The Virtual Bride (2015)
Grade:
B-
12 Episodes
Pop singer Oh In-young is about to be
dropped by her production company, unless she can make their idea for
a television show popular. The program is a reality show
“daughter-in-law experiment,” with In-young having to learn
menial chores like cleaning paste pots and chopping vegetables for
the family's kimchi business, as if she really were the new
daughter-in-law. The eldest son of the family, Cha Myeong-seok, is a
math professor at a local university and has little in common with
the vapid entertainer and is reluctant to participate in any way.
In-young's career is on the line, though – will she be able to win
the hearts of her co-star and disapproving mother-in-law?
*I was really hoping for more
interaction between In-young and Myeong-seok – they had decent
chemistry, and the idea for the TV show they were filming seemed more
entertaining than the drama between all the other characters. This
felt less like a typical romantic-comedy drama and more like a family
drama show, since it spent a nearly equal time on all the characters'
relationships, thoughts and feelings. As a result, I did not connect
as well with the main couple as I usually do. I was frustrated a few
times when the meek daughters-in-law did not speak up against their
overbearing, at times even cruel mothers-in-law; this annoyance could be
contributed to a cultural difference. I had an issue with the male
characters as well – they were either incompetent and buffoon-like
yet well-meaning, or slimy two-faced deceivers. (The math professor
was the exception.) Cute premise, decent story, but not my favorite.
I might watch this again.*
