Finally finished watching My Fair Lady. For some reason, the show didn't really get me hooked on it. Maybe it's the predictable and typical plot, the way the producer chose to film the show or even the way in which the characters are developed and portrayed. The show really pales in comparison when you compare it to Yoon Eun Hye's previous drama, The First Shop of Coffee Prince. But then again, I think it's quite unfair to compare it to Coffee Prince since I think that drama set a high standard to follow.
To be honest, I was quite disappointed when I watched the first episode of the drama. Being a Yoon Eun Hye's fan, of course I had high expectations for her next drama after the successful Coffee Prince, and I was anticipating to see her acting skills being challenged to a much higher level in her drama. After the summary of the drama was released, I thought, "Wow, looks like she's trying something different this time round" since her character is something which she had not tried before and the character is quite unlike her real self. The synopsis that was released to the public portrayed Kang Hye Na (Yoon Eun Hye's character)as someone who is mean, selfish, strong-headed, self-centered and "princess-like". So, I was expecting to see a spoilt princess-like character who is harsh on others, rude and mean to her servants and I was really expecting the audience to dislike the character in the beginning.
However, after watching the first episode of the drama, I feel that somehow Kang Hye Na is not mean enough and I don't even have the slightest feeling of detest towards Kang Hye Na. This is far from the description of the Kang Hye Na which was released to the public before the drama was aired. Hence I think quite alot of people may be disappointed by Yoon Eun Hye's performance after watching the first episode since the Kang Hye Na which they had in mind is quite different from the Kang Hye Na portrayed in the drama. So, I think the production team has a big responsibility to play for this discrepancy.
Overall, I think Yoon Eun Hye's performance in the drama was alright. I find myself liking most of her emotional scenes since I think she's really good in showing and grasping the degree of emotions of the character especially during crying scenes. Another thing I have to say is that I think the make-up for Yoon Eun Hye's character is abit over. They chose to use draw up Yoon Eun Hye's eyes by drawing her eyes slant upwards (I don't really know how to describe it) . I believe that it's an attempt to make Yoon Eun Hye look fiercer since she looks too kind-hearted to fit the role of Kang Hye Na. But I think that it makes her look really unnatural and abit weird during the drama. I myself can't really stand it and how glad was I when I saw that during the last few episode, they finally ditch that makeup and it last she looked much natural.
Now going on the the male lead, Yoon Sang Hyeon. I thought he did really well for his role in the drama as Seo Dong Chan. He somehow managed to steal the spotlight and made this drama his. Yes, I think he's not exactly the typical good-looking type, but he has a kind of charisma which draws the audience in. I think he portrayed the character really well and he was good in giving Seo Dong Chan his own characteristic for example the way which Seo Dong Chan laugh was stuck in my mind for quite a while. I like his emotional scenes as well when he was hurt, confused, suppressing his emotions etc. Overall, I think he's a good actor.
Next, the cute smile guy, Jeong Il Woo as Lee Tae Yoon. Actually I think Jeong Il Woo is not exactly good-looking as well. He only looks good when he smile. Yes, that cute smile he had really make a huge difference. He looks kind of mean sometimes when he don't smile, but once he smile, its a complete different story. I really like his smile. His acting was alright, but I don't really like the Lee Tae Yoon in the drama. He's too jealous and not generous enough as a boyfriend. Also, I think his character is not developed enough. I know nothing much of Lee Yae Yoon besides the fact that he's a lawyer who don't want to depend on his family for money and that he's easily jealous and he has a good friend (the one who wear the black framed spectacles in the drama).
Last but not all, lets talk about the minor roles in the story. Unlike in Coffee Prince where the minor roles are sufficiently developed and given a clear characteristic, the minor roles in My Fair Lady fails to make a strong impression. Most of the time, we only know the surface of the minor characters in the drama. Take for example the 3 Musketeers in Kang Hye Na's household. I only know that the 3 of them appear together in most of the scenes and that they are fond of Kang Hye Na (who isn't?). We don't really get to know the characters individually and how they are like. Another example is the little boy in the story. I only know that he's cute and he acts like a grown-up who knows alot. Is he also secretly in love with Kang Hye Na? I think that the minor characters could be developed even further to give the drama more depth.
Overall, you got to watch this drama if you're a Yoon Eun Hye fan (Duh! That's what fans are for. You just got to catch every drama that she's in). If you're not, but have nothing to do, you can probably watch this drama as well. If you don't know who Yoon Eun Hye is, I think you should watch The First Shop of Coffee Prince instead or if you don't like that kind of plot, Goong is not bad as a start too, with all the pretty clothes and scenes.
Yeah, in all, I think something is lacking in My Fair Lady. The plot is quite dull and characters are not developed enough.
