Something in the Rain

I found this drama irritating, at best, and that’s too bad because I really liked both the actors and the characters. Although the show is called Something in the Rain, it was something in the directing and music that ruined the whole thing for me.

When Jin-Ah’s ex-boyfriend refuses to leave her alone, her best friend’s little brother, Joon-Hee, comes to her rescue, posing as her new significant other. But it’s not entirely an act. Ever since Joon-Hee got back from an extended stay in America he and Jin-Ah have been enjoying one another’s company. They work in the same office building, often running into each other throughout the day. The two have known each other for years – Jin-Ah’s little brother, Seung-Ho, is best friends with Joon-Hee and she is best friends with Joon-Hee’s big sister, Kyung-Seon, – in fact, Jin-Ah’s parents think of Joon-He and Kyung-Sean as family. When Joon-Hee and Jin-Ah realize their attraction goes beyond just friendship, Jin-Ah thinks it’s best to hide their new relationship. But secrets have a way of coming out whether you want them to or not. Can Joon-Hee and Jin-Ah’s budding relationship withstand the criticism and intolerance that is bound to come their way once their families find out about it?

Yoon Jin-Ah has been employed at CoffeeBay for the past ten years, working her way up the ranks to a lower management position through perseverance and self-sacrifice. Her mother wants nothing more than for her to marry well, which means a man from a wealthy, high social status family.

Seo Joon-Hee is a twenty-something year old concept artist for the video game company Smilegate who recently returned from a three year business assignment in the U.S. One of the girls who works with Jin-Ah has set her sights on him but he’s not interested since he’s already fallen for someone else. Joon-Hee puts his whole heart and soul into love.

When their father left the family for another woman and their mother passed away, Seo Kyung-Seon took it upon herself to be both a sibling and a parent to Joon-Hee. She is the owner of a CoffeeBay franchise that is doing rather well. Because of her father’s affair and three marriages, Kyung-Seon has decided she is not interested in dating or love.

Yoon Seung-Ho is studying for his Ph.D, splitting his time between the University and home. He and Joon-Hee have been best friends since they were young. Although he’s the little brother he is very protective of his big sister, Jin-Ah.

It’s been five years since Son Ye-Jin (who plays Yoon Jin-Ah) has been in a Kdrama and it’s wonderful to have her back. She began her entertainment career in a supporting role in the 2000 motion picture Secret Tears and went on to become a huge Hallyu star after starring in the 2003 Kdrama Summer Scent, which is part of the seasoned themed Endless Love series. Due to the pure and innocent characters she played in the films The Classic and A Moment to Remember, Son Ye-Jin was affectionately given the title Nation’s First Love. She has appeared in over 30 different TV and film productions and has earned 43 awards throughout her 18 years of acting. Among her awards are the titles Best Jewelry Lady, Fun Fearless Female, and Most Photogenic Actress. This year (2018) she’s not only starred in this TV drama but she’s also in two films – Be with You, opposite So Ji-Sub, which came out in March and sold 1.82 million tickets within its first two weeks, and Negotiation, opposite Hyun Bin, which has yet to be released.

I wrote about Jung Hae-In in my While You Were Sleeping review (so I’ll let you go there if you want some information about him) saying that I hoped he got to play a leading man in a romantic Kdrama soon and, bingo! – my wish was granted. Seo Joon-Hee is his first starring role. I just knew he’d be a great leading man! More please!

Something in the Rain takes a bit of its plot from the 2006 Kdrama Foxy Lady (aka What’s Up Fox?) in that a younger man falls for his older sister’s friend. However, the part where the younger man is so close to the girl’s parents that he is considered family (and you can’t fall in love with your “sibling”) reminded me of good old Autumn in My Heart. All three shows are good love stories I enjoyed, just with their own little twist, but if I was going to watch one over again it would be the overly sappy, yet emotional, Autumn in My Heart (which I’ve already seen about four times now).

I thought Jin-Ah’s mother was simply a horrible person. She tried to disguise her selfish actions as a mother’s desire for her daughter’s welfare but the audience is able to see right through her. What a pitifully sad character she is. It’s obvious her husband and children always ended up giving into her craziness, thus creating Monster Mommy. Jin-Ah’s little brother, Yoon Seung-Ho, is the only one who knows how to handle her. It’s too bad he wasn’t home enough to make a significant difference.

Sadly, there’s a kink near the end of the show. Jin-Ah and Joon-Hee’s actions are completely out of character in episode 15. (Sorry, but I can’t tell you how without ruining the story for you.) I understand there needed to be a twist at the end but that came out of nowhere. Episode 15 turned Something in the Rain from a story that could have been realistic to just another Kdrama script. Choice was the wrong way to go in my opinion. A misunderstanding, manipulation, blackmail… any of those would have fit the characters better than what the writer came up with. Rats! But at least the writer was able to salvage it by the very end.

So, this is my ranting paragraph…
Ann Pan-Seok is Something in the Rain’s director and the main reason I can’t give this drama a glowing review. There is much too much “empty” time in this show. If we took out all the slow motion stuff and non-dialogue shots we’d probably loose at least a full hour of the drama, maybe more. An entire song can play, start to finish, and all we see is someone sitting in a chair, thinking. Really? We need to watch four minutes of someone sitting just to know they are thinking things through? And lots of shots are blocked by random things – a post, a wall, a tree, a couch… stuff gets in the way of our view of the characters. Once it showed Joon-Hee and Jin-Ah playfully chasing each other around the office and when they came to a stop we could only see one person, the other was backed into a corner! And one time as they are cuddling and kissing the top part of their heads aren’t on the screen! Also, slow motion is way over used. Why does walking in the rain need to be done in two minutes of slow motion? Just get on with the show! I swear it’s almost like the writer wrote only 45 minutes of dialogue for each one hour episode. And the music is downright awful. Why use American country western songs in a KOREAN drama? Stand By Your Man and Save the Last Dance for Me became monotonous after the second episode. Those two songs played over and over and over and OVER for 16 episodes! I wasn’t fond of either song before I watched this show but now I sincerely hate them.

Oops number one: At the end of one episode Jin-Ah’s dad is sitting in front of her with a tissue box on the floor, since she’s been crying. The next episode begins where that one left off but this time her dad, already on the floor beside her, has to reach behind himself to get the tissue box which is on a table. Oops number two: Another scene shows Jin-Ah at a distance standing on a street corner at night with an umbrella snapped closed. Then we see her unsnap it and wiggle it open a bit, but when we take a closer look the umbrella’s back to being snapped tightly shut. Oops number three: Jin-Ah and Joon-Hee are completely soaking wet from playing in the rain but a little while later they are all dry, clothes and hair just fine.

The best song on the soundtrack, and the only one sung in Korean, is Noona You Are So Pretty, performed by Shinee. I really liked it. Everything else is in English. The only other song that is even halfway decent is Something in the Rain by Rachael Yamagata, and I really only liked it because of its awesome saxophone solo. Like I mentioned before, Stand By Your Man and Save the Last Dance for Me were horribly over played and just plain irritating. This soundtrack is one of the worst I’ve heard in a long time.

The scenery in this show goes from one extreme to another. The characters play in the snow in the mountains and walk along the sand at the beach. Most of the action, however, takes place in the big office building (CoffeeBay on a separate floor from Smilegate), Jin-Ah’s house, and Joon-Hee’s apartment.

With a different director, a decent soundtrack utilizing Korean music, and an episode 15 that was more consistent with Jin-Ah and Joon-Hee’s characters, Something in the Rain would have been a wonderful, romantic Kdrama. As it stands now – ummmmm, not so much.

 

Score: 5

The Good:
Excellent actors/actresses
Likable characters
Yummy romantic scenes

The Bad:
Horrible directing
Bad camera angles
Rotten, monotonous, American music
Episode 15 isn’t consistent with the couple’s character
Some “oops”