Pinocchio
(2014)
It’s not every time you hear a cartoon name and you
relate it to a drama. But the drama sure got the name for its story! Just
imagine if it were real. Ask yourself “what would happen if we lived in a world
where the Pinocchio Syndrome was real? Having people unable to lie because they
would hiccup whenever they did. Conversations would be interesting; heck, life
would be interesting. And that’s just what this drama offers: an interesting
and cleverly written story -with gorgeous Lee Jong Suk as Ki Ha Myeong/ Choi Dal
Po, and Park Shin Hye as Choi In Ha.
Writer Park Hye Ryun did at great job at giving us a
unique situation. I am going to be honest, without the addition of the
Pinocchio Syndrome, this story would have been just another one. But the
characters had well developed backgrounds, traits and personalities. Dal Po is
this guy that you would think is the stupidest person alive just to be proven wrong
by getting the highest test score in the whole school. In Ha is this tough girl
with the inability to lie because of her ridiculously sad Pinocchio Syndrome; and
they are both followed by unfortunate pasts. Seo Bum Jo (Kim Young Kwang) gets
to be mama’s boy turned men, and so on. The writer truly gave importance not
only to the leading characters but also to their environment and the secondary
characters. Of course, I can’t move on to the quality of the production without
mentioning the great chemistry Park Shin Hye and Lee Jong Suk projected. I have
come to think that it is Lee Jong Suk’s charm that allows him to have great on
screen chemistry with any actress. Don’t get me wrong, Park Shin Hye is not any
actress, but this happens in every drama of his that I have seen.
And
I know I was not the only one who appreciated Dal Po and In Ha’s cute and dorky
moments together. They brought an element of sweet comedy and light air in between
hectic situations. Even the relationship between Jang Hyun Gyu (Min Sung Wook)
and Im Jae Hwan ((Choo Soo Hyun) grew as a cute and funny side story. Another
interesting relationship was that of Yoon Yoo Rae (Lee Yoo Bi) and Hwang Gyo
Dong (Lee Pil Mo), though this one is amusing because it’s a sunbae-hoobae
thing -at the beginning that is hahaha! The thing is that it’s cute; they ALL are.
As I mentioned, the writer payed great attention to
the environment of the leads. The setting played an important role in this
drama. First off, how the two news buildings where next to each other. This
gave lots of chances for feisty interactions between the reporters. Second, the
circumstances in which Dal Po meets Ki Jae Myeong (Yoo Gyun Sang). Once Jae
Myeong came into the picture, I was waiting to see how Dal Po would handle it. And
third, how Ki Ha Myeong ends up living with In Ha as Choi Dal Po when he was a
kid. I know the Pinocchio Syndrome was not something realistic, but In Ha’s
grandfather’ situation was stretching it a bit. Just as the setting and
location was well managed, so was the action, conflict and script. I will point
out how these “reporters” felt and were more than just reporters; they were
like detectives. The fast pace in investigating and the dialogues made it
pleasing and fun to watch; always giving us something new in every episode. And
although the presence of vengeance in the conflict is familiar -not something
new- the way the story developed with its plot twists was clever.
The ending was well done, though I wasn’t sure if prolonging
the news of Dal Po and In Ha’s relationship to the grandfather was something
necessary. It just made it awkward for me. [SPOILER:
Yes, the old man did think of Dal Po as In Ha’s uncle, but he knew they weren’t
related, so why all the fuzz if in the end he agree to them being together? END OF SPOILER] Aside from this, I found that only the
necessary situations were presented; no pesky side story was inserted. There
was only one focus from the very beginning and it was much appreciated. Just as
I was happy and thankful for the beautiful, memorable and catchy original
soundtrack. With songs like “Pinocchio” by Roy Kim; “Nonfiction” “Challenge”
and “My Story” by Every Single Day; “Only Person” by K. Will; “Kiss Me” by Zion.
T; “Passionate to Me” by Younha; “You’re The One” by Kim Bo Kyung; and “Love Is
Like a Snow” by Park Shin Hye herself you can’t go wrong, all the emotions are
present and they all set the mood perfectly. I mean, that’s the entire album
right there! I truly believe Pinocchio’s ost is underrated.
Thankfully the drama was a success! A well written and
directed story that brought laughter and tears to my eyes. Besides Park Shin
Hye’s way of kissing, I wouldn’t change anything about it. So if you don’t mind
that, dive into this spring-feel drama -I highly recommend it!
My rating for this drama is: ♥♥♥
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