Material Queen (2011)

No one ever said drama shows were reality and this is no exception. The plot is highly contrived. It is a rom com at its best. It is not the typical Cinderella story where a poor woman finds an arrogant rich guy and turns him sweet. Rather, the theme is that money doesn't buy you love and happiness.

Lynn Hung pretty much steals the show. She plays a gorgeous model who is out to net a wealthy tycoon. She is the discerning buyer who is out for the best deal. For sale is her beauty and charm and she can sweet talk her way into any man's heart. She is friendless: women hate her because of her beauty and success, men hate her because they can't keep her. She's off to a better conquest. The best parts are her manipulation of men. Her rejects are out for revenge. I never laughed so hard at her scheming.

Enter Vaness Wu as the poor, babbling, lovelorn guy whom she falls for. I would have liked him better without the punk rock hair, but he is romantic. Some of his rescue scenes are a bit slapstick with silly suspense music accompaniment. At times it seems the drama is a romance spoof with some of the silly melodrmatic scenes, especially at the end.

But even if you don't like the story, you will feel like you are watching a runway fashion show. In every scene Lynn Hung has a gorgeous wardrobe and unique hairdo. She is possibly the most beautiful actress out there. In real life she is a Chinese supermodel. I wish there were more shows with her devouring men. This watch was delicious!

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This is hands down my favorite Taiwanese Drama and maybe one of my favorite Asian Drama overall. From episode 1 I felt like this drama was laced with crack and my favorite cup of coffee. I was hooked and could not stop watching. I was sad when it was over, although it has an ending I really liked.

I'm relatively new to K- and T-Dramas, but I've been watching Telenovelas all my life, so at times I feel jaded of the topics and cliches that are shown. This drama did not make think about anything else but what I was watching. I was so into it, I was not thinking things like: When is this arc going to be over? Why are they dragging this so much?. It seems they had a firm hold on what they wanted to express from beginning to end.

This drama varies from many, as the Heroine of the story seems to be more "alpha" in personality than the male. The growth shown by her character and the way this actress portrayed it, was outstanding. I was at first hesitant about the acting by VanNess Wu, he seemed overpowered physically and performance wise by the main actress, but in a way this suited the characters so well, that it made it even more believable.

I liked that you get your "grew up in an orphanage" heroine, who instead of growing up to become the maid of a big hotel and a giving soul; becomes a strong, self centered, materialistic person who works hard for what she wants. Even if these things are brand named clothes and diamonds. Unlike most dramas this heroine is not the one spreading love and rainbows of happiness wherever she goes. She has a lot to learn about love and life, but has had no one to teach her. Nor has she been willing to learn.
In juxtaposition, our Hero is the one who is gentle and idealistic.
I liked the side characters and that the second female was not some mean girl who was going to take the man she wanted regardless of his feelings. The greatest hurdles that our characters went through were self created. Wounds that had to be healed. The main villain in our heroine's life was herself. I LOVED the characters of Peter and later on Moses.

The Parisian backdrop, the clothes and jewelry shown were amazing. It really did help to take me in and suck me into the world presented even more. The music was so beautiful and right when presented. It did not overpower and only aided to express what was going on in the scenes. This drama makes you fall for the sounds of the violin and makes you want to listen to what else is out there with this instrument. I even liked the opening score.

In short I really, thoroughly enjoyed this drama. Was it perfect? I don't know. I was too tunneled visioned while I was watching. I was buying EVERYTHING they were showing in an AS IS manner. To me, that is the best compliment I can give any sort of movie, book or drama. If the point of watching is to let go of your own reality for a few moments, this drama did it for me in a way I was more than willing to just go along. This drama really feels like a brand name, luxury item. I highly recommend it.

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