Dream High

Waktu tayang : 2011-Jan-03 to 2011-Feb-28

Waktu menonton : June 2011

Hal paling berkesan : The songs and dances. The cameo. The simple but sweet story.

To be honest, when Dream High first came out in March, I have no interest at all to watch it. The first reason is because at the time, I am not a fan of kpop yet. The cast of this drama consist of an (almost) entirely idol-centric cast, and I don't know who the hell was 2PM, Miss A, T-ara, or IU. So I have no interest in watching this drama. The second reason is because one of my friends said that they didn't like the drama because it's too high school centric and didn't put a lot of emphasis in romance. Seeing as I'm a big fan of romance, that little advice put me off this drama.

And then surprisingly, in June, circumstances led me to become a fan of kpop, and specifically, a fan of 2PM. I knew that two of 2PM members, Taecyeon and Wooyoung, was a cast of Dream High. So finally I bring myself to watch it, if only because I recognize almost all of the cast now, except for the lead, the only non-idol main cast in this drama. I have no expectation of this drama at all. I only expect some good songs from the idol, and that's that.

Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying this drama immensely.

The drama starts with Go Hye Mi (played by Suzy from Miss A, who's only 17 and gorgeous), a rude girl and your typical mean girl, if only because she's got everything : the looks, the talent, and the money. She's a daughter from a rich household, she's been accepted to Juilliard by special admission, and she's gorgeous. The only thing lacking is her attitude.

Unexpectedly, or perhaps expectedly for a kdrama veteran, her family face bankruptcy and she is forced to let go of Juilliard. Her dad's loan shark then forced her to attend Kirin Art School, a school that produce many idol debut and pop singers. She is horrified because she thinks that pop music is beneath her, but she has no choice. But she got a lesson of her life when she failed the admission test and her best friend Yoon Baek Hee got in instead. When the director of Kirin Art School (played by Bae Yong Jung) accept three extra people to Kirin Art School through special admission though, Hye Mi got another shot at the school.

And the drama evolved then to a high school musical drama, like Glee, Fame, or perhaps August Rush. It's a familiar setting and we all know it well. But the drama is executed so briliantly that even though it's familiar, I found myself enjoying the journey so much.

Go Hye Mi is then joined by the other high school kids that makes up the other lead casts. There's Yoon Baek Hee (played by T-ara's Eunjeung. This is her second role in a drama after Coffee House, but I didn't watch Coffee House actually. I watch her on We Got Married though, and she's adorable) playing Hye Mi's former-friend-turned-enemy, and there's Jin Gook (played by Taecyeon from 2PM, also on his second drama role after Cinderella's Sister. I didn't watch that drama either because I hate melodrama. Taecyeon is insanely hot here like always, and the drama never let us forget it with a shot of Taecyeon with no shirt on. HOT) playing Hye Mi's love interest and classmate. His story arc is interesting because he is actually the son of a high senator, but when we first glimpse him, he is living in the street. And the other love interest for Hye Mi is Song Sam Dong (played by Kim So Hyun, the only non-idol cast in Dream High, but BOY he sure can sing) a country boy with a noticeable satoori accent, a genius and a musical prodigy even though he's really just an innocent boy. His story arc is big and interesting, even though it's a bit mellow for my taste. The last two is Kim Pil Sook (played by IU so very adorably and cute. The cuteness just about kill me) and Jason (played by Wooyoung of 2PM. I'm not a fan of Wooyoung originally, but after watching Dream High, count me as a fan). They are dubbed the milk couple by the watchers, and they are so very adorable. Kim Pil Sook is a girl with a golden voice but a fat body, and Jason is a talented boy who knows he's talented and think that just because of it, there's no need to work hard. The six of them is the lead in this drama.

The premise is actually very classic. It's very familiar like every music based school movie there is. But it's done right and the conflict is good. But what I like about this drama is the character driven story. This drama is about the characters. Their growth, their journey to success and their trials and tribulations. They all face obstacles in their lives. They face troubles. But by overcoming it, they become someone that they can be proud of. That's a positive message that I can get behind.

The drama is shot very gorgeously, with great lighting, great effect, and great picture. You can tell that the camera is very good and they put a lot of thoughts into the production because the shot is very beautiful. The production value is through the roof. There are a lot of great song, performance, and dance as expected, and they all had a high production value. I love the songs.

In the acting department though, it's not mindblowing but it's not noticeably bad. It's just passable. I actually thought that Suzy gave a good performance despite the criticism. At first she is cold and without facial expression, but the writer manage to make that into a story and she's getting better and better with every passing episodes. Kim So Hyun is heartbreaking, emotional and just plain great. He is a real actor though, so it's to be expected. Taecyeon though, is really flat for me for whatever reason. He's OK, but I can't feel his emotions. IU and Wooyoung is so very very adorable as a couple and that makes me a little bias for them so I can't really judge the acting. Interestingly, Bae Yong Jun the veteran actor deliver his role with flat line. And strangely enough, he look like he just got a botox or something with the way his skin looks.

There are a lot of pairings in the drama, but strangely enough I can't feel emotionally for the lead pairing, Hye Mi with Sam Dong or Hye Mi with Jin Gook. I can't feel their chemistry frankly, and I hesitate to say it but maybe it had something to do with their lack of acting skills. What I do adore though, is the IU and Wooyoung pairing, or the milk couple. I can't say enough about how I love this couple. They are so adorably cute,from start to finish, and I love love love them. I found myself impatiently waiting for the next episode just to watch the milk couple scene. They are very adorable. But one thing this drama can do, is keep us guessing. Usually, in the first episode, you can guess who's the heroine gonna end up with. This drama made us guess until maybe the 14th or 15th episode because both love interest in the love triangle had their share of screentime, lovey dovey scene, and they both have a good side or a bad side in them. It's hard to guess.

One last thing I love about this drama is the amount of pop culture reference and cameo in them. There's a parody of Boys Before Flowers complete with a background song of "almost paradiiiiiiiiise", there's a parody of Cinderella's Sister complete with Yesung's "If it's not you, it can't be anyone else". There's a lot of pop culture reference with Wooyoung and IU singing 2PM's Heartbeat, 2AM's Can't Let You Go Even If I Die, even a cover of SNSD's Genie, and a lot more. It's especially garnered towards JYP Entertainments artist, with posters of Wonder Girls and JYP and Joo playing a role themselves in the drama. And there's tons of cameos, mostly on the JYP Entertainments artist part. There's Nichkhun and Chansung from 2PM, there's 2AM and Miss A, and a lot more cameos I didn't catch. It's a brilliant tactic on JYP's part because he can promote his artists at the same time, but it's done wonderfully and not cheapfuly so it can be enjoyed.

For those of you who love kpop, this is a must watch. For those of you wary because of the amount of idol stars in this, don't worry. The drama is enjoyable despite the somewhat lacking acting skills of the cast. It's not too noticeable. And for those of you who are prejudiced because of this drama's status as a high school drama and idol heaven, try watching it first. You might be pleasantly surprised.