It’s time for some good old rom-com but make it satire because who doesn’t love some good humor? Today we bring you our review of one of the latest k-dramas Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale starring the amazing Lee Junyoung and Pyo Yejin.
I’ve been seeing reels and edits of this drama while it was airing and didn’t initially realize it was supposed to be a slapstick satire which is a combination I’m honestly always here for – give me all the drama and the happiest of endings. Jokes aside, I really needed something funny to get me through July and I love looking at Junyoung so this was a win-win in my book. Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale has only 10 episodes which are about 35-40 minutes long so it was a quick, funny, and relaxing watch for me all in all. The chemistry was there and the comedy was just the right amount of over-the-top so let’s get into this review and see what Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale brought us.
From MyDramaList: Moon Cha Min is the son of a wealthy chaebol family and also the CEO of a social club. He doesn’t care at all for women who dream of having a fairy tale romance like Cinderella. He is also an arrogant person. Cha Min becomes involved with Shin Jae Rim, who begins to work as a manager of his social club. She got the job at the social club in hopes of finding her own Prince Charming and getting away from her poor existence. By working there, she grows as a person and gradually accepts her life. She also becomes more independent and doesn’t look for someone to rely upon. Cha Min and Jae Rim, who are totally opposite from each other, soon develop a romantic relationship.
No spoilers ahead:
First, I’d like to say that it took me for some reason way too long to realize that Cha Min is supposed to be Charming and that alone made me laugh because they even took the names to another level. Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale is a Cinderella re-imagined except everything is over-the-top and silly, and the family isn’t villanized as it is in the actual story (which might have been my favourite thing here). The story is easy to follow from the beginning and while you don’t really get that much of a backstory, you’ll be able to guess who is supposed to be who and follow the plot without a problem. Everything is direct and solved in the span of one episode so you don’t really get left on a cliffhanger nonstop. Kudos to them! Expect things to be hilarious, the chemistry to be great, and the over-the-top melodrama during the ending to be somehow still funny, even though it actually brought up some actual backstory and character development.
Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale‘s main duo – Cha Min and Jae Rim – were honestly so cute and funny together. I loved their interactions and they made these episodes fly by with their silly shenanigans and constant push-and-pull. They both have their own problems and their own style so I found them very charming and just entertaining to follow, especially when they were together. Yejin is a great actress and it was also really nice finally seeing Junyoung do some positive rom-com roles – I know he loves his villain roles (and he’s great in them) but he’s much needed in this genre and I need him to pick a rom-com project again. They were both adorable in their roles and I loved their chemistry.
The story, like I said, is easy to follow because it’s very straight-forward and overall direct. The supporting characters were an interesting part of Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale as well and it was so fun watching Kim Hyunjin in two dramas simultaneously as I was also watching My Sweet Mobster (where he has a much better and more complex role). I am slowly getting extremely tired of k-dramas just having to have an SML/SFL who is unsuccessfully pining after the main lead for the sake of it and I’m hoping that one day we will overcome this trope together – it’s what we deserve. Sometimes it’s fun and done well, but most of the time I wish the writers gave second leads an actual story of their own because that’s so much more fun to follow. Jae Rim’s family was a positive surprise for me here because her step-mom and her sisters were actually such a big part of the story and I enjoyed that aspect a lot – we even got an actual character development when it comes to this side of the story.
The only thing that really brought down the enjoyment of Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale for me was the whole fiancee situation. I don’t understand why it took so long to resolve this entire charade and it really ruined the vibe of the drama at times completely. It also made me not enjoy the progress between Jae Rim and Cha Min fully because Dan A was always at the back of my mind and I think the writers should’ve resolved this circus much earlier in the show. It would’ve made for a more enjoyable experience. Either way, Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale was a fun little watch that brought my mood up every day and I’m glad I watched it. It’s not the best piece of cinematography you’ll encounter but it’s a refreshingly cute take on an overly re-imagined story we’re all familiar with. I give it a 7.25/10 for its genre and I think it’s a nice watch if you have some free time and need a good laugh.