Friday, October 24, 2014

Modern Farmer - First Impressions


I think that it is pretty safe to say that this is my new drama crack. At the end of the second episode I was literally rolling on the floor laughing. That is mainly because in my tiny officetel I choose to do all my computering while laying or sitting on the floor, but that's besides the point. This show is funny.



It's not the funny that is for everyone though. This is over the top, slap you in the face funny. There is nothing subtle about it in any way shape or form. The second episode ended with a deer attacking everyone in the village freeze frame style while Louise Armstrong sang "What a Beautiful World" in the background. It was fantastic.

As for the actual plot, I went into this drama not knowing what it was actually about. I knew it had something to do with a rock band named Exo that goes to farm cabbages and that is about it. I assumed that they were kicked out of the company by their manager for being bad and they are suppose to learn something about life and blah, blah, blah. That's totally not what the story is.

The actual plot is about the band Exo (I got one thing right) and they are a band that is playing in Hongdae hopping to make it big. Seven years later, that didn't happen and the four members have all split up. Lee Min Ki (Lee Hong Ki) is still singing and getting payed in peppers, Yoo Han Cheol (Lee Si Un) is an unhappy intern who just found he has stage 5 liver cancer which he is keeping a secret, Han Ki Joon (Kwak Dong Yeon) is taking and failing the civil servant exam and Kang Hyuk (Park Min Woo) is working at his father's hospital and he also is on the black list of the other three members for unknown reasons.

Min Ki is in debt to some loan sharks (of course) and when his grandmother dies and leaves him with 400,000 square feet of worthless farm land, he decides the next best thing is to grow cabbages to pay back his debt. He recruits Han Cheol and Ki Joon to join him and then much to his dismay, Hyuk also decides to join in on the venture.


Just as a side note, the four actors in this drama have quite the age difference. Our oldest is Lee Si Un who was born in '82, then Park Min Woo and Lee Hong Ki, '88 and '90 respectively, and last is Kwak Dong Yeon who was born in '97. '97! That kid is a baby! I also realized that Dong Yeon played little Jung Tae in Inspiring Generation. He was really good in that so I am really excited to see him doing something else.

From what I have seen so far I think that this drama is going to take a Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit approach to the story. It is going to be really silly, but you will also get really good characters and while the drama won't forget to be silly, it is also going to take a serious turn about half way down the road.

We know that Min Ki and Han Cheol are in a tight spot. First, Min Ki needs to raise money so he isn't killed by a loan shark. At this point in the story, Min Ki is annoying and self centered. That's about it. He thinks he knows everything and can solve any problem which usually causes more problems on a higher scale. I think that we are going to get some good character development from him. I also just really like Lee Hongki's acting. He is a rare singer that has a natural knack for acting. I guess he was an actor before he was a singer though, so that helps.


Then we have Han Cheol. Normally when a character has cancer you say, "Of course he does. Everyone has cancer." I don't really mind it here though. It doesn't feel like so much of a cliche here because his cancer is the reason that he quits his job and goes on this crazy venture. We also find as he looks at his bucket list, that one of the things that he wants to do is fall in love. I don't think that he will die in the end because from the tone of the drama that doesn't seem to be in the cards. We'll see how they work that out.

Then we have our last two, Hyuk and Ki Joon. We don't know anything about Ki Joon but he probably has some kind of sad back story because this is a Korean drama. Then there is Hyuk. He is also a mystery and that is because we have some information about him, but not enough to make conclusions. He readily admits to the fact that he broke up the band and does so with a smile. He also ran out of his dad's hospital to grow cabbages, with a smile. Also, when he was at the hospital, he was blow off by his dad and he was still smiling. No on smiles that much! No one! I'm not opposed to the smiling because it is a lovely dimpled smile, but there is sadness hiding under it and I want to know why.


So, overall, I am super excited about this drama. I love the silliness and I'm interested to find out more about the characters and to see how and when the writers decide to darken up the story line because we all know that it has to happen sometime. There is too much barely hidden angst in some of these characters for that volcano to remain dormant for too long.

Again, I'm super excited about this drama and I hope that it doesn't get cut short and fill my soul with sadness like Surplus Princess did. If nothing else, I just want a good ending.

~ Alora

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