K-drama Review: Hometown Cha Cha Cha
English Title: Hometown Cha Cha Cha (2021)
Writer: Shin Ha-eun
Director: Yoo Je-won
Length: 16 episodes
Tropes: Small Town Romance, Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Enemies to Friends to Lovers.
My Score: 3/5
Description: When dentist Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-a) loses her job in Seoul, she impulsively decides to open her own dental clinic in the seaside village she visited as a child. Her stiff and guarded demeanour initially rubs the locals the wrong way but, with the help of free-spirited jack-of-all-trades Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho), she slowly adapts to village life and finds her place in the close-knit community.
If you enjoyed this show, then watch: Love Next Door (by the same writer-director team), Crash Course in Romance (also by director Yoo Je-won) and Warm and Cozy.
Initially, I thought I was unlikely to re-watch this K-drama, but as it's available on Netflix with English dubbing, it's one of the few shows I can watch with my family, so I recently rewatched the entire series. While Hometown Cha Cha Cha is not one of my all-time favourites (so no fifth star), it's a really enjoyable watch, and I may have been a little harsh giving it only three stars. Read on to find out why I docked another star off my rating...
First, let's look at all the good things about Hometown Cha Cha Cha:
- The overall feeling of the show is gentle and healing. While there are some emotional scenes, this is a low-angst rom-com which reminds us that most people are good at heart and that everyone has their own issues they're dealing with. The characters are not intentionally mean to one another, and most hurts can be healed through understanding and compassion. (I love how the two men vying for Yoon Hye-jin's heart become friends despite their rivalry!) It's also heart-warming to see how everyone in this community supports one another.
- This story features realistic and relatable people, with real and relatable issues. The male lead (ML) is a cinnamon roll, a down-to-earth, average-guy hero rather than the typical rich, arrogant CEO heroes we see in many K-dramas.
- The lead actors. Both leads are really cute (those matching dimples!), relatable, and they're also both great actors. I've since seen the female lead (FL) in Oh My Venus which was cute and very watchable (and featured another divine lead male!) but I haven't recommended it above as it's a tad problematic regarding body image and weight issues.
- Supporting cast. What really makes this show special is the stellar supporting cast. The sub-plots featuring the villagers of this small fishing town take up a lot of screen time and we get to know many of the community members (in greater numbers and with more detail than we'd see in most movies or TV shows, and even most novels) but they all manage to be well-rounded, with their own backstories and character arcs.
- This show introduced me to Kim Young-ok, the "Nation's Grandma." I've lost count of how many K-dramas I've seen her in since, but Hometown Cha Cha Cha was the first time time I fell in love with her.
- I love the way the romantic relationship develops. There's a slow unwinding as we watch these two ordinary, flawed people get to know one another, fall in love, and overcome their past hurts. This is why I prefer the 16-episode format of K-dramas to Rom-Com movies, which, because of their brevity, are only able to focus only on big, life-changing moments. Over 16+ hours, we can truly see a relationship grow in a way that feels more natural and closer to how real life relationships evolve.
Now the reasons why I only gave this show three stars :
- It has a Saggy Middle. The story loses momentum around episodes 10-12, after the main couple come together. There's a good reason why most movies end or most TV shows fizzle out when the love interests become a couple, but K-dramas are usually great at showing the couple working through their conflicts together, modelling healthy partnerships, while still maintaining the story momentum and tension. (Great examples of this are What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?, Her Private Life, and Romance is a Bonus Book.) Sadly this show doesn't quite manage it. In this middle section, there are many scenes of them simply being happy together, with only the shallowest conflicts, and the focus instead shifts to the secondary characters, resulting in the story losing tension, and feeling directionless and slow. However, the story picks up speed again around episode 13, so it's worth persevering through this "saggy middle" section.
- On my first viewing, I didn't much like the female lead in the opening episodes. Initially, she comes across as cold and stuck up, but she melts as the show progresses and we get to know her. She is by no means the worst K-drama heroine (Touch Your Heart, My Love from the Star, My Demon, and Hotel del Luna all feature heroines who start off way more unlikable.) This is one of the talents of K-drama writers - the ability to take an initially unlikable character and make viewers empathise and then fall in love with them. On the second viewing, knowing she would change, I liked her more, but it did affect my initial impression and star rating.
Writers should watch this story for:
- How the characters' back stories are slowly revealed to increase the conflicts and support their growth arcs.
- How the sub plots interweave with the main romantic plot.
- How to integrate a big cast of supporting characters, and ensure that the secondary characters also feel well-rounded and realistic. This is especially important for anyone writing small town romances, cosy mysteries, or stories with ensemble casts set in tight-knit communities.
- How to develop a slow burn romance. The central romance in Hometown Cha Cha Cha is similar to how romantic relationships develop in romance novels, which usually take place over weeks and months rather than the compacted time frames of movies. This story follows the love interests through their quieter, everyday moments as well as the bigger, more dramatic moments.
Comments
Post a Comment