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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Lucky Romance" Episode 3

Goo-sin (played by Kim Jong-goo) is the shaman upon whom Bonnie is relying on for superstitious advice, which she really does need. Having spent almost all of her screen time finding increasingly complicated ways to avoid the plot, Bonnie complains to Goo-sin about the impossibility of the tiger hunt. Goo-sin is incredulous that Bonnie still hasn't figured out what to do yet since she runs into Soo-ho like, every other scene, so he ends up giving her another arbitrary instruction that will hopefully point her in the right direction.

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I can't decide whether Bonnie's general incompetence is adorable or annoying. The entire opening scene, where Bonnie desperately tries to get out of a crisis she created unnecessarily by acting weird, is a perfect example of this. Is Soo-ho's more straightforward approach necessarily the right one? No, but it's infinitely better than acting loud and panicky, especially since by her own admission Bonnie doesn't really have a better idea. The whole situation resolves through dumb luck alone.

And backstory. We get a good look at Geon-wook- not just an attractive athlete, but also a fairly sensitive one. It's a shame Geon-wook is so likable. Most second leads can at least get the heroine to pay attention to them, yet Geon-wook has to rely on weird trickery when that much isn't even an actual part of his personality. At least the cherry blossoms were nice. I'm curious what ends up happening with Geon-wook and his dad.

Soo-ho and his dad, on the other hand...on one end, the whole "working class dad doesn't understand his genius son" trope feels overdone. But it's been awhile since I've actually seen this storytelling device in action, particularly in Korean dramas. In any case, the presentation is unfortunately not all that interesting. I find myself wondering mostly just how they managed to get out to that rock in the middle of nowhere without getting wet.

On a similar note, take Bonnie's sister Bo-ra (played by Kim Ji-min). From what we see of the accident, the driver was indisputably at fault. Bo-ra was on a crosswalk, easily visible with a bright red umbrella while the driver was speeding from at least a hundred meters away. So why is Bonnie on the hook for medical expenses? Technical issues like this are minor, but they often tend to be harbingers. A writer who can't even get the small stuff right is that much more likely to screw up the big picture. While I don't hate "Lucky Romance" just yet, I remain skeptical.

Review by William Schwartz

"Lucky Romance" is directed by Kim Kyeong-hee-II, written by Choi Yoon-gyo and features Hwang Jung-eum, Ryu Jun-yeol, Lee Chung-ah and Lee Soo-hyuk.

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