Is anyone still watching All About My Love? I’ve been focusing on the low-ratings of Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love on Mon-Tues, but its sister drama from the same network SBS is actually getting slaughtered even more on Wed-Thurs. I wrote a first impressions review of AAML that eviscerated it for being over-the-top (in a non-funny and really annoying way), poorly written, badly acted, and terribly directed. I really had nothing good to say about its premiere episode and that was a bummer considering I like Shin Ha Kyun and Lee Min Jung and have a soft spot for political story based K-dramas. A wobbly first start can still be redeemed as the drama progresses so while I checked out there was this curiosity in the back of my mind wondering if this drama could turn itself around. When I saw the spoiler stills for this week’s episode 7 showing the two leads kissing on a rooftop, I was instantly hooked enough to check back in for a quick peek. It’s not the kissing but rather how pretty the stills looked. I love that soft romanticism about it, though Lee Min Jung’s stiffness does not bode well for harboring any hope that she might have turned the corner on her general propensity for dead fish kissing scenes. She’s not the worst in the industry, but she’s pretty flat overall when it comes to really kissing back and engaging her male lead. Not everyone can be the gold standard when it comes to female actress kissing – that would be Kim Sun Ah – but good lord some girls need to understand that moving their mouth will not kill their careers. Anyways, back to this kiss, it was pretty meh after I watched it. Check it out below and let me know if I’m missing a potentially great rom-com after an abysmal first impression.
So….does this kiss alone make you want to watch the drama? I ask because I’ve actually been shallow enough to pick up a drama on one kiss alone. Recent case in point – Me Too, Flower! The jawdroppingly intense sucking face kiss in episode 6 made my eyes pop with the chemistry and I was smitten with the OTP’s angry attraction and had to check it out. The rest is history. This kiss? The official stills looked beautiful but in action it was bland.
Episode 7 Kiss Scene Cut:
[youku id=”XNTQ3NTk4Mjky” w=”650″ h=”450″]
been watching it and its not too bad. i think that the 1st episode wasnt that good with too much overacting. and maybe episode 2 was slightly less bad than 1, but after that the show for me definately gets better.
maybe restart watching it at episode 4?
you could probly skip 2 and 3. basically shin ha kyun gets blackmailed by lmj using the bare chest pics she got of him to help her get signatures for a petition. political stuff happens, with her going against the establishment and he slowly gets grudging respect for her (since hes sort of against the entrenched political establishment as well), and in around episode 4 and 5 starts to like her.
although i wouldnt say this was a good drama. its more of an ok, and watchable drama if your a fan of both of em – nothing ground breaking
Yeah, this kiss wasn’t all that great. I dropped this show after the first episode as well, mostly because I went to sleep watching it. I really wanted to like it, since I love LMJ and she was so bad in Big, but this show is way too boring.
Hmm, I’ve never thought LMJ was a bad onscreen kisser; I don’t think her kiss with Gong Yoo in Big was bad, but maybe that was all camera angles. I don’t remember any kiss scenes in Smile, You, but she had crazy chemistry with Jung Kyung Ho anyway, so hot kisses weren’t needed.
Yeah, LMJ did have awesome chemistry with JKH in Smile, You. And it was like a family type drama, so no hot passionate kisses, but their kisses were alright. SHK does his kissing scenes pretty well, so no complaints on his part… and I still love his bubble gum kiss with CJW in Brain last year, no matter whoever thinks that it’s gross. When comparing kisses, only Taiwan or Hong Kong actresses kiss properly with their lips moving, so I really don’t expect much from Korean Actresses, with the exception of Kim Sun Ah, like Koala mentioned.
I will add Yoon Eun Hye….she’s not shy to move her lips either….She has some pretty memorable kisses…Gong, Coffee Prince; Lie to me, Missing You and more…
I had to delurk just to say that you needn’t bother. I too had high hopes for this series (Shin Ha Kyun + PtB team + political rom-com = theoretically a kdrama hat trick). The series marginally improves after the first episode, but not enough to call it “good” by any objective standard. I’m still watching only because of some nonsensical belief that the series might just turn a corner one of these episodes and be the fun, romantic romp I was hoping for. I suspect I’m going to feel burned after this series finishes, but I somehow can’t seem to give it up.
Honestly from the screenshots alone I’m just turned off from watching. It just seems terrible and cheesy. A shame since I do like both the actors, even if LMJ isn’t the best I’ve always liked her. Maybe one day when I’m bored enough I’ll watch it. A kiss isn’t really enough to suffer through the drama right now.
@dmohican14
Her kisses in Smile, You were adorable, but they weren’t all that passionate. Don’t really think they were meant to be either. Though the big emotional kiss they had wasn’t that great, but not terrible either. I’m pretty indifferent to her kissing skills. They are neither bad nor good.
i don’t know what has gotten into shin ha kyun in this drama, he is so over acting… even during this kiss scene, to me he comes across as over acting… or maybe because lmj is so unmoving during that kiss, that shk seems to be overdoing it?
the main otp is boring me to tears, i am checking in for shk’s assistant sang soo. he is hilarious! he cracks me up everytime he is onscreen.
the show is actually not bad, maybe not the first episode but it get better and funny, give it another shot
I don’t know. I still think this drama was pretty boring. Had high expectations for it, but it just fell flat.
It’s true that kisses in k-dramas are mostly left to be desired. Just out of curiosity, what are your top kisses in k-dramas? Because when they are done right, I die LOL
Hmm, off the top of my head (and digging through my folders) i have the dinner party kiss in Secret garden, ALL the kisses in Coffee Prince (Gong Yoo really knows how to kiss, he even made Lee Min Jung look decent in Big), the not-gay-reveal kiss in Personal Taste, of course Me too, flower, I need romance 3, absolutely loved the drunken kiss in marriage plot too. Love the way Seo in Guk kisses (i’m obsessed with his lips) so i’ll add reply 1997 and King of High School to the list. Pinocchio, the Princess’s Man and You’re all surrounded had good kisses too!
Yoon Eun Hye kisses pretty well. Enjoyed her kissing scenes in Pricess Hour, Coffee Price & Lie To Me.:)
I have been watching it and I am enjoying it, the story does pick up after the first episode and I love SHK so much that I don’t mind it.
I don’t care if the lips move as long as the body is not stiff and face not frozen. When it comes to kisses TW dramas beat Kdramas all the time. It’s not like TW actors are smooching away to glory. It’s more their body language. They don’t come off stiff and awkward. I have just accepted the fact that Koreans must kiss like that. Theirs seem a much more uptight culture compared to the laid back Taiwanese.
I liked the first episode. Liked the farcical style. I thought SHK was being deliberately OTT. I’d rather watch him over acting than SSH trying to act. They took forever to upload the second episode so I never got back to it. Must check it out again. LMJ wasn’t too great ….Can’t believe this is the same girl from SY. What happened to her? She’s been mediocre ever since after being so fab in SY.
I’m still watching. I don’t find it really good, but I like Lee Min Jung here.
I think this is one of the dramas that you could definitely give a miss. I will likely continue watching it because I like the pairing, but the politics part of the story frustrates me to no end. I feel like the politicians here all behave like petty, immature teenagers and there are no real political stakes (up till this point), other than that of “image”.
I’ve been watching this and mostly enjoying it-skipping over some parts helps! For this kiss though-it was just the beginning of it & maybe she was surprised. Let’s hop the next episode shows the rest of the kiss-maybe she’ll warm up to it & figure out what to do? After all, her hormones have been raging!
I actually like it a lot because of the intense acting on the male lead’s part. The female lead is doing the job. At least I am not screaming at the screen saying ” why are you all acting like this? ”
I like all the jabs about politicians and honestly, there are lots of dramas with worse directing and acting. Currently, this is the only weekday drama I am watching. The scene to scene transition both editing and story wise is smooth.
To each his own but I enjoy the bickering, no slapping and screaming in this drama. Plus most of the adults act like adults. The politicians are mostly all ” save your own skin ” like real politicians. So yeah don’t understand wny people are panning it.
yes, the rapid editing and the OTT acting seems to be deliberate. ….I think this drama may be a parody of fickle spineless politicians and leaders who run the country.
I like this drama too because I find it funny. The niece Bori cracks me up.
I aggree with you very much. I like all the roles in “All about my romance”.
It’s the only Kdrama I am watching now and I enjoy the story.
I am watching it and actually really enjoying it. I agree that the first episode was really, really bad. But I find it funny (sometimes laugh out loud funny … overacting and all). And I love SHK’s smile and body language when he looks at her … I have a fun time with it and watch it 3-4 times on viki until it gets fully subbed. Because the subbed version is way funnier than the raw … the bickering plays a large part of my enjoyment.
I remember I laughed a lot. SHK seems to be really enjoying going OTT. And yes, there was something sexy about his interactions with the LMJ character. I think that’s the magic of SHK.
I am totally enjoying watching the OTP fight against their feelings only to recognize it’s too late (it’s a done deal, especially for him). There are secondary characters which could not be more endearing, i.e. Bo-Ri (the niece). If you like slapstick and Broadway type musical scoring I think you’ll enjoy. I too am not a fan of LMJ, but she’s much better in this than in BIG. This role is more age appropriate and her conflicts are
well played out (the falling in love with a political adversary, her impossible love with her oppa/late sister’s brother-in-law because they’re family, her obligation and love for her niece who lost both parents, plus she represents the bottom of the totem pole population). I for one love the music and SHK’s over the top performance. He’s endearing and a hoot! 🙂
I’ve never thought of Kim Sun Ah as the gold standard. She’s good. But I just love Yoon Eun Hye’s kissing scenes. And Yoo In-na did so fantastic in Queen In-Hyun’s Man,though we all know the reason;)
Iam enjoying watching the two main actors fight their feelings for each other, I find it funny and cute at the same time. I think it deserves a go.
I Love Love SHK he is so adorable in this he always puts a smile on my face with his expressions. I think it deserves better ratings.
I usually just lurk and read everyone else’s comments but I had to say; I am enjoying this drama and I don’t agree that it is as bad as a lot of people seem to think. I do agree about the not moving their mouths during kisses though, that just ruins the whole feeling for the viewer.
I really like this one… SHK has become my new crush. I love that he’s not gorgeously handsome but kind of oddball quirky & eccentric. When he breaks out that smile, I just melt.
At the moment, “AAMY” & “Nine” are my two favs.
He’s so debonair besides being awfully gifted as an actor.
I really wanted to like this show but I find all the characters to be annoying. I’ll keep watching. I do like the political setting. Maybe my feelings toward them will warm up.
I really really love this show. I find it really smart, the dialogue, the reasoning I really love, also I find it SO Funny, they really are lovely together 🙂
I like it, too!
It’s very pretty and never for one second takes itself seriously.
The hour flies by with no dead time you want to skip.
It’s a watcher.
And SHK is wonderful no matter what he is doing on screen.
I have been enjoying this drama. It reminds me of the early screwball Spencer Tracy/ Katherine Hepburn dramas like Adam’s Rib. It’s not perfect, but I think the leads have good chemistry and I like the slapstick humor and sexy innuendo.
I’ve been watching this drama from day one, and I love it! Shin Ha Kyun is great, with wonderful comic timing. He is really an amazingly versatile and adventurous actor. One who is not to be typecasted! It’s a refreshing change from the melodramas. I think the low ratings is due in part because it is so different from the usual K-drama fare, and drama watchers in Korea prefer the standard plots. Well, everyone has their own preferences! And may I say again, I am enjoying this show very much.
Yup count me in! This drama is fresh n different from ur usual Kdrama setting. It keep getting better with each eps. Plus watching SHK all smiley n doing all sort of aegyo exclusively in front of LMJ is a blessing grace <3