Oh My Venus – Review

Oh My Venus is the kind of drama you enjoy although you pertinently know what will come. It’s a cute and predictable drama that is nothing to write home about but that is sweet enough to make you enjoy the ride.

With different leads, Oh My Venus would probably have been another drama to add to the list of the lame ones of 2015. Yes the plot is the kind you’ve seen a hundred times already. Yes you know what will happen to the leads and if you’re really good, you can even guess what will be the outcome of the second leads. But you don’t really care because they’re all so cute you just want to hug them at once and keep going. The strongest point of Oh My Venus is undeniably its cast and characters. You can’t have So Ji Sub and Shin Min Ah and not have chemistry. Their off-screen friendship is a token of alchemy! Many were there for them and it makes sense they were incredibly cute together. The characters, for most of them, were warm and endearing, you could only fall for them. 

Kang Joo-eun/ Kim Young-ho (aka John Kim) 

Kang Joo-eun (Shin Min Ah) used to be the Venus of Daegu. A beauty queen with a perfect face and perfect lines. She was the dream girl of all her neighborhood. But things aren’t exactly like they used to be: Kang Joo-eun is the reflection of what she used to be. Fatter, unpretty, she lost her charm and despite all her efforts she can’t lose weight. Her motto in life is simple: “I can do anything if I put my mind to it.” Well maybe except for her weight. She did all kind of diets, tries everything but nothing’s working. I guess you can always win no matter how big your determination is! Kang Joo-eun is a lawyer and Im Woo Shik’s (Jung Gyu-woon) girlfriend for 15 years. 

He stole her heart right before they entered university and it seems like nothing in this world could torn them apart. But never say never ‘cause there’s always a girl somehow crouched in the shadows ready to jump and scream: “You should have been more alert, girl, cause I’m stealing your boyfriend right under your nose!”. And Kang Joo-eun is not an exception to the rule. Im Woo Shik will eventually break up with her because of Oh Soo-jin (Yoo In-young). It’s a girl in case I wasn’t clear. Talk about a betrayal. 15 years and not a single ring, no engagement party, not a tiny little something to hold on to! Life’s bitchy sometimes. 

Kim Young-ho (So Ji Sub) or John Kim is a famous trainer who, after a scandal, flees the US during the first episode. Why running away for a mere scandal that will die in few weeks? Well, if you’re a chaebol and the heir of a coveted successful company and you managed to hide your face to the media for years, that kind of publicity isn’t exactly what you need. After his scandal with the superficial Anna is made public, tons pf questions rose: who’s the secret John Kim? What really happened with Anna? When has their love story started? Too much attention, more than what Kim Young-ho’s grandma, Lee Hong-Im (Ban Hyo-jung) can take. She urges her grandson to go back to Korea immediately. They will cover up rumors in a way or another. Thanks to his silly scandal, Kim Young-ho’ll meet his fate on the plane back home. Indeed, Kang Joo-eun, back from a business trip in the US and seated right next to Kim Ji-woong (Henry Lau), will pass out in the plane. Is there any doctor in the plane? Anyone? Yes there’s someone who can help. Oh yeah I’m talking about that sexy trainer right over there. That’s how our leads’ lives will become inextricably linked. I promise you can’t fight your destiny. 

One misunderstanding leading to another, the secret identity of John Kim won’t be a secret anymore for Kang Joo-eun. She just got dumped and needs a trainer to help her go back to the beauty queen she used to be. If she keep John Kim’s secret identity to the grave, he’ll be her sexy trainer. Nothing complicate here. All right. High five, done deal! 

Im Woo Shik/ Oh Soo-jin

Im Woo Shik (Jung Gyu-woon) was among those crazy about Kang Joo-eun back in high school. But his popularity wasn’t outdone. Part of the swimming national team, he was some serious argument on his side. Tall, athletic, good-looking he was a logic match to the beauty queen, Kang Joo-eun. But fifteen years later, the athlete is gone and Im Woo Shik is now a bureaucrat like any other in the country. After a serious wound that forced him to retire from his swimmer career, he now works at the company Kim Young-ho has to inherit. Typical kdrama kind of coincidences we like to hate. The moment he’ll find that his ex-girlfriend is getting lovey dovey with his future big boss, he’ll do all he can to turn Kim Yong-ho into dead meat. If he has to reveal Young-ho’s scandal with Anna, he won’t hesitate. Not time to play, it’s war people!

Oh Soo-jin (Yoo In-young) was Kang Joo-eun friend in university. Overweighed when Kang Joo-eun was the girl every guys was running after, Oh Soo-jin was lonely and shy until the day Kang Joo-eun befriended her. That overweighed girl who was lacking self-confidence and assurance started to open up to the world. She trusted her only friend and talked to her about everything, particularly her crushes. But one misunderstanding (another one. Yes Joo-eun’s life is surrounded by them) will turn that friendship into ashes and will turn Oh Soo-jin into the first Kang Joo-eun anti-fan. They will lose touch and more than a decade later, Oh Soo-jin is back in Kang Joo-eun’s life. She’s a lawyer, has freshly been hired as Kang Joo-eun’s superior and most important, she’s thinner than any super model out there. She’s hot and powerful but that’s not enough for Oh Soo-jin. Her ex-friend humiliated her, she has to pay the price. Well Oh Soo-jin, if you’re determinate to go that way, who can stops you? Certainly not Im Woo Shik. The perfectly revenge is to see Kang Joo-eun and Im Woo Shik (for whom Oh Soo-jin always has a crush on) separated. It’s the super revenge of the overweighed girl. Ha! 

But you see, you don’t always have control on everything, especially your heart. Yes Oh Soo-jin’s fighting against Kang Joo-eun but the person she’s really fighting is herself. It’s a biter bit. She’s now a superb lawyer envied by everyone but inside she’s still that girl who’s lacking self-confident. She’ll then start doubting her motives, all the efforts she put in her transformation and will even doubt Im Woo Shik’s love (she deeply loves him). She’ll fight her inner fears, uncertainties and worries.

Oh Soo-jin was the typical hateful and kind of useless second lead but she was in such a great sufferance you only wanted to shake her up and mostly reassure her: you’re beautiful, capable and strong, Im Woo Shik loves you, stop with that stupid revenge, stay focus on what’s really important and just live your life for love’s sake!                          

We don’t know how Im Woo Shik and Oh Soo Jin’s paths crossed again after the misunderstanding (I suppose the revengeful girl made it happen), but one thing is for sure the drama didn’t really exploited (if I can put it like that) that couple. They were dull and not really lovely together. It’s like someone threatened the writer: “You better leave all the cutest scenes to the leads” and obediently the writer complied! Not a single moment I rooted for them nor was thrilled to see them on my screen. I suppose you can’t have two strong couples in your drama when your plot is that light. Fine with me, as long as So Ji Sub is in the wining pair.   

Jang Joon-sung/Kim Ji-woong/Kim Young-ho

The cutest of the cutest. That trio was super sweet. I swear they could have an entire episode on their own! Jang Joon-sung (Sung Hoon) is a professional boxer. Orphan he met Kim Young-ho back in the US. The latter saved that rebel kid from a risky situation and ended up being his personal trainer. He gave Jang Joon-sung a second chance, a reason to keep going, a meaning to his life. He started his career, won matches and made himself a name: The Korean Snake. He has everything he never dare to dream of except one thing: his mom. He was abandoned by the latter but now that he’s back in Korea his only wish is to find her. Not sure the mother who abandoned her child will widely open her door, but go and try crash someone else’s determination. Not easy. Sweet and caring, Jang Joon-sung has some difficulties (such a euphemism) to express his feelings but he’s loyal to the bone.                                                                                                                Kim Ji-woog (Henry Lau) is Jang Joon-sung’s manager. Goofy, always smiling, you can count on him to bring some sun to your day. He’s bubbly and his constant ‘Madam’ were exactly what Kang Joo-eun needed to adapt herself into Kim Young-hoo’s house and environment.

It’s much more than a coach and his protégés’, it’s brotherhood. It’s them against the world. I love how awkwardly at first then smoothly, they let Kang Joo-eun entered their selective club. I really loved that bromance! Their personalities brought some magic to a trio that could have been super boring on paper. The three together were worth the detour.

Kang Joo-eun/Lee Hyun-woo/Go Min-joon

It’s a real little family. Lee Hyun-woo (Jo Eun-ji) is Joo-eun’s best friend. Divorced, she’s the mom of the chubby and cute Go Min Joon (Kwon Soon-joon) and is the chef of her own restaurant. She’s never at a loss of words and says everything that’s on her mind. She’s funny and supportive to her friend whenever the situation.

Go Min Joon is a sweetheart. You can only love him. He'll even make Kim Young-ho’s melt, which isn’t a sinecure! 

Kim Young-ho/ Min Byung-woon

I can’t finished my round of presentations without mentioning Min Byung-wook (Choi Jin-ho). He’s Young-ho’s grandma’s kind of secretary. He’s clearly the man of all the situations. Loyal, devoted, he cares for Young-ho a lot. He’s in the family for years, he was already there when Young-ho’s mom passed away. He’s probably the one who knows Young-ho’s heart better than anyone else in the family. He’ll do anything to keep him safe.  

The Plot

Kim Young-ho is a chaebol. Can’t anyone seriously imagine a drama with a chaebol and not having some sort of crazy complications around? Nope, me neither. It’s a must-have, a mandatory starting point. And Oh My Venus is no exception. Kim Young-ho will have to face difficulties that come along with his position. His mom died in a car accident when he was around ten. He survived but had to go through several heavy operations and months of rehabilitation to be able to work again. He’s totally cured but Young-ho secretly fights with an after-effect that touches one of his knees. If scientifically our hero is cured, the psychological effects of the accident are still present. He grew up in US far from his loving grandma and his taciturn and expressionless father, Kim Sung-chul (Choi Il-hwa). The latter remarried a calm and passive woman, Choi Hye-ran (Jin Kyung) who gave him a son, Kim Young-joon (Lee Seung-ho). He’s not blood related to the grandma but he could technically claim the CEO’s position since his father, the grandma’s son-in-law is the actual director. 

You can count on his Machiavellian uncle, Choi Nam-chul (Kim Jung-tae) with the help of Im Woo Shik’s to bring Kim Young-ho down at any cost. Of course the grandma isn’t ready to step aside for anyone except Kim Young-ho, obviously. She buried her only daughter, accepted to live far from her grandson and you except her to quietly accept the situation? Keep on dreaming you scheming people. The only legitimate heir is Young-ho and if she has to fight the whole world for it, then so be it. She’ll go against Choi Nam-chul but will also have to convince Kim Young-ho to come back and take the head of the company. Not easy when all Kim Young-ho wants is to stay away of all those considerations.

See when I was talking about crazy complications and in this case it’s more useless ones than crazy ones. Honestly the company matters were a bit forced and sometimes even far-fetched. They didn’t bring much to the drama. Well some extra scenes but that’s basically all. But I guess you can’t spend 16 episodes merely on Kim Young-ho & Kang Joo-eun’s romance (Wouldn’t have minded, they were so great together). One needs some tension and sideline stories. 

Talking about sideline stories, there was one super cute: the loveline between Jang Joon-sung and the queen of ads, Jang Yi-jin (Jung Hye-song). How she entered his life, how she kindly harassed him, Kim Ji-woog’s teasing, everything about those two was cheesy but hilarious!

I really would have loved seeing the relationship between Kim Young-ho and his father being more developed. They were worth more scenes together. The terrible and painful accident that occurred twenty years before, kind of created a gap between the father and son and left them traumatized. Despite their evident love for each other they can’t communicate nor express their true feelings. Yeah we had some glimpses of their future reconciliation but it wasn’t enough!    

Kim Young-ho has a soft spot for people in need or in destress, those are his words. Kang Joo-eun will find herself in destress more time than needed for Young-ho to care. You passed out and you need help? Don’t you worry I know a thing or two about life-saving techniques. There’s a stalker who harasses you? I’ll get rid of him for you! You need to lose weight to take revenge on your ex-boyfriend? Of course I’ll be your trainer. And a sexy one on top of that! C’mon move to my house and let’s get started. We’re dealing with a real superhero here, widows and orphans can sleep at peace!  

The drama follows that “diet” and the love story that will arise from it. That diet will not only give a second chance to Kang Joo-eun (physically and sentimentally) it will also be a healing session for Kim Young-ho. He’ll have face his demons, his fears and apprehensions to be able to really love.

Life is made of sacrifices. Kim Young-ho and Kang Joo-eun will have to concede to some to move together. Sometimes you have to accept to let go in order to gain bigger and sometimes you just have to hold on no matter how hard it is. Don’t look at the pain, look further. Both our leads learned it and find love at the end of the line.

Oh My Venus isn’t a perfect drama. It never had the pretention to be revolutionary. It was there to entertain us and based on that criteria only, the drama did the job. You don’t start Oh My Venus because you expect to be surprised, you start it because you like the actors, the PD, the writer, all of them or simply because you need a light drama. Whatever the reason, Oh My Venus is worth giving a try. Its sixteen hours of fun and laugh. (And who can says no to So Ji Sub’s abs? Ok I’m gone.)