It took a ton of hunting but we finally found a subbed copy of Cheese in the Trap the movie.  Which means it is time for another round of Original VS Remake!  Come join us as we compare the two and share which one you should be watching.

Best Cinematography

Clkytta: The drama seemed to be brighter than the movie. Seol’s hair was brighter and her clothes were funkier. It seemed like the movie was a lot more understated and darker. The setting seemed to be more interesting in the drama too. I get that the movie wasn’t able to show everything, but the movie was sooo bland, there wasn’t the liveliness to the set or the clothes that the drama had. It was much more monochromatic and boring.

Kmuse: The drama did have more of the webtoon vibe when analyzing the color pallet and character mannerisms. That said, neither really stood out to me as an amazing example of innovative cinematography.

Best Side Characters

Clkytta- Even though they used a lot of the same actors, the feeling was completely different. The movie actors were like shadows of the drama actors.  I was not a fan of Dara as Bo Ra, which was heartbreaking because I love Dara.  Park Min Ji wins this round, she was cute and bubbly and I was invested in her Bo Ra character. I was also completely underwhelmed by Baek In Ho and Baek In Ha in the movie. There was zero chance of the movie In Ho stealing the lead, and Lee Sung Kyung reigns supreme as Baek In Ha, she made In Ha a character you loved to hate and hated to love.  Oh, the sacrifices we make when content is cut down for a 2-hour movie instead of a 16 episode drama.

Kmuse: I second everything Clkytta said. I noticed that the movie used a lot less of the sibling characters. I feel that their plotline is good in small doses but is heavily overused in the drama version. This is one of those cases where less is more.

Best Leading Lady

Clkytta- Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of either actress, but I liked Oh Yeon Seo more than Kim Go Eun. She played a more practical Seol which I appreciated but it also bored me a bit. Meanwhile,  Kim Go Eun’s character seemed scared of her own shadow which irritated me to no end.  So I’m kind of picking the best of the worst here.

Kmuse: I think I am going to disagree a bit with Clkytta. Not that I enjoyed either actress (I am pretty sure it is mainly the character itself that I don’t like) but because I liked Kim Go Eun’s style and hair more. When both roles suck go with the one whose clothes you would want to wear.

Best Leading Man

Clkytta-Park Hae Jin’s Yoo Jung in the drama wins this one, hands down.  His character was so watered down in the movie and there wasn’t any real friction between Seol and Jung. In the drama, until he disappeared from the plot, his character was layered and complex and I wanted to see him grow as a person. He was a total snoozefest in the movie, his jerk persona was played down so much that he wasn’t interesting at all. I liked that he was flawed in the drama, it gave him so much potential for change and to be a better person. In the movie, all his manipulating was downplayed so much and that’s a huge part of who he is, you can’t ignore that he was a puppet master.

Kmuse: Once I again I agree with my co-blogger. Movie Yoo Jung was a watered down version that came across more angsty and depressed than really a sociopath. I missed the evil smirk and the lack of guilt. Without that side note of evil, it didn’t really make sense while the leading lady was so scared of her boyfriend. Except for one or two scenes I zoned out whenever Yoo Jung was on screen blank face angsting.

And the Winner Is!

Clkytta- I hate to say this because I have complained so much about the drama, but the drama was better than the movie. Even with the catastrophe that was the last few episodes, where Seo Kang Joon was the prime focus instead of Park Hae Jin, the drama was at least interesting enough to make me feel strong emotions. I was so bored watching the movie I whined all through it to Kmuse, begging for those hours of my life back.

Kmuse: I say screw both the movie and the drama.  If you really want to learn about this story go read the webtoon.  At least it makes sense and there is not a ton of content that just doesn’t fit the webtoon author’s narrative.

Final Thoughts:

Clkytta- This poor webtoon probably should have been left alone and never been adapted for the big screen. The drama has been redeemed slightly in my eyes after watching the snoozefest that was the movie.  I really had high hopes that the movie would have more character development for Jung, but no, they watered him down so much that it didn’t even feel like the same character. I’m really sad because I liked the webtoon so much and I feel like the Jung character just never really translated onto the screen like it did when I was reading the webtoon.

Kmuse: I would not have even known what was going on in the movie if I hadn’t watched the drama.  And sadly, both had sucky unsatisfying endings.  These are both a hard skip in my opinion.

There you have it, our thoughts on the movie and drama Cheese in the Trap.  What where your thoughts?  Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for more Original VS Remake comparisons.

Kmuse & Clkytta

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi