Crash Course in Romance Review: Flaws Aside, It’s So Charming and Entertaining

First things first, I can’t express enough how giddy I was when I found out Jung Kyung-ho would be starring in a rom-com. I loved him SOOOOO much in Hospital Playlist. He was hands down my favourite amongst the doctor squad. Not only he was studiously handsome, reserved, charismatic, and surprisingly romantic, he was HILARIOUS. Jung Kyung-ho’s comedic timing and facial expressions are PRICELESS.

What makes his comical talent so darn impressive is how it contrasts with his gentlemanly face and demeanor, and the cool characters he plays. He doesn’t seem like the type to know how to be funny or to even be convincingly funny, but my God, whenever Jung Kyung-ho has to nail an hilarious expression or line, he literally WRECKS me with laughter. I would just be rolling in bed, laughing like a crazy woman with zero worries in the world. He’s that freaking funny. In the same vein, he’s sooo good at being serious, poised and emotionally sobering, that I just marvel at his talent. It’s really amazing how his comedic knack juxtaposes with his sombre, nuanced, and emotional acting.

Nah, the man is good.

With how much I loved and enjoyed his character in Hospital Playlist, I was very curious to see the character he was going to play in Crash Course in Romance. Now, while I enjoy my favorite actors being versatile, a part of me secretly, desperately wanted him to play a character similar to the one he played in Hospital Playlist. Thank goodness my prayers were answered💃😍. I could enjoy serious and hilarious Jung Kyung-ho again. As a main dish, at that!

Here, he plays Choi Chi-yeol, a celebrity private tutorial centre math teacher beloved by ambitious parents and high schoolers. And from the first scene of this drama, where he was dancing in a hat and suit with an umbrella, high kicking with all seriousness, for his advert video, I laughed recklessly, scrimming, yes! This is it!!!😂😂😂

The Main Characters/Couple At A Glance

Amidst social and mental themes, Crash Course in Romance follows the romance between Choi Chi-yeol (Jung Kyung-ho) and Nam Haeng-seon (Jeon Do-yeon) the owner of a side dish store. Nam Haeng-seon is an ex-athlete who is playful, spunky, headstrong and firm in her sense of justice.

In real life, Jeon Do-yeon is 11 years older than Jung Kyung-ho and that was very obvious on-screen. I often thought they looked mismatched and didn’t think they were going to have that much chemistry. But I wasn’t worried. The two characters had very entertaining personalities on their own. Besides, they were other high school characters with lovable relationships, so I wasn’t bothered. Ultimately, I liked the couple together. I cringed here and there, but the actors knew what they were doing and I was able to roll along with them just fine.

Choi Chi-yeol, as a character, is rich and famous and passionate about his work, but he feels empty on the inside and deals with an eating disorder where he can’t seem to enjoy or digest food properly. Only Nam Haeng Seon’s meals open up his taste buds and energize him. Unsurprisingly, Jung Kyung-ho played this character with substance, nuance and an endearing quality. Choi Chi-yeol is cool and charismatic on the outside, but on the inside, he is someone who is lonely and often needs assurance, and Jung Hyung-ho was able to portray that in a way that made Chi-yeol not just adorable, but fragile.

I’ll never forget the scene where he coincidentally met his old friends and was excited to spend time with them, only to overhear them backbiting him. His thoughts at this scene made me feel so sad and sorry for him. I’d like to quote to exact his thoughts because as an introvert, I found them to be startlingly apt, deep, and relatable. Especially when you consider the social drinking culture of Korea and the general, light rom-comness of the show.

“Gatherings like that are pointless. You harm your health by drinking and waste your time on chit-chat. This is why I stay away from class reunions.” – Choi Chi-yeol

I’ll never forget the scene just because of those lines.

All in all, I really loved that Choi Chi-yeol was prim too. He was not one to be fooled or pushed around. And the fact that he truly cared for his students and did all he could to motivate them, despite his own baggage and internal struggles, was so charming. Nam Haeng-seon was very likeable too. The way she loved her niece and took on the role of her mother, right from a young age, was heartwarming and beautiful. I liked her clear-cut, pragmatic, selfless, and free-spirited ways.

The High-School Friends & Characters

I loved every single character in this high-school arc, except of course, Bang Su-ah. I actually didn’t hate her. I just wasn’t a fan of her rudeness and touchiness for the most part of the drama. Lee Son-jae (Lee Chae-min) and Nam Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-soo) have such an open, vulnerable friendship that evolved into a well-earned romantic one. Lee Chae-min is one of the cutest upcoming actors I’ve seen in recent times. I LOVE his smile and dentition, and I think he has such a beautiful, tall physique. He played Son-jae really well, imbuing him innocence and goodness. I think he has to work more on his emotional deliveries, though. Roh Yoon-soo played her role well too. But she had more meat to work with in Our Blues, so her performance is stronger there.

Actor Lee Min-jae, who played Seo Geon-hu, was no doubt the breakout star of the show. He oozed charm, handsomeness and adorableness effortlessly. And how heart-fluttering is his teasing, child-like smile? I hate love triangles so much, but the way this drama handled it without any fuss, and the way Geon-hu was so unaffected and breezy, I had zero issues. Not to add, he had awesome and super fun chemistry with Seon-jae and Hae-yi.

I’m 100% watching out for Lee Min-jae’s future projects and would be ecstatic to see him portray the same role he played here, with the full spotlight on him. He was too good in the role, I need an extended version of it!

Jang Dang-ji (Ryu Da-in) is Seon-jae and Hae-yi’s lively, laid-back close friend. She’s a standard slacker who’s not as studious or academically bright as her two buddies, but she’s so sweet and genuine with how much she worries and cares about her friends. I liked her as well. On a slight tangent, I was shocked to see how beautiful the actress (Ryu Da-in) really is at the last episode, where the now grown-up friends converged at a restaurant. Not that she wasn’t good-looking before, but wow, costumes, makeup and hair-styling can make A LOT of difference!

The High-Schoolers’ Mothers

The mothers of the high-schoolers were something. Especially Jo Su-hee (Kim Sun-young), Bang Su-ah’s mother. Her role reminded me of the one she played in At Eighteen. She was just as obsessed with her daughter’s studies. The only difference is that, here, she’s being controlled by her daughter instead. But lord, that doesn’t stop her from being even more annoying. I didn’t hate her. The mom group thing was supposed to be a comic relief thing and I just took it as that. If some Korean mothers are actually this jobless and only interested in passing time discussing their kids’ exams scores and admittance into exclusive classes, then it’s such a pity.

It’s probably why I wasn’t put off by Seon-jae’s mother. She was just as obsessed with her sons’ studies, but the way she deemed the mothers and their gossip a waste of time, was so pleasing to me. I loved Jang Young-nam’s portrayal of the character. It was so crisp and corporate without seeming rigid or inhumane. I was actually happy that her character came to her senses and was able to win back her first son (by the way, Kim Tae-jeong’s portrayal of Lee Hee-jae was really, really good). The reuniting dining scene between the family was surprisingly moving and satisfying, considering the fact that they were side characters.

Overall, I would never stop being shocked at the ridiculous and extremely unhealthy lengths parents and students in Korea go to, to score high examinations marks and gain admission into high-ranking universities. It’s really sad, especially when you think about the poor students.

The Show’s Flaws

Its main flaw was trying to make a bitter-sweet romance. The drama was already perfect being a light and funny romance story satirically portraying Korean parents’ obsession with their kids’ grades. It didn’t need a murder or mystery plot. I wasn’t interested too. And once I got an inkling of who the suspect was, the mystery lost its suspense appeal and felt even more pointless. Thankfully, towards the end, the drama neatly and quickly wrapped up this aspect of this story. I really, really appreciate that. But it’s still flawed in that, the arc should not have been added at all. Everything ended happily anyways (loved the ending!). That said, Shin Jae-ha is such a good actor. How his facial expressions went from gentle and cute, to sinister and dangerous, was quite spine-chilling. He is really good.

Secondly, bringing in Hae-yi’s real mother at the end of the show felt so unnecessary. To make matters worse, we didn’t even know why Hae-yi, all of a sudden, decided to abandon the aunt who had loved and cared for her all her life, to go live with her mother abroad. Worst of all, there was no explanation for the decision, even after her mom abandoned her again. Everything felt so abrupt and not thought out at all.

Thirdly, I wasn’t a fan of the romance between Nam Haeng-seon’s high school friend and her autistic brother. It felt random, disingenuous and uncomfortable. It was just odd. On the other hand, Oh Eui-shik’s portrayal of Nam Jae-woo’s autism was extremely believable and natural. It takes guts, talent, and pure passion to take on this kind of role and play it so darn well. Well done to him, really.

Fourth, Bang Sua-ah’s story was not concluded in a way that felt convincing or properly attended to. How did she stop seeing double visions? Is she less crazy about her grades now? They insinuated the answers with lazy techniques (showing Bang Sua-ah’s mom contact a psychologist, and Bang Sua-ah smiling and being more warm as a college student). But I would have liked to see how she changed and what her mindset is now like.

For what it’s worth, I really appreciate that scene where she screamed and threw a glass (or was it another object?) at the wall when her mom was speaking bad about Lee Hee-jae (her friend’s son). It gave me a slight but real glimpse into her vulnerable side repulsed by her mother mocking others for something similar that she was likely suffering from.

Also, you can’t tell me that Geon-hu is suddenly interested in Su-ah just because she presses the right elevator button for him. Please. They could have hinted at a romance earlier and not last minute, so we can believe this. On a better note, I see them making a great couple. Their contrasting personalities – intense and carefree – would balance each other out.

In addition, I was not comfortable with how suicide was thrown around in this drama. Hae-yi needlessly threatened her real mother with it, and Seon-jae almost jumped off his school’s rooftop at a point where it did not feel dire for him to do so.

Lastly, I don’t know if I’m the only one, but I don’t think they needed to show Choi Chi-yeol and Nam Haeng-seon kissing so passionately when they first got intimate. They could have hinted at the intimacy that was about to ensue and left it at that. It’s a drama with a lot of high-school students and a lot of high-schoolers would be watching it too. It just cheapened the watch for me and felt like an unnecessary show-off from adults.

In Conclusion

In spite of its flaws, this drama was very entertaining and enjoyable for me. It mostly nailed the satire and warmth it was going for, and the flaws do not take away from the drama in any significant or regrettable way.

I laughed hard and had the time of my life (thanks to Choi Chi-yeol and Lee Min-Chae). I also felt emotional thanks to characters like Hee-jae and his mom, and Nam Haeng-song (that clip they showed us as the end, of her excitedly opening her arms wide to young Hae-yi who was running to her, moved and warmed my heart so much).

I totally forgot to mention the high school students’ homeroom teacher who is so kind and pure-hearted. Shout-out to him. We need more teachers like him.

All in all, the commentary on the extremities of parents’ obsession with grades, doubled with the toll Korea’s brutal and competitive educational system takes on students, was a great touch. (P.S: I also just remembered that in the drama, SERIOUS conferences were organized for parents to meet Choi Chi-yeol – our star math teacher – so they could ask all the questions they were desperate to ask concerning how to improve their children’s success in math exams. I found it so bizarre and hilarious😂. If this is really happening in Korea, I don’t know what to say again). The craze over private tutoring centers is boggling enough.

Anyway, at its core, Crash Course in Romance is a light and fun drama about true love, family, and friendship and I loved it.

Thank you for reading, lovers! Have a beautiful April!❤️