Romance Town has a very traditional plot for a story(or so I thought) and a very modern style in production and script. And because of that, im at a loss, I don’t know how to classify this drama. its not your straight-up romantic comedy which I thought it was. In fact, there are times when I thought some scenes and in most parts really, its like a combination of an American sit-com and soap opera. There was a point in the earlier episodes when I thought there’s a comedy/adventure somewhere when the lottery ticket came into the picture. And then it got me thinking… is it trying to be a mature drama with a profound plot like… “Money is the Root of All Evil”, specially so when halfway through it, I notice some semblance of traditional melodrama too. On the other hand, there’s this something called “dark humor” which i thought was the path its going. it did go that way... to a certain extent. What can one expect from a plot that includes, first prize lottery tickets and gangsters and loan sharks and trophy wives and rich men with 2 wives in the same house… of course there will be thieves and opportunists and rich greedy men, and, women that will stop at nothing all in the name of M O N E Y. I guess it should be classified as all-of-the-above… aaah, its just a pity that the love story angle was overwhelmed by the same “all-of-the-above”. If there’s a flaw in this particular drama, it’s the fact that there’s too much going on that the essence of what I thought was its main thrust was drowned… somewhere. There are too many characters, each one as important as the next and as unique as the next. I got attached not on the lovestory part but on the adventure of each of these people.
Actress Sung Yu Ri who plays No Soon Geum(NSG), is the main character in this drama. she’s a third generation maid(dont ask me why but they are referred to as ahjumma in the translations. an Ahjumma as far as i know means an older married woman in korean). Im not a great fan of her character even if there is a feisty side in her which I always favor in my heroines. WHY? Because there is also this side of her that cries once too often for my taste. To me crying is reserved only for those very special occations ^^
Actor Jung Gyu Woon who plays Kang Gun Woo(KGW), is the son of the household where NSG is the maid. He is of course the love interest of our heroine. He was the overweight guy in the 1st episode(thank goodness I only have to bear the fat suit for 1 episode!). he is generally a good guy and yet im not too impressed with him for he oftentimes exudes a "placid wimp" aura to me ^^ mianhe to those who like him *Orz* ^^
the more outstanding characters for me are the following:
Kim Min Joon as Kim Young Hee, he was some sorta rich playboy in the earlier episodes but for some reason, the writer forgot that and I couldn’t see a trace of that side of him soon after. I like him ‘coz he’s the master that comfortably hangs out with the maids and its not even a put-on. He never demanded or plotted to get back his grandfather’s painting inspite the fact that he was in a very dire situation. and most of all, he never once took advantage of his young maid's affection for him.
Lee Jae Yong as Kang Tae Won, Gun Woo’s father. He’s a total snob, honest and tactless to the core. but his honesty is confined only to his dismay and disgust at the thought of his son getting on with their maid. In-character until the very end.
Yang Jung Ah as Seo Yoon Joo, the trophy wife, who seems proud and unapologetic of that infamous tag.
Jo Sung Ha as Hwang Yong, the richest guy in the neighborhood with a dark past, he is the gangster/loanshark. Despite that description, he is compassionate and fair.
Park Ji Young as Oh Hyun Joo, one of the maids, the pretty/older one that seems more interested in finding love than money.
Lee Kyung Shil as Uhm Soo Jung, one of the maids, the not-too-pretty/older one that forgot all her good values when faced with 10 billion won. How can I forget her wailing in church in the most pathetic/funny manner, berating God for favoring the prettier Hyun Joo over her ^^
I wrote earlier that im at a loss how to classify this drama, welllllll, not only can I not classify this drama, I also cannot write a structured drama review of this ! just when I thought I had it figured out, it turns out to be something else. How can I write about it when time and again, in the course of my viewing, I always find myself making wrong predictions as to what’s gonna happen next. Honestly speaking, I have a very good batting average when it comes to those things, im even surprised at myself ‘coz I can usually tell where a story is going. After seeing the entire 20episodes, I can only conclude that indeed, the intention of the writer/s was to focus mainly on the plight of the maids(hence, its original title), at least that was the intention BUT im afraid when the lottery ticket entered the picture, everything else was overshadowed by it. it was like the writers was stucked with that part of the storyline that took a life of its own getting itself into all sorts of scrapes, predicaments, and adventures that created quite a chaos in the exclusive community called 1st Street. Truth be told, I watched the last 5 episodes in one sitting precisely because I wanted to know what will happen to the money and the characters in the drama. I wasn’t that interested at what happened to the main love team of this drama, that was kinda predictable that they’ll end up together anyway, in fact, the pair that was more interesting to me was the love between the pretty ahjumma Hyun Joo and the gangster ahjussi. My only complaint there is that I never saw it coming, I mean the interest of the maid in the gangster boss, its just that one day and with a little prodding from the oldest of the maids, she just suddenly likes him, hmmm… I’ll let that issue rest ‘coz it was pretty clear on the opposite side of the fence anyway, and I mean the gangster’s interest in the maid after carrying a torch for the trophy wife. i guess she won him over when she saved his butt and hid his "black book". aaahhh, im happy for them… WAAAAAAAA, I’ve gone bonkers ^^ that im actually happy for people who are not real! ^^ please excuse my mental tendencies, they do go away after awhile, honestly! HAAAAAA ^^
And since this is a “scattered” drama review written by a scatterbrained reviewer, ^^ before I end this “review” , please allow me to take note and share my random thoughts on this drama:
NSG's odd relationship with somebody that she described as a loanshark/gangster/triad boss is peculiar yet verrry interesting to me indeed. They became each other’s confidant because of secrets they vowed to keep
All the maids were tested by some divine entity, ok God, and only NSG and Hyun Joo were able to resist the lure and temptation of man’s greed for money. although at some point, they too were “slightly” tempted and gave in to a tinge of selfishness but in the end, their good side won which cannot be said of the other 3 maids, who sadly, put on display just how badly money can corrupt people.
*broken record alert* Doesn’t it just drive me mad when these drama directors and writers would assume that we have brains the size of a pea? How in the world can KGW not recognize their own maid(and I mean not even a tinie winie bit of a clue, as in nada) whom he has exchanged many long conversations with because of a mere addition of an eyeliner and a pulled back hairstyle ??? WeH ? same voice, same height, same bone structure... cincha !!! doesn’t it piss us off when somebody assume that were dumb. Welll, I may not be brilliant but dumb im certainly not! and please NSG ajhumma, stop apologizing to KGW every 5 minutes, is it your fault that he’s blind and dumb that he didn’t even recognize you after a few strokes of an eyeliner and a hair extension?
I dunno about you but I have a thing about men in uber trendy clothes.. hate ‘em! KGW and that scarf that he loves to wear around his neck in the early episodes is too gay for me and the high waisted pleated pants doesn’t work for me too. Man, the 80’s style belongs to the 80’s, let it remain there, okie?
As a final thought… why in the world is this drama entitled Romance Town??? I know its original title was Maids, which admittedly is a bit of a no-brainer but at least it makes some sense compared to the title it ended up with. There is romance here but its not all about romance. This drama is about social class and money, and the star of the show is actually, the Lottery Ticket! As it is, I got lost thinking it was a lovestory between the master and the “slave”, haaay, before I knew it, I was already hooked and couldn’t get out ‘coz I wanted to know how all the characters will end up. Thankfully, it was an ok ending. There’s enough retribution to those who deserve it and to those who have endured, they were appropriately rewarded^^
