The story has potential, but the ONE thing that’s dragging it right now is… drumroll please….
lol. Even the drumroll monkey is rolling his eyes because there’s really no surprise here.
.
.
.
.
.
is Suzy.
This has to be said. Suzy is the weakest link in this drama. The story is good; the directing is okay. All the other actors did their jobs well. The male lead and the second male lead delivered what they had to do. Handsome teen actor, Nam Dareum, was compelling to watch, as usual.
The best performance so far came from the Dad and the young girl who played Suzy’s younger self. This father-and-daughter duo hit it out of the ballpark.
BTW, this actor is everywhere nowadays. He was in “Psycho But It’s Okay.” and now he’s the second male lead in “Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.” Good for him.
But Suzy? I don’t get why director insists on making her look stupid.
I’ll limit myself to four scenes where Suzy could have acted better.
1. Her character Dalmi realized that she dug herself a hole. The director must have told Suzy how to demonstrate her exasperation with herself; she didn’t come up with these ideas.
First, she banged her head on the post.
She also assaged her head — like she was in a shampoo commercial.
And she laughed like a lunatic.
Stop!
Showing aegyo has always been Suzy’s default acting style whenever big emotions are required. But these aegyo moments can’t forever replace good solid acting. She needs to begin communicating real feelings without resorting to these exaggerated cuteness for laughs.
2. Next, her character Dalmi saw a mob of customers waiting to be served.
I’m assuming that the director told Suzy to act undaunted and fearless. So, what did she do?
She put her hair up.
But of course!
Her pony-tailed hair signals of her transformation into Xena the Warrior. Heaven forbid that she should show grit and determination with her other body parts.
3. Then, her character Dalmi found her long-lost penpal. Look: I’m not blaming Suzy for how she dramatized her joy: She jumped up in the air. Without a doubt, the director made her do it.
Lawd! Was this director going for the Snoopy effect?
See what I mean when I said that Suzy uses aegyo as default for good acting?
4. Final example, her character Dalmi went to a networking event.
I get it that she was feeling insecure and out-of-her-league. But for some reason, the director thought that the best way to show the character’s lack of confidence was to have Suzy spit out cocktail.
Was that to show how funny Suzy was?
I’m sorry but I’ve seen funnier spitting llamas.
My point is this: cuteness can only take Suzy so far. I expect to see growth in her acting skills in this kdrama.
You are right. I just don’t get Suzy’s acting. The first and last kdrama that I watched her was in Uncontrollably fond (or something of the like.). But I liked the synopses I read about Startup, so I was going to give it a try, but will sit on the sidelines.
Thanks for the post.
Haha, Kim Joo-Hun is everywhere. I really like him and his roles. He is especially compelling in scene’s where he is giving out sage life advice. His agency is doing great work to get him cast for Netflix products.
On a side note, he looks better with facial hair. I think he looks weird w/o in IOTNBO and Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.
Lol @packmule3 Seems my apprehensions about this drama are turning out to be justified😛 That post definitely doesn’t look like a recommendation😃
I am already invested in the investor guy, so I will keep watching. Looks like the snobby sister is primed for character development, and I am on board with that. Plus, Nam Jook Hyuk is cute (but not cuter than LJW), grandma is awesome, so I will tolerate Suzy for the time being.
I don’t think Suzy is bad, I mean she doesn’t bother so much like Jin Se Yeon, it’s just she’s the same in every role. I don’t see the differences between Vagabond, While You were Sleeping or this role. She’s always acting the same…
I’m not a big fan of Nam Joo Hyuk. His natural shyness is showing in his acting.
Kim Sun Ho is great and I love his relationship with Granda 😀
Sigh…when the performances of the younger self of the leads are let down by the real leads. 🙄. I agree @packmule3 I really like that young lead Nam DaReum (who was Jung HaeIn’s younger self in A Piece of Your Mind) – he’s one to watch – there’s an intensity about him that I like. Similarly for the girl (who played the younger version of HongShim in 100DMP). Suzy distracts me when she acts. I just find it extremely difficult to take her seriously. Nam JooHyuk…I find his acting spotty. His eyes just don’t give me the full story? They just seem to lack a certain expressiveness? He was good in Radiant (Light In Your Eyes) but that was because his character was supposed to be lifeless and lacking the will to live so his eyes matched the character? 😂. Maybe @Sayaris is right and it’s his bashfulness that holds him back hence his inability to fully invest in a character (or maybe it’s his lack of understanding of the character that’s at play?).
@parkmule3 I agree with everything you said about Suzy… she’s lacking 🙄 I really hope it’s not like Vagabond coz I was disappointed with that drama.
I don’t have time to watch dramas these days, but this one is definitely on my top list!
One of my favorite screenwriter, with a very good director.
Suzy was in this writer’s previous drama, and she was a decent actress, if you let her do aegyo regularly.
Otherwise, I don’t trust her too much.
She is one of the actresses I feel are very limited.
Cute but without depth, like many young actresses, beautiful and smooth, sometimes coming from kpop.
I still prefer to see her than many other ones.
Lol I tweeted something along the lines of your article over the weekend. Bae Suzy is the Scarlett Johansson of Kdramas, she’s everywhere and you wonder what the casting director was thinking.
She’s definitely the weakest of the cast line-up but I’m here for JP and the story so hopefully everything and everyone else makes up for it.
Hey Ladies,
I have seen people in a greek kdrama forum I am participating, talking about these Series. Is that so good? Should I watch it?
I have finished The Bride of Habaek / The Bride of Water God this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. On the forum everyone says that Nam Joo-hyuk is really good in Start up.
So, what should I do?
@Cleopatra, Looking at the the number of analysis @packmule3 is writing, it is really good so far, the script and storyline has quite good depth. Of course there are the fan wars going on but beyond that the two male leads are very captivating. NJH’s character in Start-up is so different from Bride of Habaek which I loved too, and his acting here, i feel is stellar. From geekiness to comical to despair and joy. Yes go watch! 😀
@Grace,
Thank you for your answer. I am not reading the other blog posts because I don’t want to get spoilers! I have seen the blog posts @packmule3 is writing but I was watching Goblin and then I started watching Tale of the Nine Tailed!
Since I am a k-drama newbies, I am watching mostly series that have concluded.
Tale of the Nine Tailed is an exception to the rule! I am trying to see if it is going to work for me!