Also known as: Best Love, The Greatest Love
Episodes: 16
Watched: 20 December 2011
Rating: 4-stars
Synopsis:
Ae Jung was once the most popular member of girl band The National Treasure Girls. However 10 years ago the band broke up and she received most of the blame. Despite her warm personality her career has suffered ever since and she now spends her time fighting for air time on variety shows. Dokko Jin is a top movie star at the height of his career. The two meet and become involved in each other's careers. Yoon Pil Joo is a doctor of oriental medicine who has no interest in the entertainment industry but agrees to make a dating show. Dokko Jin helps get Ae Jung a role on a new reality show called Couple Making. Pil Joo is the bachelor being set up on Couple Making. Both men fall for Ae Jung both off and on the screen.
Grouch's Synopsis (just cuz I think the standard synopsis doesn't say much):
Goo Ae Jung, who once experienced the peak of stardom when she was part of the four-girl group - "The National Treasure Girls", has since fallen on bad times after the group disbanded. Her shaky solo career now relies on her ablity to fight for air time on variety shows. In comparison, Dokko Jin, is a highly successful movie star, who is at the peak of his career with multiple endorsement deals under his belt. An extremely proud and confident man, he is highly rational on the importance of his public image to his career and is fully aware of the perils to look out for as a "top star".
After a chance meeting and a series of mishaps, Goo Ae Jung and Dokko Jin's fates are irrecovably tied together in this "doomed to fail" relationship, where Ae Jung's image will take a further plunge if the public even gets a whiff about a possible relationship. She knows without a doubt that she will be depicted by the media as the seducer and gold-digger. While Dokko Jin's image will suffer as the guy with "bad taste" and who has abandoned his legions of fars for this "has-been" singer/entertainer.
To add spice into this whole mess, Yoon Pil Joo, a highly eligible bachelor (rich, handsome and intelligent), who is an Oriental doctor running the highly successful family "oriental medicine hospital" business gets embroiled into a three-way relationship after an accidental meeting with Ae Jung where he falls for her. He is unwittingly sucked into the dirt and scandal-filled Korean entertainment industry from his safe haven.
Goo Ae Jung, at the bottom of the barrel in the entertainment industry will now have to choose between being with Dokko Jin and risk sinking even deeper, pulling Dokko Jin down with her, or with Yoon Pil Joo, who offers her the opportunity to leave the harsh and cruel entertainment industry.
Review:
Yup... the expert on all sorts of dramas - Korean, Japanese, Hongkong and Taiwanese drama... I am a huge fan of drama series =) And... so... here we go!!
The Greatest Love, one of the better romantic-comedy around due to its witty script and the experience of the two main leads - Gong Hyo Jin (Goo Ae Jung) and Cha Seung Won (Dokko Jin). As opposed to the recent spate of pretty boys drama serials from Korea (not that I don't like them.. who doesn't like eye candy?), these two are good looking, but not exceptionally so.
Instead, they are very smooth in their delivery, believable in their characters and even the "at times" over-the top depiction, which adds a comic element to the show are somewhat done in okay taste (borderline bad taste, but still manageable due to the stars' very credible acting chops).
The characters are developed well, and the pace of the show is very well managed, which is the exception rather than the rule for korean dramas. They didn't even add too much flashbacks, and there wasn't too much crying *Like!*. I am not saying there's no crying, but it's contained...
In particular, I love the role played by the little fat boy, Yang Han Yeol as Goo Hyung Kyu, and his nickname in the show - Ding Dong. And I absolutely love Gong Hyo Jin (Goo Ae Jung), she is just soooo good and this show, although her role is that of a matyr, is very tastefully done, and her quiet strength to support the people around her is instead, very believable.
It's also nice to watch a show where the leads are closer to my age, and are realistic about their expectations and commitment to love. Love the realism shown in the movie, and even the ending, is one that was realistic and rational on how they overcame the difficulties. The ending doesn't disappoint.
Love the show. Go rent/buy it.
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