A Fost Odată Într-un Orășel (2022)

A simple, wholesome tale beautifully told

This Show is tropey. There! I said it so let’s move on. :)

There is not a great deal of innovation regarding the setting or the narrative but there is an undeniable charm to this tale. The ensemble cast is well populated by the standard clichés. Hard working farmers, nosy neighbours, cute kids roaming free around the village. Of course, there are dramas within the village and without, but they are mostly storm in a teacup just to add a bit of spice to the proceeding and give us a bit of the backstory.

The main focus of the show is the love line between the city vet who was tricked by his grandfather to take over the rural animal hospital for a few weeks and the young policewoman who is super helpful and the focal point of village life. Needless to say, their interactions and chemistry drives the show.

As I mentioned before, the story is quite simple and tropey, so it was fortuitous that show was only 12x30 mins episodes long. With such a short runtime, it motors along and doesn't drag. Nothing is left to fester for long and resolution is always around the corner. All the swoony moments are turbo charged.

Acting wise, it is more than acceptable. The ML is a bit stiff and reserved, it could be due to his storyline and a lack of acting experience. He does warm up a great deal later on. The FL was just so sweet and wholesome. You really want to give her a hug and make sure she has a happy ending because she deserves it. She also have an infectious smile.

All in all, a lovely watch and perfect for binging. It is very sweet and romantic without being overly artificial. It is swoon worthy and uplifting if you are feeling down. This show is not about manufactured angst, high dramas or convoluted plots so don't expect any. It will bring you moments of simple joy and contentment. That is good enough for me. :)
Highly recommended.

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Short and Sweet Cliché

Honestly Once Upon A Small Town is like a breath of fresh breeze. The last couple of weeks, the dramas that I have been watched/watching are quite heavy and dark and this is the perfect drama to take a moment from those dramas and relax.

It's not a long story which is one of the main reasons I started the drama (Only 12 episodes and each episode is around 35 mins). The story is quite simple with the typical Seoul person trying to adapt to the countryside. (Reminds you of Hometown Cha Cha Cha)

Although I found the SML to be bit too passive aggressive. And at the very beginning I was a bit taken back by the FL as she didn't really seem to do her job as a police officer. In the end I just put aside all logic and just relaxed watched the drama as the other dramas which I am currently watching is making me go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Tbh there are many things that seems not so logical and sometimes a bit cringe but still it's enjoyable. Last two episodes seem to be a bit rushed since they had to put everything in two episodes.

Overall Once Upon A Small Town is a sweet and endearing drama that will make you relax and smile throughout its episodes. Perfect drama to take break from the current heavy and dark kdramas.

Ps. there is ALOT of animals as an animal lover I was very very happy.

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The small town was lacking charm

From the first episode, the townspeople didn't give the best impressions. They had no boundaries & got upset at Jiyul, the ML, for daring to express not being comfortable with it. While their behavior is somewhat common compared to other small town dramas, in this one, they failed to make the townspeople endearing (except for the young boy child & Jiyul's assistant but they were never unlikable in the first place.)

For some, they would've liked Jiyul to be one of those bold MLs but I like the fact that he was mostly cool & collected. Throughout the drama, I couldn't help but to feel a bit bad for him as the people around him didn't respect his boundaries or expected things of him. However, he wasn't overbearing but he did say what he needed to when it mattered. As for Jayoung, the FL, because of her upbringing it made sense why she was a people pleaser, even if it was frustrating to watch at times. At the start , she was also one of those who couldn't respect ML's boundaries & was upset at him for him not remembering her (even though meeting her was associated with a bad childhood incident) so it took some time for me to warm up to her.

Because of FL's behavior towards ML (up until he remembers her), I wouldn't say that I was strongly invested in them as a couple but rather I just accepted that they would be together & waited to see it happen. They were kind of awkward when they got together but it was the kind that comes when you first start dating someone. I would've liked to see more moments of them as a couple, including having their ending better developed.

There was too much time spent on resolving the love triangle. Some were able to look past Sanghyun being passive aggressive towards ML & his childish behavior because of his looks, I guess, but he was irritating & made me want to skip his scenes. It was difficult for me to take him as a serious love interest when he looked like he could be the FL's younger brother. He was alright when he was being a friend to her (& it would've been better if they kept him that way) but when he started showing his romantic interest towards FL he became annoying. Whenever FL was going to reject him, he would stop her from doing so. (Sure, she should've been more firm in pushing the conversation but, again, she's a people pleaser & didn't want to risk losing his friendship too.) But, it wasn't bad enough to have only him so then they added ML's ex, who of course wanted him back, into the plot. Although ML made it clear to her that he wasn't interested in getting back together, that didn't stop her from sticking around for a bit.

When a love triangle is basically the only plot, & is only over with two episodes left, there's not much to enjoy. Instead of dragging it out, the focus could've been more on the leads as a couple, ML deciding on the future regarding his work, FL learning how to speak up for herself, & seeing the secondary couple get together. All of those things did happen but they felt as a matter of fact & were rushed. Maybe this drama is better as a binge watch rather than waiting for episodes to air. The good thing is that episodes are short & it's not a long drama.

For those looking for something to watch that won't make you think after finishing a heavier drama, then I guess you may like this drama. I don't remember the music (but I had to give it a 1 rating). There were times where the FL's acting was awkward & I didn't really care for the SMLs acting either. (I've watched all of Joy's main roles so I think it was the directing here that made her come off awkward.) I think there are better short length dramas out there so this wouldn't be at the top of my list to recommend nor would I rewatch it (but I had to give it a 1 rating).

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A most unexpectedly sweet gem

Not every day needs a 120 mph roller coaster or surfing thirty foot waves or dining at a 5 star Michelin restaurant or sporting the latest haute couture fashion. Somedays, a casual walk in a familiar neighborhood in sweatpants and a hoodie followed by a simple grilled cheese sandwich is just as enjoyable. At that’s the vibe of “Once Upon a Small Town” - a leisurely, pleasant sojourn on a warm day.

No one will find anything remotely novel in the setup - a city denizen gets shipped somewhat against his will to a rural enclave. He initially recoils at everything unfamiliar but is won over not only by the community but also by a potential love interest.

And no one will discover any new angles on the romantic entanglements involving childhood relationships, ex-significant others, easily avoided misunderstandings, awkward confessions, friendzones and the like.

Nor will the vast majority of the supporting cast of rural inhabitants break any of the stereotypes from other slice of dramas.

In fact, mere minutes into the first episode of “Once Upon a Small Town”, the direction, destination, velocity and signposts on the journey are all readily apparent. But somehow that doesn’t diminish the ride. A short run of twelve episodes and runtimes of 30-40 minutes per episode deserve a decent amount of credit for keeping things moving without getting bogged down in secondary storylines and extended montages and endless rehashing of backstories. But there’s more to it. Director Kwon Seok Jang manages the pace of the storyline well, mixes in just enough interaction with supporting characters and doesn't let anything fog up the focus on the romance.

Choo Young Woo has a fairly light resume but he's got the basic attributes for carrying a lead role. The character of Dr. Han isn't particularly demanding - look pretty, feel awkward in uncomfortable surroundings and otherwise let everyone else around ham things up. And for this, Choo Young Woo hits all the marks (easy targets though they may be).

Meanwhile, Joy may find herself in as much demand as an actor as she has been as a singer. The Red Velvet singer has had two strong performances this year (the first as one of the very few bright spots in an otherwise rather dismal "The One and Only") and now to even greater effect here. A police officer would not be the instinctual direction for an ideal character for Joy, but this isn't a hardnosed violent crime detective. She's more everyone's little sister on the personal side and professional household problem solver. It may be a case of an actor and a role simply almost perfectly suited for each other, but as the show progresses and Ja Young becomes a more complex character, it seems less and less that "it's just Joy being herself" is what's happening here. Regardless, she's ebullient and extroverted and a delight at nearly every turn.

Props also to the sound editors who spare no opportunity to add all the buzzing insect noises in their inventory. Helps remind those viewers that might pull up stakes and head for the countryside in search of a dashing vet or comely policy officer that there are also less welcome inhabitants there too.

Recommended.

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Once Upon a Cliche

Love Joy and Choo Yeong-woo but not really this show. It's not unwatchable, but I found myself tuning out most of the time and didn't really feel the characters. The cast did okay in their roles, although it was difficult to really feel the relationship between the leads since it was very cliche. I feel like almost every scene in this show is a cliche.

I can see the similarities between this show and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, although I don't think either of them are a copy of the other, just happen to have similar plots and characters. This show is definitely not as good as Hometown though. The story is average and progresses how you'd expect a cheesy countryside rom-com to play out. I'm usually okay with seeing some cringey, cliche scenes in dramas but there were a few scenes in this show where I physically cringed and rolled my eyes (like the scene where the peaches fall on top of Ahn Jae-young and Han Ji-yul shields her).

The side characters and townsfolk were kind of annoying, especially the loud and aggressive women who were constantly fighting and screaming at each other. I'm not a fan of love triangles, and this show has one of the most annoying love triangles I've seen in a while. I can't really see how anyone could have 2nd male lead syndrome for this show, as Lee Sang-hyeon frustrated me to no end and I constantly found myself tuning out whenever he was on screen. No hate towards the actor, but his character was incredibly annoying. Typical 2nd ML who does nothing but chase after the FL, but he does so by being blatantly passive-aggressive and rude towards the ML for no reason at all other than that the FL might be interested in him. The whole jealous 2nd ML and ML thing was overly played out, and there were points in the show where the FL and ML wouldn't be able to interact with each other for almost the entire episode, only to have the 2nd ML swoop in every chance he could get. There were also so many instances when the FL and ML would finally get a chance to talk with each other and progress their relationship, and then some cliche interruption happens that disrupts everything just to drag it on further (like a phone ringing, someone calling one of them over, etc.)

Some people may find this show enjoyable, especially if you're not picky with good plots or well-established characters. If you're looking for something simple to put on in the background or to waste time then maybe this show is for you. I was literally watching as the credits started playing on the last episode and was like "wait... is this the last episode?" The conclusion wasn't completely satisfying and caught me off guard.

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A whole village full of cliché

I believe that there's a way to make slice of life romance seems charming and cute -- a good writer could even make the simplest, most cliched of scenario seems watchable (and even engaging!), but I believe that it depends a lot on how good the acting and the writing is. This show just simply mediocre in every aspect that not only it is a chore to watch, but any scenes that might have a little potential become annoying to go through.

It does not help that the main leads have no chemistry whatsoever, all the side characters are cardboard or unlikeable and the story decisions are either stupid or awful. It is a show that simply offers you nothing but pretty, green landscapes of its setting. It simply has no charm necessary for a show to be good -- you might as well just look at pretty pictures or cut up clips or gifs of this show.

Simply do not waste your time.

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Blandly acted, poorly written

I went in with some expectations. In reviews I read people mentioned picturesque backdrop, cute ML and FL, awkwardly nice chemistry, decent supporting characters.

The acting was bland and the writing even more so. There was no chemistry between the lead characters and it felt like they were acting to pay their rent for the month and didn't have their heart in it because they knew how bad the story was. Their effort to act well would have been a waste of energy. There were so many opportunities for the drama to redeem itself within minutes but everytime the writers went "why would I do that when I can make this even worse than it is now"

"Loud village people" cliché done VERY VERY WRONG. For comparison, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha had great "loud village people" characters.

The drama is 12 episodes long and until episode 7 we have our main lead cement himself as "I, as a person, have these characteristics" and in episode 8 we see him make a U-turn. It annoyed me to no end and I couldn't even finish the episode.

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Sucky blanket romance

A sucky blanket of a romance, with all the normal tropes of love triangles and quadrangles and anything up to dodeca-angles; absent family; hair-pulling fights; past encounters; ML going from distant cool to close warm; men facing off like boys; and of course all the standard clichés of country life. The plot is a well-worn trail of the obvious, so you don’t even have the stress of wondering what’s going to happen, even though they have to cram it in the last episode.

One of the benefits of country shows is at least there’s less PP! Unfortunately though it does step in and manage to kill the mood… ah I really should get over it, but it’s done sooo clumsily here.

Look there’s nothing original, everything is bland, innocuous and inoffensive (and that includes the chemistry, or lack of it) but the short half-hour format makes it an ideal watch for those times when you’ve come home exhausted and all you want to do is curl up in front of the fire and veg out with something totally predictable, brainless, sweet and cosy.

What my rating means: 7+ A watchable drama, but nothing exceptional. Good enough to qualify for the race, but finished with the pack. The sort of thing that promises more than it delivers.

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Wholesome and JOYful in spades

This is such a sweet drama which is welcome in a time when everything is getting more and more serious/realistic in the world of Kdrama.
Once Upon a Small Town is not going to change the world but it was a joy to watch. The story goes at a pace befitting of the small town it's set in - which looks stunning - but it's just a sweet 30-minute escape to enjoy Joy and all the cute animals that feature heavily throughout. Joy's acting is good and carries the show well. The male leads are ok too, although the second lead is annoying for most of the series in the classic second lead style.
It's a nice filler drama.- I used to it to detox in between Little Women episodes. It's a must-watch if you're Reveluv!

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Sweet Romance without the overdone angst

I loved this short sweet romance series! Plenty of chemistry between the leads especially in the build up. As others have mentioned theres plenty of kdrama cliches, but it’s done with taste and minus the angst and silly misunderstandings that usually come when they introduce rivals and exes. The townspeople & supprting cast are fun and nicely round out the drama. A great one to watch if you need something short and light and full of happiness! Sometimes, the latest dramas are heavy and intense, and it’s nice to have something on the rewatch list when you need a break from all that.

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Show about nothing but at least it’s cute

Predictable and loaded with cliché. I would love to see how pitch meetings go for shows like this. It’s been done a million times and you can see it coming a mile away. It’s mainly about two grownups acting like middle school kids not knowing what to do with the opposite sex and being awkward. This happens a lot in K-drama and I seriously wonder why. But here, it’s kinda cute and inoffensive.

I do find two male leads being passive aggressive pretty annoying after a while.

The main male lead suffers from the sudden-silence syndrome where he can’t say anything intelligent or intelligible whenever he’s being misunderstood and/or accused. It is a common disease among a lot of K-drama characters. They portrayed him, in the beginning, as someone who’s rigid and inflexible but that kinda went away and he became indecisive.

The second male character so far has no storyline other than making snarky remarks to the main guy and generally making it difficult for him to be with the main girl.

The female lead is great. She basically is everywhere and does everything. Most importantly, she’s likable. I do wish she was a bit forthcoming and assertive when it comes to the male lead but then we wouldn’t have a show. She’s a cop but mainly spends her time doing everything except her cop duty. It’s kinda funny.

We’ll see how they end this show.

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