sister, lonely and angry. I watched Cinderella’s Sister right before Mary Stayed Out All Night (actually, it’s the reason I started watching it), so I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by Moon Geun-young’s acting. She was absolutely incredible in her serious role as Cinderella’s stepsister, but as Mae-ri, she was more naive. A major part of it likely was the character profile, but still, sometimes there was something missing. And my perspective definitely has been affected by watching Cinderella’s Sister beforehand.

        Overall, I would watch certain scenes again, perhaps just for the bantering and flirting between Mae-ri and Mu-gyul, or just to watch Jang Geun-suk again. But as for the story line and all, there is not much incentive for me to watch it again, and I must say, by the 14th episode, some of those songs were starting to sound really overplayed.  I will admit I was disappointed because the first 5 episodes were quite fun and addictive, but after that, it went a little downhill, and I am pretty sure it is not because I was watching at 5 AM. But I would still recommend watching this drama, even if it’s only for Moon Geun-young and Jang Geun-suk, or to just to watch the sexy latter sing and play his guitar. 

        So, out of five stars, I would rate Mary Stayed Out All Night a three and a half star drama. Though Mary Stayed Out All Night definitely has it’s flaws and it’s storyline lagged after a few episodes, somehow I find myself wanting to watch it again. Something about the charisma and chemistry between all of the cast, especially the “Geun-Geun” couple! Or maybe it’s the music that really draws me in. For me, this ended up being a really addictive drama with a lower rating. What a contradiction, huh?

Thanks for reading!