Lee Seung Gi and Suzy Share a Reassuring Hug in Gu Family Book

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• Am I first?

  I'm no expert by any means, but I do find the pacing of GFB uneven, some shots/scenes overly long, an overall sense of awkwardness at times. So the directing and editting can be better.

  As for the acting, while I wouldn't say Suzy is wooden, she can do better.

  LSG, I love him in TK2H, and I'm not comparing Jae Ha and Kang Chi.
  LSG is doing just as brilliantly and nuanced in GFB, but it's more singularly and in isolated scenes, rather than cohesively/collectively throughout the drama, unlike in TK2H, his acting felt like it was pitch perfect through and through.
  I'm not sure what is lacking, maybe it's the co-stars? And yes, maybe it's the directing too.

  • *correction - "...unlike in TK2H where his acting was mostly pitch perfect through and through".

  • Same goes here my dear, though I love GFB (and particularly love episode 18 last week), I admit the pacing is uneven. My complaint mostly about 1. The Writing, it has great set-up, but lack in reasoning 2. The directing, like you say, pacing, and some oddness. i've said this again and again, but i'll say it again: I don't know why I can't emotionally connected with the previous works of PD Shin. I enjoyed it, but never get invested too much) 3. Chemistry, and by this doesn't mean only Suzy and Seung Gi, the two is cute when they are bickering and staying friend (with kang Chi turn all boyish and innocent), but Suzy can not carry the romance well.... her eyes seem..lacking? And I spot some problem in her stance too, when someone is acting, the other role should keep in their role, but Suzy just there, standing. DPJ-KC's chemistry, what the heck DPJ? I can't find his motivation, nor his emotion. And while Seung Gi is all-outing, he keep stiff, and I DONT GET WHAT DO YOU WANT DPJ?!! (scream a fangirl here), it's inbalance over there. When facing someone able to act, the nuance is well delivered. See the scene when he cried his heart out in front of Lee Soon Shin, his bromance-rivalry with Sung joon, his empathy toward Chung Jo...sigh..sigh..so yes, I agree with the co-stars factor.

    PS: I believe girl can do something, hopefully some people will teach her about this.

  • oh god, I totally agree on the long scenes issue. Characters seem to stare for 30 seconds straight at each other without blinking. There is something called emphasizing the scenes but they are always overemphasizing things in GFB. It's like they are assuming the viewers are dumb and cannot understand things going on on screen without having everything spelled out for them. That really irritates me. I like trying to figure out the motivations behind the characters' actions on my own. This show just doesn't press the right buttons for me.

    2012 was full of amazing Kdramas, Queen IH's Man, K2H, Arang and Magistrate, Reply 1997, School 2013, Shut up: FBB, The Bridal Mask. All these made me glued to the screen. 2013 so far has been a giant dissapointment for me, GFB, JOJ, and now I am dissapointed with Lee Soon Shin is the Best as well. Some of these started out well, but they just cant seem to make the pace right all the way through. I am hoping for better dramas the second half of the year.

    • Why don't you give Cruel Palace: A war of the flowers? Its really good!

• Suzy isn't bad but it's way too soon for her to carry a drama by herself, luckily here there is Seung Gi and a great supporting cast especially Yoo Bi to take away some of that pressure.
  I think Suzy's age is another thing, I don't mind a big age gap because the actors can still have amazing chemistry. But she's way too inexperienced and in this case the age difference shows.
  Suzy should continue with supporting parts instead and develop as a actress.

• Love it or hate it; you can't ignore it!

• Suzy and Sung Joon's acting is "wooden". Both of their delivery of lines is very stiff. I don't need to understand old school Korean to know this.

  Daddy Gumiho and Seo Hwa have the most interesting story line in Gu,like does SH hate Korea so much for what happened to her family, she's willing to help sell Korea to Japan? Hmm... Or will her love for WR, whatever remnants remain, help WR forgive her for what she did to him and if so, can their little family get a HEA? This is saguek, so probably not..hehe.

• Suzys bad acting has nothing to do with PD or her age! She is not leading lady material, as much as Korea tries to sell her as one!

  The other young girl in a drama, Yoo Bi , is doing great job and she is directed by same man as Suzy. So it`s not so much about direction nor lack of experience( she has few roles behind her) , but lack of acting talent.

  Look at Eunji, who is also an idol and has less `experience `than Suzy in terms of acting. She is really solid and can carry a drama easily. The only problem is she is not typical Korean beauty like Suzy so that lowers her chances of a leading role!

  • BRAVO LOVE YOUR COMMENT

  • I agree with your post. Of Suzy is serious about acting she needs acting classes (although I don't think she will have time because her schedule is extremely busy)and maybe just maybe after some years she will get the Park Si-yeon/Song Hye Kyo/ Kum Tae Hee epiphany that will somehow enable her to connect with her character

    • Meant 'if' instead of 'of'

  • I agree with everything you said. I'm tired of people excusing Suzy's acting just because she's young. Age has nothing to do with talent. There are plenty of young actresses who can put on a brilliant performance.

    As for this drama, I find it really boring and the storyline so simple and predictable. With the exception of Chung Jo, I find every character so two-dimensional. And I must be the only one who prefers Chung Jo over Yeo Wool.

    • No your not, I like CJ as well

    • You're not the only one, the writers have gone so overboard to make the point that YW is the bestest that they've turned her into a total Mary Sue. Chung-jo may be imperfect, but she's far more interesting.

  • Yess..agree

• It's too embarrassing ... for Ma Bong-chul :)

• Ms Koala Your Highness, I agree with your post with the exception of any acting complaints regarding LSG. His solo scenes or scenes with any other actor(beside Suzy) are done to perfection, his scenes with YW I think he is also awesome, especially when you consider he is carrying the scene for them both. I think he is doing a great job of portraying a young guy in love or falling in love with an actress that I am sure he is not attracted to, has thoughts of her being so young, and the added pressure of acting for two.

  You mentioned the PD needing to work with her more, I have followed this drama and the behind the scenes comments etc., it has been noted throughout how many NG's her scenes have, how many hours her scenes require for filming etc.... I think the over directing comes into play the most with her scenes because they are trying to let the camera do the work because she is unable to.
  and I do agree about the action scenes I have noticed any action scenes with her, Gon, and WR as well the use of a stunt double is so obvious each scene, and the scenes are a bit choppy,I do not even bother with this aspect but it's so obvious in this area. It is hard to put a great deal of blame on the actors, this drama did not cast based on action abilities. How could we expect that when they did not even see fit to cast a lead female that could act.

  I do wonder how different your perception of LSG would be if this drama been done before TK2H. I am glad you still Luv him, how could we not.

  • I enjoy all lee seung gi dramas...and agree the most is in tk2h...his work is really amazing...where you want to watch it over n over again eventhough his scene part with hajiwon or other cast members...you just connect to it....for gfb...yes. ..it seem like the drama that really make us stick to it is his acting.......the pace of storyline is rather draggy...love the scene with mastergongdol,gon and cj....awesome..and refreshing everytime..love it 2 with yw...but i find the scene is kind of expected almost the same everytime from these character...

    • I mean these two character. ...

  • I actually really love LSG in here, like you said he has a spark with almost everyone except Suzy (even Gon, I love all Gong/Kang-chi scenes - I don't know how, but he and Sung Joon just play off each other really well). He's fantastic in scenes that don't involve YW, the breakdown with Lee Soon-shin was heartbreaking.

• Suzy is really very famous right now.. I have nothing against her (I like her on variety), but it's surprising how many people disagree on her acting (unlike for Song Seung Heon). It's like another SNSD Yoona battle (not comparing the two girls but comparing the disparity in people's opinions on them). I feel that she is ok in some scenes where other, she feels stiff.

  • The difference is Yoona gets boring , next girl type of characters all the time and has to work with that! I thought she was cute and charismatic in Love Rain but the character was soooooo one dimensional than not even Han Ji Won would make it interesting! If Yoona was given chance to do something a little more challenging i think she would shine!

    On the other hand Suzy gets great , well written characters(both in Big and GFB) but she makes them boring and bland! She is wooden and has awful line delivery, and i honestly don`t see that great chemistry with her costars! The only advantage is she is beautiful and camera loves her face but that`s about it!

    • To be fair, I don't think Yoona is capable of carrying a drama either - Jang Geun-seok did all the heavy lifting on the emotional parts of Love Rain - but she's not blank, and was actually pretty natural and enjoyable in the first half of Love Rain's modern-day storyline.

      She's improved greatly since her debut days - Sooyoung is miles ahead of her as an actress in SNSD, but at least in Love Rain Yoona passed the only test I really use on an actor - she came across as her character, not someone mouthing her character's lines and making facial expressions in response to instructions through a teleprompter.

    • @pogo don`t get me wrong i don`t think Yoona is some great actress , she is mediocre at best, but i feel she could improve if she is given more challenging role! With the type of roles shes been given, she can only hop in one place, and i do think she has potential!

    • @klio, no worries, I get you. She's improved a LOT from her early days and if she were cast in something I might want to watch, I don't really fear that she's going to be as obvious a weak link in the acting as Suzy is.

• I enjoyed Lee Seung Gi in "Shining Inheritance, My Girlfriend Is Gumiho 9 Tailed Fox" I like Suzy, Seen her MC a lot, Her music, Dream High, Big. I see nothing wrong with both actors. I wouldn't say their the Best, Their isn't a best or at least I have not seen one yet. I only watched Five episodes of "Gu Family Book" Not being a fan of Joseon Era's, I've only Enjoyed 2 dramas,"Slave Hunter's & Sungkyunkwan Scandal" Most of today's Actor's seem out of place in Joseon Era drama's. That's how I seen Lee & Suzy. They just didn't fit in for this type of role. What I really don't Like about Joseon Era's is that some actors are so "Glittered Up" Especially actress's, I'm amazed that they can keep their heads straight with a "Ton" of jewelry.

• Its kinda predictable ms koalas' post re GFB. I can definetely guess the contents b4 reading it...constant comparison with TK2H, so what else is new? So i just skip it and just post my comment.