KDrama Review: You're Beautiful

 Picture credit: dramacrazy.net

The Gist: Go Mi Nyu (Park Shin Hye) is all set to become a nun, when her twin brother’s agent comes to pluck her out of her convent. Her brother, just before signing on to be a vocalist with the hot band A.N.JELL, has to be rushed to America to fix some bad plastic surgery. Knowing this is a once in a lifetime offer, his manager is desperate to keep the contract on track and wants Mi Nyu to stand in his place. Not wanting to ruin his dream, Mi Nyu agrees, which then sticks her living in a house with three new band mates: the moody lead singer Hwang Tae Kyung (Jang Keun Suk), the friendly and supportive Kang Shin Woo (Jung Yong Hwa), and silly and playful Jeremy (Lee Hongki). As their bond gets closer, Mi Nyu’s secret can’t stay hidden forever, but she doesn’t want to have to leave the band and the ever sulking Tae Kyung before she has to.

Love:

1.The Talent

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As is such with music centered dramas, the better the talent, the better the show. I’m super impressed with Shin Hye’s voice and was just as impressed as Tae Kyung when she busted out Amazing Grace in the pilot. Of course, there’s no shortage of idols these days, but Keun Suk and Yong Hwa are both particularly striking to watch. Of course, having watched heartstrings, gives me even greater insight to Yong Hwa’s musical ability. Still, it’s not hard to believe that A.N.JELL is as big as the show claims, when the cast is so stacked.

2.The Love Square 

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Alright, it’s more like a pentagon if you add in Uee’s Yoo He Yi, snarky female singer. Complicated love plots can be overbearing, but YB handles Mi Nyu’s relationship with each of the band members gracefully. Even at various stages of knowing her actual identity, all three of them are drawn to her, making for some very uncomfortable moments (especially for Jeremy, poor Jeremy!). I feel that the band becoming rivals really pushes Tae Kyung into his best moments, where he finally stops being so stiff for a few minutes and actually shows some affection towards Mi Nyu.

3. Park Shin Hye

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Mi Nyu is a loaded part to play, as nun turned boy band, but Shin Hye does it with such charm that it’s totally impossible not to love her. Even as she’s trying to play a boy, she still ends up being incredibly adorable. There’s this sequence when someone tells her to push up her nose when she thinks about the guy she loves (I can’t remember what this was supposed to do, restrain her feelings?), but when she does it, it is hilarious and endearing – plus, it totally pisses off Tae Kyung. The reverse gender thing can go south super quickly, but Shin Hye is a perfect fit for this bizarre role.

Meh:

1.Yoo He Yi

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He Yi ends up being Mi Nyu’s rival for Tae Kyung’s affection when they inadvertently become South Korea’s power couple. He Yi is one of those characters I feel conflicted about (and there’s always one). While her moves on Tae Kyung puts some important pressure on Mi Nyu and also functions as a threat to expose Mi Nyu, He Yi is just unlikable. The annoying pop princess has her redeeming moments, but they are few and far between, so that by the end of the series, I really just didn’t know how to feel about her. Of course, every show needs an antagonist, but He Yi feels like a mild antagonist, so I don’t even really appreciate her in that aspect.  

Hate:

1.Go Mi Nam 

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One of the most ridiculous things about this show is that they didn’t actually cast a male actor for Go Mi Nam, Mi Nyu’s twin brother. Shin Hye is great as Mi Nyu, but the way they weirdly CGI her head onto some guy just ends up being way fake and awkward. Though they wouldn’t have looked so alike, I think the smarter path would have been to cast an actual guy and just get as close as possible. Luckily, we don’t see Go Mi Nam that much, so the damage is minimal.

So:

So… even though I wouldn’t put You’re Beautiful in my top 5, it’s been sitting snugly as most popular on dramacrazy’s most watched list for years. The romance is great, but not totally unpredictable and doesn’t really wrap up until the last episode. Still, as far as shows about a gender swap goes, I’d say that You’re Beautiful is by far the best one I’ve seen. The members of A.N.JELL are cute and well developed and Mi Nyu is absolutely loveable.

Final Grade: A-