Shout-out to Cure or fire, who was the one who let me know that Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si were reuniting for this tiny little mini drama. Before that, I’d had no idea that Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si were reuniting for anything at all, so this was a welcome bonus.
Sure, fans of Youth Of May who were waiting for this reunion with bated breath, are now crying foul, because instead of a drama special of some sort, of an hour or more, it’s turned out to be an itty-bitty 6-minute beer commercial. Ha. I can see why that would feel deflating. 😝
Honestly, though, I kinda love it, for what it is. 😁
Psst! Link to watch is at the end of the post!
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Jeon Sang Tae (Lee Do Hyun) is a young man who isn’t interested in being with anyone, but he obliges a friend’s request to fill in for him on a blind date, and meets Kim Hwa Ni (Go Min Si).
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS
I think there’s really only one thing to keep in mind, while watching this, and that is, this is a beer CF, and not a proper drama special. It’s really short, and as a result, doesn’t have a lot of screen time to play with.
BUT, I think it manages to do a really nice job with the screen time that it does have, teasing out a fun little story, and with many nods to Youth Of May, to boot. I think Youth Of May fans ought to be quite tickled by this one.
OVERALL THOUGHTS [SPOILERS]
Immediately, I get flashbacks to Youth Of May, for how Lee Do Hyun’s character meets Go Min Si’s character at a blind date that he doesn’t really want to be at, and falls in love – after having spotted her from a distance, before the blind date, no less. Tee hee. That’s basically exactly what happens in Youth Of May!
Not only that, Go Min Si’s character orders beer, just like her character did, in Youth Of May, and Lee Do Hyun’s character blithely matches her enjoyment of the beer. HA. I love it. 😆
This little show keeps doing things like that, throughout its run, and even echoes some of the lines from Youth Of May. Also, it doesn’t escape my notice, that the character names echo somewhat, the character names from Youth Of May. It’s all quite cheeky that way, and I lapped it all up, with a delighted grin on my face.
The entire comic tone also feels like a refreshing change, from the last time we saw these two share the screen, where things were a lot more angsty.
This little story feels like a cheeky riff off of a lot of Youth Of May, and yet, at the same time, it also feels like some kind of soothing balm, in a way. I mean, at least in this drama world, our leads eventually manage to be together, whereas in Youth Of May, they had a much more bittersweet ending.
All in all, an extremely worthwhile spend of 6 minutes, I say! 🤩
THE FINAL VERDICT:
A fun little trifle, for what it is – particularly for fans of Youth Of May.
FINAL GRADE: B+
What a great couple on screen. Go Min-si is so magnetic. The happy ending we deserved!
Watching it without English subtitles, I was under the impression that it was an ad for hangover cures. Go Min Si, whose feature in YOM was her internal strength gave it up in this one to Lee Do Hyun, especially his talent for facial elasticity. She plays straight man to his comedic talent, but her screen presence is so wonderful that one has, despite Lee Do Hyun’s virtuoso lead, a harder time taking one’s eyes off her when the two are with one another. Thanks, as someone who would have said Youth of May was THE best show of 21, not understanding a single word, I got a kick out of this.
Oh! BE, there are English subs, just click cc at the bottom right corner for the English subs!! Sorry, I should have mentioned that in my post! 🙈 My bad!
No problem. I still would not have had any idea that it was a beer commercial rather than a hangover remedy. LOL. This is such a South Korean advertisement. In the US, one would certainly have a celebrity advising the gentleman to drink some water while downing those beers.
The fact that a beer-company decided to hire these two, says a lot about the first-impression the couple made on their blind-date in Youth of May, not just on us drama-viewers! ^^
I like that beer-companies are watching slightly under-rated dramas with good-scripts! 😍
Heh, it was a nice touch that LDH’s character is the substitute this time? Payback, I guess?💖
@CarpControl That’s true!! Whoever thought of this, was obviously watching (& loving!) Youth of May! Also, YES, that’s great spotting, that this time, it’s Lee Do Hyun who’s the substitute. It’s only fair? 😁
I have obviously watched this, and it’s fun and all, but I am somehow lost as to why anyone would think this is a good commercial – I mean, this poor guy sort of ruins his date, because of getting drunk, like 20 times!
But..
Ha ha yes, if you look at it like that… A beer with this kind of qualities, I would certainly buy!