Wednesday, January 25, 2006 || Liz's once in a lifetime drama review: Devil Beside you
- I don't do reviews often ... No, scratch that, I never do reviews. Especially on this blog. :p
But I thought I'd give it a go. Besides, I don't think that many people has watched this yet. I wanted to really try my hand at writing a 'formal' review and submit it to SPCNet, but two people beat me to it already. *shrugs*
So I'll do it the Lizzy way! (Which, undoubtedly, won't be as good as, say, Swifty's film reviews. =( )
Liz Reviews: Devil Beside You
Summary:
Devil Beside You is a Taiwanese Idol drama with a pretty typical plot, similiar to the likes of Meteor Garden and My MVP Valentine.
Qi Yue, a second year college student, is in love with Yuan Yi, the good-looking, soft-spoken captain of the basketball team. However, under a series of hilarious circumstances, she finds herself constantly crossing paths with Ah Meng, a notorious, rich, bad boy. (Sounds familar?)
They soon fall head-over-heels in love with each other, only to find out that Qi Yue's mother is dating Ah Meng's dad, and they plan to get married ... which would make their relationship forbidden and somewhat incestuous.
Cast:
Mike He Jun Xiang as Ah Meng
When I first saw pictures of him around, I thought that he was just another pretty 'F4 wannabe-esque' face, and I didn't think too highly of him.
But his on-screen presence caught me off guard, because I was expecting a pretty face and bad acting. (Think Jerry Yan of Meteor Garden fame.) Pretty face? Very much so. Bad acting skills? No.
In fact, this guy oozes with charisma and sex appeal. And he can act his role pretty well. Spoiled bad boy with a kind heart, sensitive lover, and loyal friend, he pulled it all off. His crying scenes blew me away, as I have a soft spot for romantic guys. =(
The fact that he is drop-dead gorgeous doesn't really hurt either. Well, hey, why'd you think all the girls were raving over F4 when they made their debut? But Mike He Jun Xiang is competent, he made me fall in love with Ah Meng over and over again.
Rainie Yang as Qi Yue
Before watching this show, I vaguely remember her playing a pretty minor role in Meteor Garden, as Barbie Xsu's best friend or something.
Initially, Rainie massively annoyed me with some of her over-the-top exaggerated manga-style facial expressions. But thank God, she mellowed it down and improved along the way of the series.
But she is impossible to dislike. She is just too likeable and cute. I think that they chose the right person for the role, because she and Mike He had pretty amazing on-screen chemistry. She brought Qi Yue to life without coming off as an unbelievably angelic goody-two-shoes.
Actually, Qi Yue IS Rainie Yang (looks-wise). Cute, naive and bubbly.
Kingone Wang Chuan Yi as Yuan Yi
I don't watch Taiwanese dramas often, and I haven't seen Kingone before, so I'm presuming that he's sorta new.
However, his performance as Yuan Yi surprised me. At first, he came off as a goody-two-shoes, serious guy ... but later in the series, he 'lightened up' and provided a lot of comic relief and hilarious moments with his dorky demeanour and charm.
The rest of the cast were pretty good as well. I especially liked Ah Meng and Qi Yue's parents.
Bottom-line:
I actually had very very low expectations of this show, because of the other Taiwanese dramas that I watched, which pretty much sucked. Besides, I usually stick to korean dramas. *coughs*
But Devil Beside You definitely impressed me. The kissing scenes did not make me wince, and the chemistry between all the characters amused me immensely. :D There were enough funny moments to make me laugh and enough romantic 'emo' moments that made me feel like dancing on top of Mount Kinabalu nude as a proclaimation of my adoration towards Mike He. Err.
Watch it if you like light-hearted romantic mandirin dramas. Don't expect too much depth, though, because after all, it IS a taiwanese idol drama.
I'll give it a 7/10, overall. 8/10 for the cast. :) Excellente!
You can borrow the original VCD set from Cally, like me. LOL
P.S I finished Nora Robert's Montana Sky already. Typical Nora Roberts, but I love it. Nyeh heh heh ....
