This article contains spoilers.
Stars 2/5
Starring cast: Jeon Jong-seo, Moon Sang-min, Kim Do-wan
Latest Nielsen ratings: 3.7 percent
romantic comedy wedding is not possibleThe film, helmed by Jeon Jong-seo and Moon Sang-min, opened with an interesting premise built around the predicament faced by a queer corporate heir.
His successor is Lee Do-han (Kim Do-wan), the grandson of the founder of the chaebol LJ Group, who proposes a fake marriage to his friend Na Ah-jung, a struggling actress played by Jung. However, she falls in love with Do-han's older brother Lee Ji-han, played by Moon.
'Wedding Impossible' midseason recap: Tangled romantic love triangle
'Wedding Impossible' midseason recap: Tangled romantic love triangle
The relationship between Ah-jung and Ji-han is initially confrontational, as Ji-han does not want her to marry the brother she loves, but it soon takes over the story, relegating the strange themes that had been at the center to the background.
This was somewhat expected since this is a traditional Korean romantic drama. But the degree to which Do-han's sexuality is relegated to an afterthought makes the show's queer representation feel particularly performative.
Korean dramas have been experimenting with queer characters in recent years. They are never the main characters, and their queerness is always hidden at first, reflecting the conservative social values of the country in which the show is produced.
Even more disappointing is how the stigma of queerness is portrayed. Do-han, who does not want to become the chairman of LJ Group, will not be affected negatively. The people who suffer from his strange sexuality are Ah-jung and Ji-han, who sacrifice themselves to protect him.
At the end of the series, Do-han finally steps up and comes out to the public in order to save the show's main heterosexual characters, rather than being accepted by his family and society.
We know this because Ah-jung tells Do-han that she came out for them and not for herself. Perhaps the show felt that this was an act of self-sacrifice on Do-han's part, but it would once again take away Do-han's independence as a character.
He then leaves the country with his family and friends to become an artist abroad. Rather than making this seem bittersweet, the script suggests it's a happy resolution for this character.
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wedding is not possible takes a similarly half-hearted narrative approach to most of its characters and scenarios.
The series includes corporate family infighting, dark family secrets, unrequited romance, and thwarted professional ambitions, but none of these elements are fleshed out enough as the story meanderes more and more. has not been standardized.
The revelation that Ji-han's mother's death was his uncle's fault, and that the chairman's grandfather knew about it, is a trend in Korean dramas where the main characters overcome their upbringings and backgrounds to form a conclusion. It's a kind of traumatic family secret. Gain the knowledge and confidence to get out of your current difficulties.
But this revelation has little impact wedding is not possiblestory and its main character. It's just an overused cliché inserted to make this series seem like a classic chaebol Korean drama.
Many other stereotypes on the show are even more blatant.
At several points, like when Ah-jung and Ji-han end up sharing a room during their obligatory trip to the countryside in episode 9, the characters scream doing classic drama clichés.
In the same episode, Ah-jung's relatives complain about the behavior of the characters in the drama they watch on TV, and the situation mirrors the situation in the show we watch.
These scenes feel more awkward than cute and clever, especially since the show does a half-assed job of recycling these stereotypes.
Once all the secrets are exposed, the leads split and the show moves forward a year for its final episode. There's little evidence, but a lot of talk, about all the characters coming back together and how they've all grown during that time.
Even when Ah-jung and Ji-han get back together, there's no big romantic climax, and the drama ends in a flimsy and unsatisfying manner, with the bubbly fun of the early episodes now a distant memory.
“Wedding Impossible” is currently available on Amazon Prime.