Tags
Ahn Pan Suk, JTBC, Jung Hae In, Kdrama, korean actors, Korean drama, Korean Movie, Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food, Something in the Rain, Son Ye Jin
Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food is also available by the name Something In The Rain. The former is more cheeky and cute while the latter is more on the romantic side.
This is the first time I’m watching a drama by acclaimed director Ahn Pan Suk, who has helmed shows like White Tower, A Wife’s Credentials, Secret Love Affair and Heard It Through The Grapevine. And straightaway I can feel the moody, realistic vibe with depth, in a thinly sounding premise of a love story between an older woman and a younger man. In so many scenes I love that instead of taking too many takes or shots or angles, the scene is just played from one direction in a single take, giving a particular scene a natural momentum and feel. There is this unmistakable aura of romance in the show, be it the scenes and interactions, the background score, the camera and setting, and of course, the lovely chemistry between Son Ye Jin (Jin Ah) and Jung Hae In (Joon Hee). She is so charming and he is simply adorable.
The show is full of normal, relatable characters. It’s partly a workplace drama as we see the struggles attached with everyday work life, from the smallest bits to the more serious kind. I like that Jin Ah is not only a hard working, sensible woman, but she also has a mischievous side to her. I do want to know more about Joon Hee and when exactly did he start feeling so much for her. We see more from her point of view and I do want to know more from his side. I also love the friendship between Jin Ah and Kyung Sun, and it will be interesting to see how she reacts about the relationship between the two. I was thinking were I had seen the actor and then I remembered that she was in Village: Secret Of Achiara and was really good there.
There are a lot of things remaining to be unfolded, like Jin Ah’s relationship with her parents, and frankly her mom irritates me a bit with her constant nagging about her daughter’s marriage. And the parents’ scenes are uninteresting for most part. Not to mention the cliched scene with which the drama starts, with a guy breaking up with the heroine. At least she got her small revenge this time! The episodes are longer than usual but the total is only 16.
All in all, minor quibbles aside, I’m really swooning for Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food. It is very subtle in colours and has a slightly old school feel to it. Loving it!
The Drama Corner 
I’ve watched all of the recent PD Ahn dramas and needless to say I love them. 🙂 He’s probably my fave PD these days.
I haven’t got very far with Pretty Noona as I’m too strapped for time but I can already feel PD Ahn’s signature style. Not quite sure what to make of the new writer yet, as I’m more familiar with Jung Sung Joo, who’s collaborated several times with Ahn and whose style I really like. We’ll see after a while, I guess.
I love the direction but I do think that the drama could have used a bit more pace in certain scenes. It’s unnecessarily slow in some parts but maybe that’s just me 🙂
The pace in PD Ahn’s dramas is generally not very brisk but yes, this is a bit too slow in places even for him. 🙂 Could be it’s because of the new writer’s style as well.
“I do want to know more about Joon Hee and when exactly did he start feeling so much for her. We see more from her point of view and I do want to know more from his side.” – Yes, I wondered why no one brought this up in other reviews. It was so sudden. He was back, he rode the bicycle in circles around her and the next thing we know, he’s crazy about her without our seeing when or how it happened.
It’s good that some backstory and explanation was given as to his family and how they relate to Jin Ah’s family. So close that they’re almost siblings is going to make it harder for their relationship to be accepted. But Jin Ah’s mother is really a difficult character to like. For all that she fussed ‘affectionately’ over Joon Hee and Kyung Sun, she’ll be the first to turn up her nose at having them as in-laws.
“He was back, he rode the bicycle in circles around her and the next thing we know, he’s crazy about her without our seeing when or how it happened”
Hahaha….I know right! They do tell some bits about it in later episodes but I did want some more to actually understand or feel the intensity of the love, basically more than the fact that he found her pretty. I do get the crush/infatuation part but still..
Jin Ah’s mother is clear about her limits of affection, love and what she wants for her children. She is practical to the point of being rude, unlikeable and unfair. Let’s see what happens in upcoming episodes with respect to her reaction and growth.