We Started Dating From Marriage (2020)

Hilarious and charming, great acting (especially female lead) even with the cliche plot device!

If you read the synopsis, this seems like every other contract-marriage drama but this one does it very well. Although this show might seem like it'll prey on cliche tropes, it actually is one of the most charming cdramas of the year in my opinion.

Characters: First off, you have actually supportive parents. They're not the stereotypical "evil" in-laws. Both parents are good-hearted and want the best for their children and just want them to be happy.

You also have interesting side couples. At first glance, you might think a love-triangle will deter the show, but it really doesn't. At first, you might find the SML as a "bad guy" but you realize that he's actually harmless and caring deep down - it doesn't fall into the pithole of an annoying second male lead. He actually cares for the FL and her wants/desires. The love-triangle essentially stops a bit halfway through and SML starts to focus on the SFL, who is one of the cutest "best-friend-character" of the FL. Even the initially annoying Tang Ping stops her bratty nature relatively quickly and becomes a supportive character instead, Overall, the characters are very enjoyable.

The main female lead is a forceful and strong CEO while the male lead is a caring, quiet, and considerate doctor. It's nice to see more strong female leads. Even though she's assertive, Zhou Yutong is SO funny and adorable as well. So many individual cute moments + cute relationship moments. Simon Gong plays his part great as a foil to the FL. There's great character developments and you begin to see a role reversal in the later episodes which makes everything so much more quirky and entertaining. Honestly, the leads + supporting cast are done so well!

Plot: It's nothing too special but I just wanted to say that it's a very funny drama. It's not really external conflict/plot-driven but more character-driven which I enjoyed a lot. There's actually "laugh out loud" moments. The chemistry between all the characters are great (leads with each other, different combinations of lead with supporting, supporting with supporting). Small misunderstandings are resolved relatively quick so it's a nice watch most of the time. The most important thing to note which might be a SPOILER is that there's actually a time-skip which breaks this show out of the mold of a generic contract-marriage drama. I generally don't like giving a "spoiler" but I feel like this one isn't that "important" to keep hidden but it's still important to mention since potential viewers might want to know. I normally hate a plot device like this, but in Begin Again, it's done very well -- reasons are valid, characters change and grow afterwards.

However, one issue I have with the plot is the business politics side. This is the one part of the drama where it feels forced and unnatural. Character motivations are unbelievable. It's not particularly prevalent but whenever it pops up, it just makes me want to fast-forward [but it's very minimal]. Honestly borderlining unwatchable for me; thank god the romcom aspect is done well to keep me locked in.

Conclusion: Watch this for the adorable characters. Strong female lead, nice male lead, character development, likable supporting cast. Even a show that seems to have many cliches, it actually subverts many obvious ones and is a great watch. It veers away from the melodrama tropes and is fresh and refreshing.

Lire davantage

I’ve included a review of the English subs available

Chinese romance dramas used to always be either melodramas full of angst and sorrow or they would be over the top silly comedies. But lately they’ve been putting out some really good romantic comedies that are just the right combination of romance, comedy, and intrigue. This drama falls into that category. It’s not perfect but it’s a pretty decent drama.

Acting: It’s a rarity for me but I have no complaints about any of the actors in this drama. They all did a good job. But the main leads did a much better than average job. Let me explain.

The male lead:
When it starts out he reminds me a lot of a typical second male lead. He’s very sweet, kind, and charming. I like how, as the drama progresses, the male lead draws us in by slowly revealing everything his character has had to endure and why he’s so grateful for the little things in life. And as his character grows and matures into a much more confident and forceful person, you can’t help being touched.

The female lead:
The female leads portrayal of a cold and arrogant CEO is spot on. But when she gradually shows glimpses of the soft heart she hides beneath that tough cold exterior, that’s when you really start to understand and connect with her character. You can’t help but feel for her as she slowly reveals how tortured she is over her past. I liked how well she portrayed her characters immense growth and maturity too.

Cinematography and set design:
There was no weird camera angles or choppy editing. It flowed smoothly and seamlessly. I was never confused about what was happening. The set design was really nice and for once I have no complaints about the wardrobe (Chinese dramas tend to put really baggy or weird clothes on the female leads in modern romcoms). The music was perfect for each occasion never taking away from the scenes or getting too loud and drowning out the actors voices.

Storyline:
Taking the typical drama plot and reversing it by having a cold rich female CEO chase after the male lead was a refreshing take on an old cliche. The comedy was perfectly timed and the characters were entertaining. But after a while you get tired of seeing the female lead continually chasing after the male lead only to get coldly rejected every time. I started to feel embarrassed for her. And the silly goofy over the top antics her “frenemy” resorted to when pursuing the male lead was not only annoying but it didn’t sit well with me since he was married. These things go on for almost 16 straight episodes which was just too long. It was cute and funny in the beginning but after a while it became repetitive and predictable. I found myself hoping for something different or more interesting to happen. Fortunately the chasing ends and the annoying “frenemy” has lots of character growth and I even started liking her. Then they even put in some intriguing plot twists midway through the drama, breathing fresh life into it. But one of the plot twists didn’t make sense and hurt rather than helped the drama. It’s never a good idea when a drama makes the audience angry at one of the leads for doing something stupid and hurtful. There’s lots of ways of making a drama more interesting without making one of the main leads hurt the other one even if it’s with noble intentions. Nothing irritates me more than noble idiocy. It’s one drama trope that’s been way over used lately. If they hadn’t dragged things out for so long in the beginning and if they hadn’t made a main character do the noble idiocy thing, it would have been a perfect drama.

For those watching it with English subs:
There aren’t a lot of good English subs out there for this drama. The best I could find were on Daily Motion by Carmon Eng Sub, but be forewarned that they aren’t perfect. The subs would be pretty good for a while then there would be short periods where the conjugation and sentence structure would be way off. During these periods the basic thoughts are there but you have to reconstruct the sentences in your head for it to make sense, which got tiresome. The depth of emotion and deeper essence of what’s being conveyed is missing during these periods. I’m still not 100% sure what exactly happened with some of the business aspects of the drama because of this. These subs are much better than the google translate subs, they're the best out there for this drama, and they’re definitely worth watching. And I really do appreciate this nice subbers hard work. But just be prepared for brief periods where the subs aren’t conjugated properly requiring you to pause everything so you can figure it out.

Overall thoughts:
Does this drama have flaws? Yes. Was I irritated at times? Yes. But I have to say that the main leads chemistry and romance really stood out in this drama. They have great kissing scenes, lots of hugs, piggyback rides, cuddles, etc. And the secondary couple are pretty cute too. There are a lot of lovable characters in this drama that you will root for. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty darn sweet and memorable.

Lire davantage