Once upon a time, I was on the plane with my non-Kdrama watching best friend. Little did I know that a few years later she and I would be discussing all the different dramas we are watching. Y’all, we just met up for the first time in FOREVER and I gave her husband a list of dramas they need to watch. All I’m saying is that Lee Seung Gi is irresistible. My first drama with him was My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and I’ve checked out everything he’s done since then. Tell me in the comments, what was your first introduction to Lee Seung Gi?

Original Post

This fangirl loves to travel and I’m always looking for shows I can download onto my electronic devices and watch while I’m in no man’s land aka on the plane. I discovered The Princess and the Matchmaker last month and meant to watch it with my fellow fangirls during our time in L.A. for the BTS concert, but we got all distracted by other visual offerings. Last weekend I was headed out of town and I remembered that I had this movie to watch. My best friend, who isn’t into kdramas, watched this one on the plane with me and she laughed while I took notes. I tried to keep my review pretty spoiler free, but beware, I may have slipped one in and not noticed.

TRAILER:

SYNOPSIS:

It’s the Joseon Era and the whole country is suffering from a famine. The solution? Marry off their unlucky princess because marital harmony obviously means that the skies will open up and rain will fall and bless the land. So, of course, they call in the best matchmaker to help choose four prime candidates for the princess. The problem is, the princess wants to know more about these men and have a say in who she marries. What’s a princess to do? Dress up as a commoner and escape the palace to go on her own fact-finding mission about her potential mates!

THE PLOT

I loved the idea that a Joseon princess takes matters into her own hands and goes out to dig up the dirt on her potential marriage matches. Princess Songhwa is considered to be the unlucky princess, and she’s separated from everyone who is important to her except one person, the king. She’s allowed to stay at the palace because she shares an affliction with the king and her presence is important to his health. Now she’s old enough to be married so her father is trying to find her a suitable husband. Seo Do Yoon is a talented astronomer who predicts marital harmony. His job is to narrow down the prospects and find Princess Songhwa a husband. When she escapes on her fact-finding mission, he follows her not realizing that she is the princess he’s forecasting for. Their own fates become entwined as they learn more about each other and about the potential husbands.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

I loved the use of color and light in this drama. What stood out to me was the lighting in the scenes. When our OTP is together we see bright colors in the setting around them. One scene that stood out the most to me was when she first escapes the palace and everything she sees is so bright and new. So many bring pinks and greens and our leading lady looks so pretty in pink.

CHARACTER OBSERVATIONS

Let me say that Shim Eun Kyung is absolutely delightful as Princess Songhwa. She has that perfect ability to be both serious and comical. Her facial expressions are so good at telling the story. About the male actors… So, I went into this movie not paying attention to who all was in it besides Lee Seung Gi. Imagine my surprise when several khotties we all know began to march across my screen! Yeon Woo Jin plays Yoon Shi Kyung who is the number one candidate. He’s got his eyes on a bigger prize than the princess though, and he’s out to manipulate anyone he can. I’m not giving any spoilers, but I will say Choi Woo Shik surprised me. Kang Min Hyuk made my heart go pitter pat and how was he not on my radar before? We also have Shinee’s Minho as Lee Seung Gi’s brother. Lee Seung Gi is perfect in his role and I love how they have his marital forecasts seem almost alive as he is writing them.

OVERALL REACTION

I’d give this movie a 7.5/10. It was enjoyable to watch, but it wasn’t really anything different, it felt like a story I’d heard before.  I was pleasantly surprised by the ending though. I also was a little taken aback by one of my favorite actors playing a role I’d have never thought suited him. Trust me, you’ll know when you see it.

Til our next movie adventure,

Clkytta 

Dramas with a Side of Kimchi