5 Reasons to watch: Best Lover

5 Reasons to Watch: Best Lover

Are you looking for another contract drama now that Something about 1% has wrapped up ?

Why not try Best Lover? It is a Korean-Chinese Drama collaboration that has been airing for a few weeks now.  It delievers a keen inside look on the entertainment industry. It is about 2 Top Stars who make a contract to be married for 3 years, as they both have something they need to protect.

This story also depicts how drama stars can be under various pressures brought about by their stressful careers, as well as the normal mundane moments of their daily lives. It also shows that they are real people who make mistakes, but in the name of show biz have to carry on and sometimes do things they don't want to.

While they may have a huge fan base, they are just regular people who have to constantly put on their good girl / good guy personas to the public.

Reason #1 Male Lead - Zhou Mi

Zhou Mi, as Xie Chengh, seems to have gone through the Korean Male lead wash cycle. In the drama, he sports a casual, front swept hair style that really has that familiar oppa look. ( He is a Chinese recording artist/entertainer and also a member of Super Junior-M.)

He does seem to have some decent range in his acting abilities, both as an actual actor,but also as his character. Though some scenes are completely corny, we can enjoy the light side of this drama!

When he first meets the female lead (in the past), they don’t start things off well as he comes from humble roots and isn't an actor yet...

And through a Skip Beat moment (another drama in which a beginner performer works hard to rise to stardom), she basically tells him he’s going to have to reach her level in the Industry if he wants to do anything about it!

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Rejection in the acting biz is hard!

But in a flash, he does reach the top and the story continues!

Reason #2 Female Lead – Lee Da Hae

So right away, her Korean look stands out a little more than what you might consider a typecast typical of a  Chinese beauty in a similar role. There is something simple, beautiful, and quirky about her. She does not seem like a generic, cookie cutter female lead.

She does play the vain card a couple times but that goes with the territory of being a Top Star and also growing up with a wealthy upbringing.

We come to see her caring side despite her nickname, 'Ice Queen.' This part of her is shown when she discovers that she has a half brother who she has to take care of, after her father and the young boy’s mother end up in comas due to a car accident. 

In order to protect her father’s company from her Uncle's conniving hands, she seeks out marriage to buy her some more time. 

Early on, there is a 'we don't like each other, but we made a contract' vibe along with a natural competetiveness between the two that makes the drama a joy to watch. 

*oops he copped a feel! XD

Reason #3 The Drama

Ooh, the drama pot’s a stirrin’! Xie Cheng's previous love is caught in a conflict of her own and due to various circumstances, the she and him can never be together. So he agrees to the contract with Choi Hwan Yeong and they lock it in for a 3 year marriage which will end in a mutual divorce.

It doesn’t help that his previous woman also has a look alike out there,  so there is some soft melodrama build ups when she comes on-scene.

Reason #4 Romance

With contract dramas, rules are certainly meant to be broken. While they certainly try to lay out their guidelines and agreements including the cliche, ‘We won’t fall in love with each other’ rule, the walls protecting their hearts are surely going to crack. This is the case as our two leads will start to notice each other as more than just business partners in contract, but as their sincere selves who could really compliment each other.

However, with the plethora of ladies around him, he better not test Hwan Yeong's patience too long. And when you’re a celebrity, anything you do or say in public can and will be misconstrued, depending on who's photographing it!

Reason #5 –Interesting Fashion

Some of the fashion choices in this drama make it seem like their fashion stylist was having under the influence. Or perhaps someone had an extra warehouse full of blazers with puffed sleeves that had been slashed and wanted to sell them cheap, so the drama became a good choice to showcase them lol.

The female lead has such confidence that she can rock any look, even the Chinese (Ajumma?) style.

This drama, while sometimes cliche, has that familiar storyline that we are so used to watching and loving. It's a light easy watch albeit a little predictable. The main leads are fun to watch and the pacing is fairly decent.

What are your thoughts on Best Lover aka Best Couple?