“Our Movie” Episodes 1 And 2 Review- A Very Melancholic Premise, Can They Pull It Off?

Namgoong Min’s return to TV is finally here, “Our Movie” has finally premiered, lets talk about it!

I am, along many others, excited about the types of projects Namgoong Min picks. He’s very intentional and has been for some time with his choices. You have to believe that there is something very intriguing about the story enough for him to pick it as his next project after “My Dearest” which won him the grand prize in 2023.

So, I have talked about my feelings about Kdramas with premises focusing on a main character’s inevitable death before. If you followed the blog in the past, you might have read about it. I personally do not like such ideas in drama form, and I have a feeling that the screenwriters of this project are as acutely aware of its very much realistic and potential drawbacks as much as I do.

In dramas focusing on main characters with terminal illnesses, it can get easily a bit too much, and in several directions. These pitfalls are easy for writers to fall into. One of them includes dramatizing the painful slow death of the character beyond necessary bordering on exploitative, another one would be stretching out the idea of the imminent death so much so it loses its momentum. There is also the debate of whether its ultimately better for the main character to die in the end or not, and ultimately, it’ll depend on the reception by audiences. If there are many invested, they’d love for a happy ending even when the screenwriter, at times, alludes to just how impossible that idea is only to betray what they’ve imagined for the sake of a happy ending. Which is a pet peeve of mine.

“Our Movie” will be 12 episodes long, which is in my opinion, way too long for such a premise. There used to be Kdramas with similar premises to this one but instead, they were even 16 episodes, imagine how drawn out those got.

“Our Movie” is also written by two screenwriters, I tried to find their previous projects but they seem new to the scene, so there is also that. This makes me wonder what Namgoong Min saw in the script that compelled him to take this on. I am not saying he’s wrong, I don’t know, I am just curious.

So, the premiere episodes follow a very typical melodramatic pattern. There is also a lot of beautiful old style home camera shots sprinkled in to draw in audiences and give it a more nostalgic feel. I think the directing is great, I loved the camera work too.

In terms of the premiere episodes writing, I thought it had potential but I am a bit skeptical.

Interestingly, I think this could easily be a good movie idea. Now, whether such a premise would be received well in the current climate at the Korean box office or not is a completely different issue. They talk about it in the drama itself, and about how it could potentially not do well because of the very cringy 90s style melodramatic feel it gives.

This makes me interested in how the screenwriters will approach the remake idea in the script.

If you look at the script from a distance and if you’re not particularly that into any of the actors, it does appear very melodramatic and very cringy in specific areas. The idea of a terminally ill patient acting in their 1^st and last ever leading role in a movie they consulted on, thats some next level writing that many would call kinda stereotypically 90s style. It almost also appears as if the screenwriters are hinting at how they’re aware that this is how it might be received by the general public, too. You can feel it as you watch.

I wonder to what degree they’ll hammer in the idea of her dying while shooting a movie, and how they’ll approach that topic. This point will be very important later on as the drama progresses.

I personally enjoyed the premiere episodes but I can tell why it would be not something people would like to watch on the weekend. I’ve seen the ratings and they’ve honestly shocked me, I expected them to be much better.

For starters, the topic is very gloomy in nature and the idea of death looms over everything the characters will do. Now, for an SBS weekend time slot, this is a slower-than-expected type of drama they’ve picked. Not saying its wrong, its more so that its much more melo than what a regular weekend SBS time slot would be.

This also doesn’t mean the SBS weekend dramas don’t have sadness or melodramatic elements built into them, but usually, the stakes are higher, and its a much faster pace.

I think its because its Namgoong Min they put it in this time slot.

It’ll be interesting to see how it does next week.

I heard Namgoong Min also talked about the surprisingly low ratings. The dude says he’s confident, so I shall believe in him for now. Let us see what will happen until the 5th episode, as he says.

So, have you guys seen the premiere yet? Thoughts?