Smile, You

It’s been such a long time since I last blogged and I actually have a gazillion things to talk about but I think twitter and facebook are making me lazy. I post pockets of information on these sites and this blog gets dusty. But today is special because I just finished watching Smile, You. I’d told myself to dedicate a post to Smile, You because it’s such great drama, so yep here I am.

Watching Smile, You was really accidental. Accidental in that I didn’t set out searching for this drama because of some hot actor or pretty actress whom I wanted to follow. (It’s different in the case of Lee Dong Wook though…I’d purposely search for dramas that he’s acted in, hehe…) Was just browsing through the Net and chanced upon Smile, You. Read the synopsis and thought: hmm perhaps it’ll be a nice family drama to watch over the weekend. I checked out the trailer. Exciting stuff but I never thought it would turn out the way it did.

Watching that trailer alone would never tell you how much of a heartwarming drama it would be. It would never tell you how cute the leading couple is. And it would never tell you of the effort that the scriptwriter(s) put in to explore all the characters in the family and give everyone adequate screen time such that we understand the feelings of the character. A lot of short drama series don’t do this bit very well, because all the screen time is given to the leading couple and everybody else is well, just the supporting character. Well, you may say that Smile, You had the luxury to do this because the whole series was 45-episode long. But hey, if that’s what it takes to be comprehensive in the exploration of the drama characters, then I say, yes do it. I’d rather watch a few good dramas than a whole lot of half-baked romantic comedies.

Apart from the scriptwriter(s), you really have to hand it to the actors/actresses for bringing every bit of the script to life. They are so good at what they do that sometimes, you forget they are just acting. The chemistry between Jung Kyung Ho and Lee Min Jung is explosive. Btw, when I saw Lee Min Jung in Boys Over Flowers, I didn’t expect her to get a leading role of this sort. The transition from haughty princess to humble girl who cares about her family more than herself was really superb and with that, Lee Min Jung convinced me that she’s not just another pretty girl.

Moving on to Jung Kyung Ho, woah what can I say man. This actor was virtually unknown to me before this drama came along. In the opening episodes, you wouldn’t actually think that he’s an actor you’d fall in love with. The spotlight was on Lee Min Jung, with all the focus on her character’s family going bankrupt and their need to find a roof over their heads. But wow, as the drama goes on, you find yourself falling in love with Jung Kyung Ho’s cute facial expressions and mannerisms. Then when you start thinking that maybe this actor is just capable of acting cute, he shows you another bag of tricks. He shows you the serious side of him. He shows you that he has more substance than his thin frame may suggest. Ok that expression is a little awkward but haha I wish he had a little bit more flesh…

Hmm, actually I shouldn’t be singling out Lee Min Jung and Jung Kyung Ho because all the supporting characters did well too. Jung In’s (Lee Min Jung) father was epic because he’s practically incorrigible…that was until his whole family ended up staying with his late dad’s former driver’s family. But even as he started repenting, he was struggling to make the right decisions for himself and his family…and the way he struggled just left me in stitches. The grandfather was awesome too. His interactions with his family are so touching and now and then, he reminds me of my late grandfather. Strict disciplinarian but caring and actually very generous. I wish I can dwell further on all the characters but the eyes are kinda giving way right now.

So, before I go to bed, I shall just highlight one scene which left me in tears. I’ve seen so many Korean dramas, but Smile, You is the first to have a proposal scene of this kind. A proposal is usually a private affair involving just the courting couple and even if the guy (or girl) makes a public proposal, the people around them would just be bystanders. They would clap or ask the couple to kiss or something like that. But in Smile, You, the guys in the Kang family took turns to propose to Jung In. Before anyone starts having weird ideas about this, I must clarify that Hyun Soo (Jung Kyung Ho’s character) was of course the only one who’s marrying Jung In. He brought his whole family with him i.e. parents and grandpa. He steps up and proposes to Jung In. You would think that’s all. Everybody’s happy and yay the proposal scene is over. But no…Hyun Soo’s dad suddenly steps up and also kneels before Jung In and says: “Would you be my daughter-in-law?”. By then, I was pretty shocked. But just then, the grandpa also steps up and says: “Would you be my granddaughter-in-law?” That scene touched me so much…I could feel the happiness and sincerity of all the 3 generations of man in that family. I couldn’t stop crying even though it’s a happy scene. And because of that scene, I have this little wish of having such a privilege too. To know that you are blessed by all in the family must be such an indescribable feeling. But well, there’s still a long way to go.

I’d just like to end off with a fan video I found on Youtube, featuring my favourite song from Smile, You. Enjoy!

Tags: actors, dramas, family, KDramas, life, personal