Party A Who Lives Beside Me (2021)

Rom-com de bureau assez "classique" mais très bien interprétée

Grow-up drama sur 1 FL qui débarque comme stagiaire dans une petite agence de pub à Shanghai, loue 1 appart (dont le ML, directeur du marketing d'une grosse boite de pub, est proprio).

Ils vont peu à peu se connaitre, s'aider, devenir amis puis lovers (ép. 19 ou 20 !!! Très très slowburn). Une 2nde romance assez cute, avec des personnages + intelligents et plus vifs.

Quelques défauts :
- la réalisation est étrange, avec des scènes "sautées" qui reviennent longtemps après en flashback, des coupures bizarres, etc.
- des coïncidences "dramaland" peu réalistes,
- l'évolution psy des personnages pas toujours crédible.
- les engsubs sont visiblement parfois inadaptés (meilleurs sur Youtube, mais les épisodes y sont dans le désordre :( :( )

MAIS :
- très bons acteurs,
- CL attachant avec bonne alchimie & complicité,
- ton résolument Comédie.

Série très sympa dans l'ensemble, qui donne envie de voir d'autres œuvres avec le CL.

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Inspiring for Entry Level Career/Business, but Lost in Translation

I picked this one as my first drama of the 2022, purely out of expectation. It has a less than 8.0 rating, so I was ready to drop it even before started watching it, lol. However, I finished Episode 1, and ended up keep watching one episode following by another. My guess why it has a low rating for such a pretty good romcom, is: one, poor translation from MangoTV, which is the main issue; two, misleading synopsis; three, no popular cast; and four, Chinese romcom drama watchers have had toothaches from all sweet Cdramas being released last year. Let me address the main issue first, the second issue in the Character section.

MangoTV produced quite some good Chinese romcoms, unfortunately many are machine translated, including this drama. This is very unfortunate, since business term and Chinese idioms/slang get mistranslated or even no translation (especially for notes, emails, text messages, etc). Luckily, if you watch in their official YouTube channel, there are kindhearted people who translated the non-dialogue part. As I put in the title, this drama is especially inspiring for audiences who are at their entry level of career of business, since there is a lot of uplifting advice given to motivate people in their career development. Unfortunately, the inspiring life lessons are watered down with inadequate translation. So, unless you understand modern spoken Chinese, or can read between the lines of bad sub, probably don’t bother to watch this drama.

STORY: In my opinion, there are two plots that run side-by-side: the romance and the work/business plot, both intertwine harmoniously between Party A and Party B (hence this drama title). Party A/Party B is a legal term when two entities get involved in business.

The main couple’s plot starts from both ML and FL being bickering strangers (short term), to being landlord-tenant, neighbors, two business-related company representatives , friends, best friends, lovers, to being engaged (short term). It’s a slow burn romance, they don’t get together until the ¾ quarter of the drama! However, their friendship and teamwork development are amazing to watch. Even before they get together, they’re so comfortable with each other, like an old married couple. The second couple plot actually has more sparks as their romance develops faster, so it’s quite interesting. Their romance starts about half of the drama. The third couple romance is a filler, in my opinion, since it’s quite short. There is also a married couple.

I actually am more interested in the work/business plot, unexpectedly since I don’t like business drama. I think because of its advice given to working adults. ML and FL both go thru work problems each encounter, from insider sabotage to sexual harassment. They work together to solve those problems. Misunderstandings don’t get prolonged in their relationship, they clear up their issues pretty fast. There is also the main theme of chasing dreams of most characters: people leaving stable jobs to start business, moving to big city to pursue career, changes job to a different company, working on your dream job instead of just-a-job, saving and investment, life priority, etc.

PRODUCTION: The scriptwriting is pretty good. The writer, which at this time I don’t know their name, managed to write a flowing transition on the main couple’s love story and the Female Lead’s prowess development. There are witty dialogues too, that make the plot development and the characters’ growth enjoyable.

CHARACTER: The scriptwriter also did a good job in creating likable main characters and some key supporting characters. The FL, Ye Xuan (weirdly in the end is translated into Michelle Ye), freshly graduated, comes from a smaller city to metro Shanghai. She’s hopeful and energetic, but faces the reality of the workplace. She is lucky enough to land her first job at 88Ed, what I called a dream company. Although it’s small and has problems, it ends up to be the ideal company in dramaland. Her other luck is ML, Li Ze Nan, who is not only her landlord/neighbor. The company where he works, Aoke, is also 88Ed’s major client.

Now this is where I want to correct the misleading synopsis I read at this moment. It says that Li Ze Nan is “the domineering Party A” but he’s not. He has been in the big city and has worked longer than Ye Xuan, so he gives her work advice but he’s not domineering. In fact, when they become a couple, I see sometimes Ye Xuan is bossy towards Li Ze Nan. Starting their relationship as a landlord-tenant, he’s actually has been supportive to Ye Xuan all along. He also comes from a poor background and works hard his way up at his workplace. He is not an ML who “has been making things difficult” to FL, since he makes her grow and become stronger as a working adult. For example, when he knows she has worked hard on a business proposal for his company but her company doesn’t credit her, as a client he has a power to fix the mistake but he doesn't. Instead, when he finds her crying in disappointment, he gives her a cotton candy and later tells her to be strong and try harder. Another misled term is that the couple’s relationship starts with “endless bickering” but I see they just tease and playful with each other, and actually the second couple starts with “endless bickering”.

Important to mention in romance drama is the secondary characters who potentially ruin the main couple’s relationship. There is none. Second FL is ML’s ex-girlfriend, but they broke up because pursued different dreams. Although when she shows up initially ML and SFL are a bit uncomfortable with each other, there is no hate/love feeling left for both parties. SFL ends up becomes their company’s business client and FL’s friend. Second ML is FL’s co-worker. He and ML have a healthy competition for FL’s attention, but when SML sees that FL, subconsciously, prefers to be with ML he backs off and becomes supportive of their relationship.

A bonus: the director, Sha Wei Qi, also made a guest role appearance as a fake director, lol! The scene with him in it is the most hilarious in the drama! He also directed some decent Chinese romcoms (rating 8.0+) such as Gank Your Heart (2019), A River Runs Through It (2021), and To Fly With You (2021).

VISUAL: The location of metropolitan Shanghai is always a charm. I like the adjoining balconies where ML and FL often seen chatting at night after work. I also like the company setting where FL works though. It’s a renovated warehouse building made of bricks and has a warm and casual feeling.

OST: Nothing stands out.

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