Hi My Sweetheart Review

Hi My Sweetheart

Chinese Title: 海派甜心

Year: 2007

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Language: Mandarin

Episodes: 14



Image: Amazon

Synopsis:

Xue Hai (Show Luo), a dorky guy who wears an ugly mushroom hair and a pair of huge glasses, has been left to the care of his much older sister (Fang Fang) after his rich parents died. As the heir of a very wealthy family, his sister has been overly protective of him. To get away from his sister and to explore the world outside, Xue Hai decides to go to Hangzhou to study. As told by his sister, Xue Hai goes with the fake name Lin Da Lang and pretends to be poor to protect himself from kidnappers or something of that sort.

In Hangzhou, he meets a strange and friendless girl Chen Bao Zhu (Rainie Yang). Bao Zhu rejects him at first, but his naivety and kindness touch her. They become friends and eventually, lovers. However, due to some misunderstandings plus some nasty rumors about Bao Zhu, Da Lang thinks the latter has dumped him after she mysteriously disappears. He is devastated and goes back to Taiwan.

Years later, Xue Hai transforms into a hot guy that every girl dreams of. Since the “breakup”, he never believes in love anymore and changes from one girlfriend to another. Because of his extravagance, he is known as “Hai Pai Wang Zi”. When Xue Hai accidentally hears a popular radio program called “Sweetheart”, he recognizes the DJ’s voice as the voice of Bao Zhu. He immediately buys the radio station and plans his revenge against the girl he believes to have dumped him. Little does he know that Bao Zhu has never stopped loving him and has been searching for him for years.

Review:

When I first saw the poster for Hi My Sweetheart, I told myself I would never ever watch this drama. The characters look too goofy – Show Luo wears this silly mushroom hair while Rainie dresses like a punk. I wasn’t really attracted to the drama, but after seeing the good ratings (and since I love Show Luo to death), I decided to give this drama a chance. In the first few minutes, I was immediately immersed into the drama. Despite his dorky appearance, Da Lang’s character grows on me as I watched the series. He is naïve, but he is kind, gentle, and sees goodness in everyone. He is actually more funny than annoying (which in the beginning, I thought he was). He is so likable and it’s not hard to understand why Bao Zhu falls for him. A lot of viewers commented that they would sometimes forget that Da Lang is Show Luo!

I really like watching how Da Lang and Bao Zhu’s relationship grow. The chemistry between Show and Rainie is amazing. I’m not exaggerating. They look so cute together that it scares me. After three years of romance, Da Lang finally decides to reveal his real identity to Bao Zhu and propose to her. He waits for her in their usual meeting place, but she never came. Unwilling to give up, Da Lang gathers as much courage as he can muster and goes to Bao Zhu’s place. Her mother, who has always been against Bao Zhu and Da Lang’s relationship, shows him a “breakup” letter from Bao Zhu. Da Lang didn’t know that the letter is just a lie. He believes it and leaves in tears. As if the torment is not enough, he sees the pink panther, the one he gave Bao Zhu, laying in the trash. That was one unforgettable scene for me. I’m really amazed how Show could act so seriously and convincingly even in his funny Da Lang appearance. Maybe I’m overly attached to his character, but I could feel his pain.

I also didn’t expect that Rainie Yang would act so naturally in this drama. This is the first time I’ve seen her act so good, and I’m really impressed. I’ve been so used to her sweet image, but she had surprisingly portrayed Bao Zhu Jie so well. I could feel her emotions and it didn’t look forced at all. The drama focuses more on Xue Hai/Da Lang’s perspective. But after Da Lang turns into a hot Xue Hai, it starts showing Bao Zhu’s point of view too. When Da Lang hears Bao Zhu’s voice in a radio program, he recognizes her. He buys the radio station and becomes Bao Zhu’s new boss. Unbeknownst to Xue Hai, Bao Zhu has never stopped loving Da Lang and has been searching for him for years. Of course she can’t find him because she has only known him by his fake name. Just when she decides to give up and forget about Da Lang, Xue Hai shows up.  Seeing Xue Hai and not knowing that he is actually Da Lang, Bao Zhu is haunted more by the memory of the man she’s trying to forget.

Basically, the story is about Xue Hai wanting revenge while trying to ignore his feelings for Bao Zhu, and Bao Zhu trying to forget Da Lang (who she thinks doesn’t want to see her again) but keeps on being tormented by his look-alike Xue Hai. I just love seeing their love-hate relationship. As people say, couples wouldn’t know how much they love each other unless they fight. And this drama has just proven it true. The more Xue Hai hates, the more he realizes how much Bao Zhu means to him. It was painful yet sweet at the same time.

I like how the drama is done. It is able to capture the emotions of the characters. The camera angle, the focusing of the faces, they’re just awesome. The OST is superb. The songs are sung by both Show Luo and Rainie Yang, and I think it works perfectly as you get to feel more of their emotions when the tracks are being played in the background.

Like most idol dramas, Hi My Sweetheart contains lots of corniness and clichés. Granted, it does have touching moments. I got teary-eyed in some parts that I had to stop watching just to go to the bathroom (I don’t like anyone seeing me cry over a TV drama LOL). I do have some complaints though. I hate the three staffs of He Yan Feng (Bao Zhu’s senior). Their parts are forced and too trying hard to be funny. That said, they don’t really affect the entire series since they only play minor parts in it. My major complaint, however, is the last couple episodes of the drama. I don’t want to spoil you, so I won’t say much except I think those parts are totally pointless. I’ve always thought that the drama has a very nice message about love, but the latter part ruins it. It was a big disappointment as I’ve really loved episodes 1 to 12.

So, after revealing my total dissatisfaction with the ending, you may ask me, is Hi My Sweetheart worth watching at all? Even after completing the drama and hating the ending, I still don’t regret watching it. I really love the two leads, and their chemistry is really worth watching. The drama is full of emotions and even if they were in a lot of unrealistic situation, I would still find myself saying aaawww to myself. Besides, I don’t think this drama would get popular if it isn’t worth seeing. Just be warned about the ending. :P I still haven’t gotten over with my disappointment.

Cheerfulnuts’ Verdict:

7 out of 10 stars