The thread is open.
Former Title: Cinde-Fxxxing-Rella
10 episodes only. (Two episodes dropped today, Friday)
Starring: Pyo YeJin (“Moon in the Day”) and Lee Jun Young (“May I Help You” and that disaster “Impossible Heir”)
Where to Watch It: Viu???? (It’s not on Viki and Netflix) I watched it on an illegal site.
I don’t know if this romcom is worth your while but I needed something light and fluffy today and this did the trick. It took me a while to get used to the Omniscient Narrator over-explaining everything. But by the end of Episode 2, I just accepted the Unseen Narrator as part and parcel of the fairy tale nature of the show.
Try it. If you don’t like it, just drop it.
It’s not your typical Cinderella story. The stepmother and stepsisters aren’t wicked, and the female lead isn’t significantly mistreated. She’s more disappointed in her father’s irresponsibility than her step-family’s conduct. We’re shown straightaway that the she sees marriage as a way out of her dire straits….no illusions there.
The male lead is named Moon ChaMin; I thought his name sounds suspiciously like “Charming” as in “Prince Charming.” I don’t get the source of his family’s wealth, though. He’s supposedly an 8th generation chaebol but his sole business enterprise is running a rather tacky (in my personal opinion) wedding hall.
Spoiler: Just a little note about that scene in Episode 2, timestamp 34:00. The female lead Shin JaeRim is dying to go to the ladies’ room but there isn’t any nearby public restroom.
You should know that the background music played in the show is a well-known aria by Handel called “Lascia ch’io pianga.” It’s from the opera “Rinaldo.” In the aria, Rinaldo’s girlfriend, Almirena, has been captured and she laments her fate. “Lascia ch’io pianga” means “Let me weep.” She sings….
Let me weep
Let me weep
Over my cruel fate
And let me sigh for liberty.May sorrow shatter
These chains of my torments
For pity’s sake.(from Wikipedia with a couple of edits)
Given that I’m not Korean, I can only this scene from the drama through my American rose-colored spectacles. The music obviously spoofs the female lead’s extreme embarrassment and need for “privacy.” Shin JaeRim begs the hero to leave her side so she can deal with her urinary exigency on her own.
However, what makes the scene for me excruciating for me is the knowledge that this same aria was also used in the movie “Farinelli” (1994). Farinelli was a famous 18th century castrato (i.e., a singer whose testicles were removed before puberty to retain a soprano-like voice). And in the movie, he sang this aria with such heavenly voice that Handel supposedly fainted.
Thus, when Shin JaeRim was kneeling in the grass in great distress because of her overfull bladder, both her comical antics and the lacrimal song reminded me of the painful sacrifice a castrato had to go through for love of music.
Anyway, here’s the scene from the movie.
Even if you decide to skip or drop this drama, I hope you’ll still gain a bit of culture from it. 🙂
That’s all for me. Off to bed.
Enjoy the show!
Hi. I’ll take the culture. 🙂 When I hear this kind of music it always makes me remember Pretty Woman when Edward took Vivian to the Opera. 🙂
I will watch this drama. I am looking for a cdrama too but we will see what’s on offer.
Thank you!!!
Thanks @pkml3. Back to twilight zone over here… I see this post but I did not get your usual email that heralds it. Something witchy to WordPress comes.
I will try the Show for lack of better ideas. Despite the long list of shows that I’ve added to my ‘Plan to Watch’ pile, I still feel no inclination to plan to watch those shows. I’ll just watch a show without a plan!!
Thank you for the thread and clips, @packmule3. Let’s give it a try!
You hooked me with this neutral narrator.
We don’t get that often.
Actors say nothing to me and lead actress not my type, could be difficult for romance. But I’ll try episode one, out of curiosity.
I’ve watched 1.5 episodes and I’m in!!!
This is a great stress reliever of a show (especially as I clamber out of the feels after Signal) and much, much fun. I actually dig the OTT caricatures of prince/princess, the turning of boy/girl tropes on their heads, the weird/crazy/whimsical-ness of it all. I won’t be surprised if they do a full blast cabaret sometime, and it would be perfectly in keeping.
I loved that I could anticipate what was going to happen and when I couldn’t because there was so much that was bizarre and unexpected.
The father was such a wuzz it was hilarious, especially his taichi/fight poses?!? He has a lot to do with this fairytale … the fairy real-father.
Let’s see how it goes since here, life is a game of many rounds, and our characters are going to level up!
I can’t find this on even my ‘dodgy’ website, although the trailer is there. If anyone living in the UK or Europe can see it, what site are you using?
Ah damn it. I feel like I’m on the famous island.
I need a link to this island. I’m in the cynical area, or another dark area.
Grumpy, groaning, bitter, jaded. In an unhappy bear cave. 🐻
I don’t think I can’t watch past 13:00 of episode 1.
It’s loud and clownish.
At 7:50, we get an awful (comedy) scene full of little noises.
Tzing, ptooo, szwip! The sound effects I dislike the most in kdramas.
A sign of BAD comedy. 🚫 It’s a red flag! 🚩
Even when the guy just look somewhere… wwwiiizz.
How depressing…
But as a nice thing, I understand why there is a neutral narrator.
It’s about to tell a fairy tale, so, like in all fairy tales, someone tell it.
🙂
@Fern, what a pity if you cannot find a site or platform that carries this show. It’s not Shakespeare by the longest shot but it tickles my funny bone.
Episode 1 – The Newderella
Episode 2 – The Prince Charmin
LOL
We would love to try something fun, so we will give it a try. I’m glad they changed the title. I’m not a huge fan of curse words in titles. This is becoming a thing in books and it makes me cringe because bookstores are family spaces and I don’t love that language in front of children.
We just watched Doctor Slump and weren’t impressed. The story was good, but the need to make a show that was obviously only worth 10 or 12 episodes into 16 episodes made it a difficult slog. The length took the show from a solid A to a B minus. I also found all the drinking while on antidepressants alarming. Drinking is the last thing a depressed person should be doing. I did appreciate that the show makes it clear that recovery is slow and hard work.
@Late2Kdramas, this show is absolutely fun and very different, if one can get into the kiddy-dish literal storybook world, the broad humour, the deliberately ridiculous animation and sound effects. I’m in the right frame of mind for the nonsense and enjoyed it too much.
SPOILERS
SPOILERs
I loved how every female who batted her eyes at Cha Min turned into a stone. He himself (we will see) cannot be stony hearted, hence he has to turn the women into stones to keep clear of them.
Jae Rim, being different although wanting to be a Cinderella (ie a poor girl who marries a chaebol) immediately draws his attention to the point of obesssion. He’s too naive to even know he’s attracted to her!
Besides the OTT weirdness, what I like is the honest conversation, the fact that the chaebol is running a losing business (5 staff and no clients!!!) and that the mutual attraction takes place quickly, since we only have 10 episodes.
I felt it meant a lot that Cha Min allowed Jae Rim to hold his umbrella (his precious means of self-protection) while he princess-carried and ran her to the toilet. That was a sight to behold, and an indication of what lies beneath the surface of the narcissistic dandy that he is.
At the same time I admire the strength of the actor because it was no mean feat and I’m sure he had to do multiple takes!!!
@WEnchanteur, please could you let me know which website I might try to view this? It’s on TVN and Viu, but I can’t access those. Only trailers and shorts are on YouTube.
@Wenchanteur, I just found it on my usual default site. It’s just a day late.
@Growing Beautifully, the waterfalls! 😂🌊🌊🌊 The Chastity Belt! I think Cha Min is intrigued by Jae Rim because she doesn’t hide her goals from him. She’s fun and he is bored. If his motto is really Follow Your Joy, he will follow her as long as he continues to find her interesting.
Jae Rim prays at the interview not for mercy, but rather that Cha Min gets struck by lightening. In the face of this curse, Cha Min holds the umbrella up to her like a talisman. As she turns to go, Jae Rim loses the too big glass slipper again, but she picks it up and takes the other off too , never intending to see the strange CEO again.
The dehumanised stone women were a great relationship avoidance technique, as was the way he kissed his own bicep saying that loving himself was sufficient. Up until his ‘fiancee’ appeared, I would say that he is more interested in Jae Rim than she in him, except as a portal into the world of wealthy potential husbands. But her thoughts of him being a ‘bad boss’ because there was a woman with prior claims, makes it seem that he has become intriguing to her emotions as well.
I am thinking that with 10 episodes of about 40 minutes each, this will be done in no time – rather like 5 normal k-drama episodes’ worth of viewing.
I can’t find a viewing schedule. Both of the first 2 episodes dropped today (Saturday) on the site I’m watching, so did TVN air both on Friday or one on Friday and one today?
Hi @Fern, yes… I feel like we’ve zoomed through several episodes in these 2 initial ones.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
If the life of a romance is a game of rounds then I feel we’ve already reached Round 4:
1) Meet-cute and ‘hate’ each other
2) The Boy engineers more meetings with Girl
3) Enter contract relationship of some kind
4) Face source of conflict towards their relationship (enter the third wheel/love triangle). But because of how zany things might be, I’m expecting a twist of sorts here as well.
I love how I expect things to be over-the-top but then Show takes it a couple of steps beyond crazy… yes it’s freaking LOL.
The drinking of a whole bottle of whatever it was reminds me of how children just pile on the I can do that better than you. I’d suck in all the stuff in the park… the people too. No, I’d suck in everything in the air as well, even an airplane LOL.
Despite the way show is portrayed as freaking crazy, I do appreciate the scene transitions, the suitable music, and I was looking up blocking and staging … I feel some thought has gone into that as well. In other words, it feels like it’s been put together not crazily, but with some consideration for Viewers. Given that the plot is simple and probably thin, that makes it all the better.
I have to rush out and will be back late in the day. Will see if what I’m saying actually makes sense!
@Fern, that’s a good point!
She was softening towards him already and thinking to herself is he a good boss or a bad boss. She was leaning more towards good for all the trouble he took to get her to a restroom. And he waited for her instead of leaving.
Yes, loved how she took ownership of her own glass slippers and gave him nary an excuse to go look for her!
@Fern, I can give you a link by PM on MDL:
https://mydramalist.com/profile/7647047
But the website I use have also one day late episodes most of the time.
Then, there could be streaming sites like “dramacool” but I don’t use them and there are many copy of these sites, I don’t even know what is the good one.
I continue watching out of masochism.
As there could be something funny at one point?
Or for the screenplay ideas and transitions.
But now I suffer a new calamity:
Atrocious disney-like background musics gives me an ulcer. 😵
Finaly I got something funny motivating me to continue watching.
During the mariage: they see women changing into stones.
But it’s not what made me laugh.
In the background, we hear the priest say:
“They make a perfect couple, like cheese on pizza.” 😆
Watched the 2 episodes and stop being grumbly.
There are definitely good ideas here and there.
Like “the dark hole”, or the giant head in the sky (when there is lightning).
Howdy. I just finished the 2 episodes and yes, I’m in! It’s different because it is OTT but I like it. I think they’re a cute pairing too. 🙂
I liked the honesty between them while trying to sign her employment contract. The fact that he carried her, brought her to the toilet and didn’t leave her made me smile. Points for the Prince! Hahaha.
@WEnchanteur, there was also a meta-reference to Teletubbies with the FL’s face in a shimmering sun – rather than a baby’s face – to emphasise the feeling of being shown a tale.
For anyone who never saw or has forgotten the TT introduction:
Hi @agdr03! Fun isn’t this? Pure escapism and it seems to tell us to dare to dream big and super crazy. 🤪
@Fern thanks for reminding us of the Teletubbies. I did wonder why the face in the sun seemed familiar!
I’ll be reading the comments. You guys are hilarious 😂 @WE I’m very happy that this drama has captured your interest. I was missing your unique take on things post My Demon.
@WE I forgot to tell you that you’re terribly amusing when you’re grumbly. But I feel you should enjoy the show. What a dilemma! LOL.
@Fern, I forgot about the Teletubbies too! Good catch! I’ve lost memory of them, to think my boys did watched a little bit of it. hehehe
@GB, yes! This looks fun and nothing wrong with dreaming big yeah? 🙂 Even if it is over the top, we can still feel the romance that will bloom.
@Fern, the idea of the sun being a head isn’t new.
I even re-used that idea in my Alien Surgeon Episode 1.
I don’t remember all the artists painting a sun with a face.
But just in medieval time, it was on Arms:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_(heraldry)
Not all the gags work in this drama.
For example, scene by the Han River:
– The dark hole idea works and is funny. When the plane goes in. 😂
– But later, when she’s about to pee, there is a slow motion, like she’s desesperate, with a tragic music, and that gag was long, loud and painful. And also, absolutely not original, easy trash.
Next, the riverfall in the toilets was funny too. Thanks to the smash cut.
I like this humor out of the box. A bit closer to “Airplane” or other absurd comedy.
About the cliffhanger of episode 1:
I liked a lot this one. I was expecting, I was guessing it wouldn’t be a nice encounter. But the writer got me with the line “I’m pursuing you”, reversing my expectation. And then… Pursuing in Justice! I’m surprised this word work both for korean, english and french. In french “Poursuivre en justice”, Suing someone to court.
@GB, Airishi. Sometimes I wonder if I’m grumpy because of a bad drama, or because it’s just the wrong time of day and I feel like grumbling. 😤🤯😬
@WE, then next time when we notice you grumbling, 😠🤯😵💫😆 we will ask you if it’s the wrong time of day or you’re in a bad mood or if the Show is really bad. 😂🤔🤫