Post by yeohlee06 on Aug 11, 2004 20:43:21 GMT -5
Yang-soon (Jang Nara) is a simple girl living in the countryside with her
grandmother. She dreams of saving a prince from harm with her martial arts,
and living happily with him ever after. Han Gi-tae (Jang Hyuk) is the
president of a successful makeup company. He's the classic silver sthingy case:
spoiled, arrogant, taking everything for granted. His world changes when he
accidentally falls in Yang-soon's bathtub (I'm not kidding you). It won't be
her first meeting with Gi-tae, because she's forced to move to Seoul to work
as a maid. Guess who will be her new boss?
Yang-soon's first contact with city life doesn't begin well. She's bullied at
school, and doesn't connect with Na-hee (Han Eun-jung), Gi-tae's girlfriend.
Thankfully, she also makes new friends. Seok-gu (Yoon Tae-young) seems
attracted to her, and his sister Bo-bae (Chu Ja-hyun) actually becomes her
best friend. But, even more surprising, Gi-tae seems to slowly warm up to her.
When his career completely changes thanks to rival Joon-tae (Ryu Soo-young)
and his father's behind the scenes intrigues, his outlook on life and
Yang-soon's personality evolves. She's now the one who's actively trying to
help him start his life from scratch, and make a better future for himself.
Yes, it all sounds terribly predictable, but don't worry. Bright Girl smartly
takes its paper-thin plot and develops it around the characters, instead of
shameless manipulation and/or ultra-convoluted plot developments. This might
just be the funniest drama I've seen all year, because it never takes itself
seriously. This positively affects the more dramatic portions of the series,
so that they become actually touching. Also, while the characters are broad
caricatures and follow the dichotomy of the genre, they're treated with such a
lighthearted approach that it's hard to not be charmed by Jang Nara and
company.
Displaying a quite impressive Chungcheong-do accent (at least from a
non-native speaker's p.o.v.), she makes Yang-soon emerge from the walking
cliche she seems at the beginning. Her stubborn insistence on only calling
Gi-tae 'ajusshi' instead of 'oppa,' up till the end. Her devotion to her
parents (no matter how often they get in trouble), and her manners perfectly
convey her country girl upbringing, never mocking it (think of it as an
affectionate tribute). Jang Nara might not be a great actress, but she has an
addictive personality, a tremendous energy and screen presence which is
evident from the first episode. Her chemistry with Jang Hyuk couldn't be
better. He overacts a little too much, but most of the time that turns into
laughter, too.
Bright Girl also benefits from good supporting performances. Kwon Hae-yo is
always a pleasure to watch, no matter how small his roles are. He might just
be the most underrated character actor working in Korea today. Yoon Tae-young
and Chu Ja-hyun also make their characters likable and a little more realistic
than the paper thin plot seemed to allow. Yang-soon's parents are a riot, and
while Han Eun-jung shows little else other than her beauty, Ryu Soo-young is
surprisingly effective as Joon-tae. His latest movie appearance in Summertime
consisted of pretending to masturbate and having sex with Kim Ji-hyun, so that
probably made his job in this series much easier to digest.
Despite the obvious flaws (this is not exactly an unconventional and terribly
creative series), Bright Girl is really fun to watch. The characters are well
developed and the performances very good. The manipulation never bothers, and
it has a quick pace which will help even the most skeptic casual fan. In
short, one of the funniest, most charming miniseries of the year. (Review
by V. "X" Naldi)
Successful Story of a Bright Girl ("Myeongnyang sonyeo seonggonggi").
Alternative title: "Joyful Girl's Success Story." 16 episodes. Written by Lee
Hee-myung. Produced by Jang Ki-hong. Starring Jang Nara, Jang Hyuk, Han
Eun-jung, Ryu Su-young, Yoon Tae-young, Chu Ja-hyun. Aired on SBS in Korea
from March 13 - May 2, 2002 on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 9:55. Official
grandmother. She dreams of saving a prince from harm with her martial arts,
and living happily with him ever after. Han Gi-tae (Jang Hyuk) is the
president of a successful makeup company. He's the classic silver sthingy case:
spoiled, arrogant, taking everything for granted. His world changes when he
accidentally falls in Yang-soon's bathtub (I'm not kidding you). It won't be
her first meeting with Gi-tae, because she's forced to move to Seoul to work
as a maid. Guess who will be her new boss?
Yang-soon's first contact with city life doesn't begin well. She's bullied at
school, and doesn't connect with Na-hee (Han Eun-jung), Gi-tae's girlfriend.
Thankfully, she also makes new friends. Seok-gu (Yoon Tae-young) seems
attracted to her, and his sister Bo-bae (Chu Ja-hyun) actually becomes her
best friend. But, even more surprising, Gi-tae seems to slowly warm up to her.
When his career completely changes thanks to rival Joon-tae (Ryu Soo-young)
and his father's behind the scenes intrigues, his outlook on life and
Yang-soon's personality evolves. She's now the one who's actively trying to
help him start his life from scratch, and make a better future for himself.
Yes, it all sounds terribly predictable, but don't worry. Bright Girl smartly
takes its paper-thin plot and develops it around the characters, instead of
shameless manipulation and/or ultra-convoluted plot developments. This might
just be the funniest drama I've seen all year, because it never takes itself
seriously. This positively affects the more dramatic portions of the series,
so that they become actually touching. Also, while the characters are broad
caricatures and follow the dichotomy of the genre, they're treated with such a
lighthearted approach that it's hard to not be charmed by Jang Nara and
company.
Displaying a quite impressive Chungcheong-do accent (at least from a
non-native speaker's p.o.v.), she makes Yang-soon emerge from the walking
cliche she seems at the beginning. Her stubborn insistence on only calling
Gi-tae 'ajusshi' instead of 'oppa,' up till the end. Her devotion to her
parents (no matter how often they get in trouble), and her manners perfectly
convey her country girl upbringing, never mocking it (think of it as an
affectionate tribute). Jang Nara might not be a great actress, but she has an
addictive personality, a tremendous energy and screen presence which is
evident from the first episode. Her chemistry with Jang Hyuk couldn't be
better. He overacts a little too much, but most of the time that turns into
laughter, too.
Bright Girl also benefits from good supporting performances. Kwon Hae-yo is
always a pleasure to watch, no matter how small his roles are. He might just
be the most underrated character actor working in Korea today. Yoon Tae-young
and Chu Ja-hyun also make their characters likable and a little more realistic
than the paper thin plot seemed to allow. Yang-soon's parents are a riot, and
while Han Eun-jung shows little else other than her beauty, Ryu Soo-young is
surprisingly effective as Joon-tae. His latest movie appearance in Summertime
consisted of pretending to masturbate and having sex with Kim Ji-hyun, so that
probably made his job in this series much easier to digest.
Despite the obvious flaws (this is not exactly an unconventional and terribly
creative series), Bright Girl is really fun to watch. The characters are well
developed and the performances very good. The manipulation never bothers, and
it has a quick pace which will help even the most skeptic casual fan. In
short, one of the funniest, most charming miniseries of the year. (Review
by V. "X" Naldi)
Successful Story of a Bright Girl ("Myeongnyang sonyeo seonggonggi").
Alternative title: "Joyful Girl's Success Story." 16 episodes. Written by Lee
Hee-myung. Produced by Jang Ki-hong. Starring Jang Nara, Jang Hyuk, Han
Eun-jung, Ryu Su-young, Yoon Tae-young, Chu Ja-hyun. Aired on SBS in Korea
from March 13 - May 2, 2002 on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 9:55. Official
