Murphy's Law of Love (2015)
Grade:
B-
31 Episodes, 40 minutes each
Viewing Platform: Netflix
Viewing Platform: Netflix
Psychologist Guan Xiao-tong quits her job
at the hospital to become a matchmaking website's “Dr. Love”
after her rich boyfriend dumps her for not being from a wealthy
background. It's her attempt at shaking Murphy's Law – the curse
that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” – from ruling
her life. Meanwhile, the handsome and aloof entrepreneur Ji Jia-wei
opens a divorce firm directly across the street from the matchmaking
company, and the two are instant enemies. Their relationship becomes
a bit more complicated once one of Jia-wei's employees signs up his
boss for the matchmaking service as a joke. Now Xiao-tong must
convince Jia-wei to help her since he is the website's most popular
new member. Will the love doctor be able to shake the Murphy's Law
curse to save her job and enlist the help of the cold businessman?
How will Jia-wei's ex-girlfriend impact his budding relationship with
the determined doctor of love? And what will the handsome, single
chef working events with the matchmaking company have to say about
Jia-wei moving in on his longtime, long distance crush?
*A couple plot points felt nearly
identical to the Taiwanese drama, “Just You” - mothers abandoning
their only child and girlfriends leaving suddenly, scarring the lead
man's heart, then both reappearing. This show was a bit more somber than “Just You,”
however, with less comedy and fewer lighthearted moments. It felt
more realistic yet at the same time less intense – each dramatic
plot twist fizzled out because of normal, mature adult reactions from
the characters. The first part of the show was fun, but by the last
third of episodes, spotting the random, long, single strand of facial hair
waving from the middle of Jia-wei's cheek was more exciting than the
plot. For whatever reason, I just didn't love the characters, and the
idea of celebrating divorce (what Jia-wei's company did) bothered me.
There also isn't a strong secondary story line going on, and I felt
its absence. The romantic gestures were fun (more than I've ever seen
in any one drama), the last episode is sweet, the music/production
value seems to be a bit better than “Just You,” and the dog in
the show was super cute (a Shiba Inu), so I might watch it again.*
