My Sweet Mobster (2024)

I have watched over 300 kdrama series at this point and I loved it

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 60 minute episodes.

First, I provide a unique synopsis and then review


Synopsis

 Go Eun-ha (Han Sun-hwa) is an influencer and web entertainer who has a persona “Sister Mini” with content targeted for young audiences.  She is beloved among her young followers, and they want whatever product placement items she shows.  When a milk product she was promoting lands children in the hospital, it sends Eun ha’s web career into a tailspin.  She offers to go on sabbatical to minimize the damage to the image of the company she works for as well as give herself time to personally recover from what she feels like is her responsibility.  During this volatile time, Eun ha encounters former mobster, and current CEO, Seo Ji-Hwan (Uhm Tae-goo) and his team of ex-cons who run a food company intended to offer ex-convicts a fresh start.  Ji Hwan is enamored with Eun ha and finds her television persona particularly compelling becoming a closet fan of her content.  And most of his closest friends and management team Joo Il-young (Kim Hyun-jin), Kwak Jae-soo (Yang Hyun-min), Jung Man-ho (Lee Yoo-joon), Yang Hong-ki (Moon Dong-hyeok), and Seo Dong-hee (Park Jae-chan) are willing to play match maker to see their mentor and friend find happiness. 

Review

I loved this. One of my new favorites. I have watched over 300, mostly korean, drama series now so I am really picky. I thought the characters were very well developed. The “thugs” were very likable and it exhibited how you can firm a family with people that love and mutually support each other. The friendships and romances were very heart warming. I highly recommend it and will be watching it again.

 
Spoilers

 Il Young and Koo Mi-ho’s (Moon Ji-in) second romance represents one of my favorite tropes.  The playboy who encounters that one girl he just can’t seem to forget.  I liked his friendship with Jihwan and her friendship with Eunha.  They were both very supportive friends and it made sense in their interactions, that ultimately got the main couple together, they would have noticed each other.

 I never felt too bad for second guy, Jang Hyun-woo (Kwon Yul) as he had so many opportunities to romance main girl but had this sort of aloof wait for her to catch the feels that was sure to make him lose out to the far more compelling Jihwan.  I found him very admirable in his support of main girl, and he was a stand-up person in telling Eunha the truth about who Jihwan was as well as his willingness to re-evaluate what he thought about Jihwan. He finally fully let go of her and just wished her happiness even if not with him. He was just a great guy who became a great friend for Jihwan as well.

 I loved the ex-con team.  They were such great friends to Jihwan and I liked the way they did not like Eunha at first but then became her greatest advocates.  Jaesoo calling Eunha “Little Rat” in derision in the beginning then later as a pet name was a cute addition to the storyline.

#MySweetMobster  #UhmTaeGoo  #HanSunHwa  #KwonYul   #KimHyunJin  #YangHyunMin   #LeeYooJoon   #MoonDongHyeok   #ParkJaeChan  #MoonJiIn

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A Fabulous Drama

Afer hesitating from watching this Drama because of it's title, I decided to give it a try. It didn't tale long to totally suck me in.

I laughed so much It had me in hysterics. The Story was inspiring and the characters were stunning.

I loved the main Male lead who was so awkward. The female lead was a walking disaster who created many hilarious situations, usually to the Male leads detriment. She was lovely and so was He.

The Acting from everyone was truly superb, especially from the Ex Criminals who brought so many emotions.

The story was inspirational. The Male lead was a wonderful Human being.

The Ditzy Female brought it to life with her insane behavior. I laughed so much. The poor unsuspecting Male found himself in unknown territory. His body took a lot of hits. I loved this Drama. It was compassionate. loving and altruistic. Cannot praise it enough, even the silly bits. Hope to see a Part 2 as th
ey were addictive.

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Um romance cativante!

O drama se destaca como uma comédia romântica que verdadeiramente faz jus ao gênero, oferecendo momentos de humor genuíno e um enredo cativante. Ao assistir, não pude deixar de refletir sobre a atual escassez de dramas românticos que combinam uma narrativa inovadora com uma abordagem leve e divertida. O último título que me causou impacto similar foi "Waikiki 1", o que ressalta o tempo que se passou desde que me deparei com uma comédia romântica que realmente se destacasse.

Este drama conseguiu me cativar de uma maneira que poucas produções do gênero conseguiram até agora. Sua capacidade de manter o espectador envolvido, sem perder o ritmo ou cair em clichês previsíveis, é louvável. Com isso, recomendo fortemente que deem uma chance a "My Sweet Mobster".
Alguns pontos importantes a de destacar:

1. Enredo.
- O enredo de "My Sweet Mobster" é, sem dúvida, um dos pontos altos da produção. A trama oferece um desenvolvimento profundo dos personagens, especialmente dos casais, que evoluem de criminosos temidos para amigos acolhedores da vizinhança. Este arco de transformação é evidenciado pela forma carinhosa como começam a chamar a protagonista feminina de "Ratinha", um apelido que reflete o afeto crescente que sentem por ela. Além disso, o drama aborda de maneira sensível e realista o preconceito enfrentado por pessoas que já cumpriram pena e as dificuldades que encontram ao tentar se reintegrar à sociedade. Este tema é particularmente relevante na Coreia do Sul e em muitos outros países, onde a ressocialização é um desafio complexo e frequentemente incompreendido. "My Sweet Mobster" trata deste assunto com a devida seriedade, mostrando que a ressocialização é possível e pode ser eficaz, como demonstrado pela jornada dos protagonistas.

2. Romance.
- O drama apresenta dois casais principais: o casal protagonista e um casal secundário. O romance entre os protagonistas é marcado por uma inocência e reclusão, com um desenvolvimento gradual e delicado dos sentimentos entre eles. Este contraste é acentuado quando comparado ao romance do casal secundário, que é mais maduro e adulto. Esta diferença parece intencional, com a protagonista feminina sendo uma youtuber infantil, o que pode explicar a escolha por um amor mais inocente. Em contrapartida, o casal secundário traz à tona uma visão de amor jovem, adulto e maduro, proporcionando ao público uma interessante comparação entre diferentes formas de paixão.

4. Cinematografia e Música.
- A cinematografia e a trilha sonora de "My Sweet Mobster" são aspectos que merecem elogios. A direção de arte e a escolha de ângulos, cores e iluminação estão em perfeita harmonia com a narrativa, contribuindo para uma experiência visualmente agradável. Quanto à música, as canções escolhidas complementam perfeitamente as cenas, elevando as emoções transmitidas. Destaco especialmente a música de abertura, "Every Single Day - My Sweet Mobster", e "Ring My Heart - Kim Pureum", que são cativantes e acrescentam uma camada adicional de encanto ao drama.


Enfim, é um drama completamente divertido que consegue combinar humor, romance e um pouco de crítica social de forma envolvente e hoje, se tornou um dos meus dramas de conforto favorito. ❤️

Terminado em: 04/08/24 - Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

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A Sleeper Hit!

I LOVED this one! I had some preconceived notions about what such a titled series would be about, but it over-exceeded my expectations.

The ML’s acting was just amazing, he’s so versatile! And the FL was sweet, with a touching storyline. Nothing felt unrealistic for me, just human. And I absolutely LOVE the concept of having a company that employs ex-convicts, especially those that are remorseful and want to change their lives for the better. The ML’s vision is so ahead of his time and the gang was just too loveable.

Before I watched it I was on the fence about doing so because I didn’t want to be a part of anything that glamorised being a gangster, but I honestly came out of watching this, a much better and more empathetic person. The acting was top notch, the humour was side-splitting, the romance was riveting, the story was just beautiful and the character development was excellent. I don’t know how they managed to make such common tropes like childhood friendship and first love so exciting and fresh but the did it. And big ups to the supporting cast esp. Jae Soo, they DELIVERED and made this story a classic for me. Kudos to the entire team!

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Romantic Comedy Of The Year

MySweetMobster and it’s giving 2006 ~ 2016 cliche kdramas and in a good way

Seo jihwan who's a ex gangster part-time ceo of thirsty deer and full-time loser baby girl only to his eunha :)

drama casting, storyline, the balance between funny and serious scenes, character background story are perfect!!! Loveee and adore this drama so much!! <3

I know that we all dreamed of their wedding and that the ending would have been perfect like that.
but I swear that their romance was perfect for me, I can't complain

I'm going to miss MSM a lot. I'm grateful that he introduced me to Uhm Tae Goo. <3
MSM never deserves low ratings.

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Ji Hwan Y Dangerously

Making a reference to a forty year old movie is probably not the ideal method of appealing to the younger demographic on MDL. Perhaps something iconic like "Breakfast Club" or "Beverly Hills Cop" would spark the right nostalgic vibe. But a forgettable, middling, sophomoric mess? Terrible idea but here goes anyway.

"Johnny Dangerously" was a 1984 movie meant to capitalize on the emerging stardom of a young Michael Keaton who had just exploded as a comedic star after back-to-back hits in "Night Shift" and "Mr. Mom". Pairing Keaton with Amy Heckerling, the Greta Gerwig of the 80's who established herself with the scintillating "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" should have been a can't miss project. It was a massive failure though. Probably because the concept was a parody of the incredible mafia movies of Coppola and Polanski. "Johnny Dangerously" was both a critical and popular bomb.

"My Sweet Mobster" encounters some of the same problems. Meant to be a comedy starring a zoot suited gangster that meets the girl of his dreams and wants to do right by his family, both start strong and score genuinely funny moments. And both don't really know what to do beyond lampooning the tough guy stereotype. Once the joke about the gangster not being such a big, tough, heartless guy, but a kindhearted softie gets played a few times, there's got to be somewhere else to go. It's fun at first. The more chaotic and frenzied it is, the more at ease Han Sun Hwa is. And Uhm Tae Goo is legit a delight as the flummoxed suitor. And Im Chul Soo takes his nemesis to an absurdly sketch comedy level. But at some point, "My Sweet Mobster" can't squeeze any more gags out of the cute, awkward gangster likes the bubbly kids streamer. And the options are:

1. Cut it short. The big secret gets revealed. Happy embraces. Roll credits. But it's a 16 episode contract, so this is a not an option.

2. Keep going back to same well. This was the route taken by "Johnny Dangerously" and it did not work.

3. Revert to stock drama storylines. Triangles. Hospitals. Roadtrips. This is where "My Sweet Mobster" goes and while it's not entirely unpleasant, it goes exactly to the exact destination and along the exact route in the exact manner as any regular viewer of k dramas can expect. Which is unfortunate because the two leads had a lot of promise if they had just avoided doing exactly the usual, typical, same ol', same ol' familiar stuff. It's also just a drag to go from light, fun romance with a supporting cast of fairly lovable goofballs to family angst and corporate & legal melodrama.

4. What could have worked was investing more screen time in the aforementioned supporting cast. Kim Hyun Jin isn't going to win any awards (see my review for "Peng" where he was one of the four horsemen of the borepocalypse) but the one night stand with Moon Ji In that becomes something more is terrific. And there are hints of other potential subplots with Moon Dong Hyuk with Song Seo Rin and Kwon Yool with Shin Soo Hyun (like repeated, explicitly telegraphed, unmistakeable flashing lights saying "LOOK AT THESE TWO. RIGHT HERE. THAT GUY. WITH THAT WOMAN. THEY'RE GONNA BE A THING. JUST WAIT.") Do these go anywhere? No. Foreshadowing with a payoff? When there's sixteen hour long episodes to insert said payoff? If drama malpractice was a felony, this crew would be behind bars for a long time. Then there's the backstory for Park Jae Chan and his first love? It's there but to what end? None that makes any sense other than make life more miserable for Ji Hwan. And the most endearing of the supporting characters, Yang Hyun Min's Jae Soo, gets used for cheap laughs, reduced to a plot device to set up a final conflict and transformed in to a blubbering weakling.

Had these supporting characters been given meaningful and fully explored subplots in a more ensemble style show, "My Sweet Mobster" could have been a massively charming and entertaining watch. It's still good but it simply can't turn a cheeky, cute romance in to a riveting sixteen episode run.

Recommended but with cautions that it will get frustrating to watch. Perhaps if it had a love broker* though...

*see Michael Keaton in "Night Shift"

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My Overly-Sweet Mobster

I pushed through but I think I regret it. A bit of an unintentionally frustrating show.

The comedy is definitely the main point of this show, despite the fact that it's not really that funny. The humor is very silly to the point of it being cringe, and many of the side characters (like the mobsters) are so obviously supposed to fill a specific comedic role, but the character development and execution is so poor that it just comes off as cringe and completely see-through when it comes to the writers' need to include every single rom-com trope. So many scenes with the side mobsters felt completely unnecessary simply because I wasn't given any real reason to care for them as characters. Sure, they were given brief backstories and introductions, but none of it felt genuine or realistic given the comedic nature of the show, so we're just left with empty surface-level characters and are still expected to care about what happens to them and their relationships with the leads.

The ML is an interesting character being a mobster and all, but is portrayed as child-like to the point that I couldn't imagine any realistic scenario where someone would be in a relationship with him and not be put off by his exaggerated reactions and fear of human contact. There’s a scene where he’s sitting on a bench next to the FL as she tries to scoot closer to him and he reacts so over-the-top to the point that he’s literally shaking out of even the thought of making physical contact. This made me completely disconnect from the romance. The FL spends too much time lingering on feelings for a boy she knew as a small child (yet another "destiny/fate" trope), which to me feels like a simple way for writers to create drama and "emotional" scenes without having to actually put in much effort, because the trope writes the narrative for them. On top of this, the ML does the typical ML thing of not being able to communicate properly which leads to misunderstandings and angry FL scenes, which ultimately leads to him having to apologize.

The FL is not much better to be honest. She’s silly just the like other characters and does not act her age, has trouble communicating like the ML and instead gets upset but doesn’t try to talk it out at first, and continuously jumps back and forth between the ML and 2ML despite “rejecting” the 2ML. Not really in a romantic way, but definitely feels off when the 2ML is already so head over heels for no reason and doesn’t know when to give up even after being rejected.

The 2ML is rather annoying, but I guess I just don’t like love triangles. It’s your typical love triangle you’ll see in like 90% of rom-com dramas. And of course his name is coincidentally the exact same name as the boy the FL has been looking for. I feel like his devotion and lowkey obsession with the FL doesn’t really make sense. We’re not really given a solid explanation as to why he’s so committed to winning her love despite being rejected. The constant jealous ML vs. 2ML scenes throughout the show got boring and annoying very quickly. Sometimes it felt like the writers were trying to find any reason or opportunity to insert the 2ML into the scene, even if the scene would have been better off without him in it. The ML even expressed in a scene with the FL that he didn’t like how she was hanging out with the 2ML all the time, yet this didn’t really change the large amount of screentime the FL & 2ML have together throughout the show. I nearly dropped the show after the scene where the FL is in danger (as usual) and the 2ML swoops in and takes the blow for her. I really didn’t want to have to sit through an entire episode where the characters have to take care of and feel guilty for the injured 2ML, especially when the ML was already going through so much with the conflict in his company. They should have focused on the ML’s conflict instead in order to give the ML & FL an opportunity to develop their relationship instead of shifting the focus on to the 2ML again. There’s also a 2FL, but she’s barely in the show and honestly doesn’t contribute much to the story or the love triangle.

The side relationship between Ju Il Yeong & Koo Mi Ho was admittingly pretty cute despite its flaws. Sometimes I felt more excited to see them together than the leads. Still not really enough to overlook the basic plot and tropes. There’s also a villain played by Im Chul Soo who does a good job in acting, but his character is so intentionally evil that I can’t really take him seriously. It seems like the writers wanted him to be a Joker type villain with all his mannerisms, even down to the “why so serious?” line in one of the episodes.

Overall, almost everything about the show just felt uninspired and recycled. Like the writers had a formula for rom-coms that worked in the past, so they decided to just switch out the characters and call it a day. The plot progression always felt like it was playing out exactly the way the writers wanted it to play out, but in an unnatural way. It’s like watching the script unfold scene by scene without any real emotion or excitement behind it. Maybe I’m just experiencing drama burn-out considering the amount of positive reviews for this show, but there are definitely plenty of flaws nonetheless.

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