REVIEW: Pretty Man or Bel Ami

**This review contains spoilers**

I'll start off this review by saying that I absolutely loved this drama. It was so funny and endearing that I was even able to convince my sister to watch it with me. Thankfully she enjoyed it as much as I did, which makes me think that this drama is a great suggestion for any K-Drama newbies.

There were so many classic K-Drama elements to enjoy from the evil mother/vice chairman to the inevitable and sometimes painful-to-watch love triangle. On top of that it had a pretty spectacular cast that included Jang Geun Suk and IU. What more can you ask for right? I'll be honest, not every single moment was a hit, but overall it is a drama worth watching.

WHAT I LIKED:

The very first thing I enjoyed was IU's character Kim Bo Tong. She was exactly like any K-Drama fan imagining life with one of their favorite actors. She was special (in a good way) from the start and thankfully she never really lost that even though she did mature throughout the series.

I also liked the relationship she had with Ma Te. I know most people would disagree with my sentiment of her creepy obsessive stalker mentality being cute, but it worked on her. One reason why it worked is because Ma Te let her do it and he showed the audience that he cared for her even if he didn't love her. At first I was worried that their relationship would be him taking advantage of her feelings for him and her letting him, but it developed into a pretty meaningful friendship that then developed romantically (which we all saw coming).

I like Jang Geun Suk's smile. As pretty men go Mr. Jang is one of the prettiest, however I wouldn't say he is the prettiest man in the world. For much of the drama I refuted that claim when I saw him. However, when he smiled he looked so great. He's definitely his prettiest when he's smiling.

The best thing about the show was it's level of comedy. Many romantic comedies don't actually have that many purely comedic moments but this one did and I liked that. One of my favorite moments was when Ma Te drew on Bo Tong's face. When David told her about it instead of being mad she was happy that he touched her face. It was hilarious, but it was only one of many moments that had me laughing.

Na Hong Ran was a great villain. The writers did a good job at not making her a sympathetic character at all. Even when she had the chance to receive sympathy she gave it up, so there was never a moment when I actually felt sorry for her. However, I did like that she redeemed herself a touch. It wasn't enough for us to start liking or even forgiving her but it was step in the right direction.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Choi David was overall a really likable character. He was so cute whenever he smiled and his adoration for Bo Tong was endearing, but toward the end he became a little pathetic and a little creepy. The fact that he named his car "Bo Tong" and called her his baby was really pushing it. And telling her that he doesn't care if she loves him was just sad. I never like the second male lead stooping to such painful lows. Even when the girl you like doesn't like you back: maintain your dignity, if that's all you can do then do it. He kind of gave his up, but he got shreds of it back at the end.

Hong Yu Ra as the mentor/ex-sister-in-law/manipulator. It's not so much that I didn't like the character, but there wasn't really a point to her being there. She just barely moved the story. I understood at the beginning why she was needed but toward the end she wasn't as necessary (which is probably why she "left"). To me they should have either kept her consistent or not used her at all.

All the secret children. **SPOLIER ALERT** The chairman was a very busy man, if you know what I mean. Out of no where David is his son and Ma Te is the chairwoman's son and I am like "WHAT?!" They played it off really well though. The writers did a good job exposing all of these details however, at a certain point I had a hard time knowing what to believe and keeping up with who was related to who.

At the end of this series I was pretty satisfied especially considering that it was funny all the way to the end. The ending was too sappy or vague so I enjoyed it.

I know this drama is kind of old now, but if you haven't seen it I highly suggest it. I know I gave away some pretty big details but if you're a true kdrama fan so you actually care about that part. Spoilers are half the reason I start watching dramas.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this drama or will enjoy this drama as much as I did.