I’ve decided to start a new feature here at Project Kathryn. Drama Sunday. Not that I’m going to go out and major life dramas on a Sunday and write about them because that would be all too tiresome; nope, I’m going to make use of the time I spend watching Asian dramas and write up reviews.
Yep, that’s the kind of giving person I am – watching Asian drama so you don’t have to. Of course, if you want then feel free.
First up, Mary Stayed Out All Night (also known, for some weird reason, as Marry Me, Mary). This is the first one on the list because I just finished watching it.
The plot is about a naive and very cute Korean girl who lives with her deadbeat dad. Dad is on the run because he owes money to the Korean mob and Mary has had to drop out of uni because they have no money. She spends all her time watching dramas and working her part time job.
One night, her friends call her up and she decides to drive their drunken arses all over town to make some cash. She is driving around the edgy, rock part of Seoul when, omg, she hits someone with her car.
That person is indeed the shiny haired prince (so named because he played a shiny haired prince in another drama). She is dazzled by the shininess of his hair. But then she freaks on account of car crash swindlers are rife in Korea and she thinks he did it to scam her out of money.
She follows him to a club where his band perform and then stalks him to try to get to him to sign a disclaimer. They get drunk and he follows her home. At this point, any normal woman would be jumping his bones for sure but Mary is too sweet and naive for that. Also, she thinks he’s a loser and tries to kick him out. Even though, when he was drunk he tried to give her a cabbage.
Meanwhile, her dad has been on the run and happens to run into his old friend who has been living in Japan and is now super rich. Mary’s deadbeat dad and creepy dad decide their kids should marry.
In order to avoid being sold into marriage slavery by her deadbeat dad, Mary fakes getting married to shiny hair. As you would. I mean he’s hella cute.
But, OMGZOINKS, at the same time, Mary’s dad marries her off to Waffles (the rich guy – called Waffles because he played a guy that made waffles in another drama). Now I have no idea of the laws in Korea but this is a bit far reached to me. Maybe it happens. Maybe Korea is full of girls who are in marriages orchestrated by their scheming dad’s who forge their signatures.
So what’s in this for Waffles – he wants to make dramas but his creepy, rich dad will only give him the cash if marries Mary, for – OMG – creepy dad has a creepy thing for Mary’s dead mother.
Waffles agrees on one condition – the arrangement is for 100 days and, at the end, Mary gets to decide which one she loves – the bad boy, free spirited shiny haired rocker (who’s music really isn’t that rock to be honest) who has a weird thing for his mother or the perfect, rich, cheekbones who has a weird thing for his father.
The result is much hijinx and wackiness, as you’d expect. The unspoken subtext is that Waffles and Shiny Hair totally fall in big, gay love and have eye sex throughout the entire drama. And that isn’t a bad thing.
It’s not a bad drama. There are some really, really annoying plot holes. Also, around episode 10, the writer changes and I think the new writer only got a brief overview of what had gone. Like new writer thinks – wow, this would be a great plot twist and it’s like ‘yeah and it was – in episode 3’!!!
Oh and Waffles is making a drama which ends up involving Shiny Hair and Mary but the whole time, they never film the drama, they never do anything except photo shoots and the soundtrack. Go do some acting and stuff, people.
I get a bit frustrated with Asian dramas, especially Korean drama because the characters don’t just tell their annoying parents to STFU. It would save so much angst and annoyance. But then again, I’m not Korean and I’ve not been raised to be all respectful to my parents so I’m not sure if this is a bad plot device or just a cultural difference.
Also – a warning. The music of Jang Geun Suk is not great but it’s insanely catchy and will be stuck in your head the whole time you watch it. Erk, random Korean songs.
Oh and second warning, you might at some point in watching this drama, end up crawling Little Korea Town for photos and other merchandise of the adorably cute JGS.
Sunday Drama rating – 3/5.
