Monday, August 13, 2007

1st Shop of Coffee Prince




I finally got in on the Coffee Prince action. Around episodes 4 and 5, I got bored AND the story is very predictable but it's also endearing and well done. I've seen up to episode 10 so far. The final kiss in episode 10 is also very gay as the guy is tonguing someone he thinks is a man (even though she's a girl) so it's interesting to see him succumb to his feelings for another man ignoring the implications in respect to his sexuality. Also, the part at the end of episode 8 that went like this:

You're gay, right? Well, I'm not so stop seducing me.


was also touching.

I find the girl annoying and extremely selfish for never revealing her true gender to him as there were ample opportunities but since it's a drama, he obviously has to find out from someone else. But seriously, you'd rather the man you loved think he's gay than to risk losing him by telling him you're a WOMAN?!?!? In what world does that make any damn sense? And after he tells you that he loves you and wants to be with you, you STILL don't tell him? So what happens when it's time to have sex? Would it be a 'ta-da' moment?

And Han Kyul himself, did he honestly think this through? Because he loved Eun Chan, did he plan to start having gay sex, something that we are supposed to believe doesn't feel natural to him? Or he didn't think that far? Tonguing a guy is one thing; having sex with him is another. And the fact that he was tonguing Eun Chan showed that he had sexual feelings for him.

But it's a contrived storyline anyway so I guess we are supposed to ignore that. I personally don't have any real problems with cross dressing storylines as I was thoroughly entertained by She's the Man.

Loads of chemistry and I'm enjoying it. It's definitely not the best drama I've ever seen, not even for the year (I prefer Queen of the Game, Taiwanese drama My Lucky Star and some others), but it's nice. While I love character-driven movies, generally, for dramas, I need a bit more plot. This drama is almost all character-driven and there are a few side stories I am not that interested in for example, his parentage and her sister's and mother's romantic lives. I am interested in Sun Ki's side story since as of yet, we know so little about it.

Another thing that stops me from outright loving it is that I feel that it's a cop-out gay story. I often wish they'd just go all the way and not have the guy turn out to be a girl so that it can be all nice and dandy. If you want to be real, take it all the way. Of course, there are all sorts of repercussions that'll come from this so I understand why one might be reluctant to create such a drama.

In stories like this and Twelfth Night (well, I have only seen the movie starring Ben Kingsley), I feel that the men have gay tendencies. No matter how some people might try to explain about pheromones and what not, I still find them to be gay. In She's The Man or Hana Kimi, it was different because in the former, even though he liked Viola when she was pretending to be Sebastian, he was never confused nor did he have any sexual feelings towards her in that state (unlike in Twelfth Night) and in Hana Kimi, he knew she was a girl from the get go. But with Coffee Prince, after seeing Han Kyul tongue Eun Chan so passionately, for the rest of the episodes, I'm going to keep thinking that Han Kyul has gay tendencies.

In all honesty, if a hot guy, for some reason, thinks I'm a guy and falls in love with me, God knows I aint dating him. WTF?


Nonetheless, I need the subs to come out so I can watch the showdown (ep 11 when someone spills the beans) and their make up in episode 12. Romantic shows generally end when the couple gets together so I'm not quite sure what's going to happen in the next 5 episodes. His family (or people he thinks are his family because apparently, they aren't his blood relatives) is very cool but I'm guessing some conflict will come from them not accepting her. Oh well, I guess I just have to wait and see.

I guess the storyline of his true parentage needs to be resolved but as I previously mentioned, I'm not that interested in it. I hope the show doesn't tank in the later episodes. From what I've seen so far, from my POV, this drama is absolutely overrated but that doesn't take away from its goodness. But big ups to the woman writer and woman director for creating a good show. More and more women need to get into the industry.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The identity issue does not make a lot of sense. I guess we were not supposed to dwell on the sex.

You brought up a very good point. If the man I love falls in love with me because I am a guy and is also considering having sex with another man, should I not be worried? I think this was not explored at all in the series. What an interesting dillema for the character.

On Han Kyul's character, I believe he does have gay tendencies. He was willing to go all the way and eventhough it was not explicitly shown in the series, he must have considered having sex with "his man". And darn PG-rate k-drama, they would only show sex (or the slightest hint of it) AFTER the leading male character finds out that she's "fortunately" a girl.

It bothered me that the drama took on the theme that it is fortunate for Han Hyul that she was a girl. He was soooooo delighted that she was a girl and probably thanks his lucky stars that he was NOT gay. That bothered me. A LOT. Was he "straightened" by a girl?

Now, that is a man who fell in love for real with a man? Who the heck did he fall in love with in the first place? He was sexually attracted to Eun Chan as a man or woman?

Enagwolo said...

One thing I liked about it was that Han Kyul would have been willing to date a man if she hadn't turned out to be a girl. But what I would have loved was that instead of just being annoyed that she'd lied to him, but that he'd also have been confused about what the hell had just happened. Maybe explore his sexuality and try to figure out what exactly it had all meant. Maybe really ask himself if he's alright with her being a girl and if gender really meant nothing at all. But since it was lighthearted, I guess they didn't want to go that route.

Mlayana said...

wait, do they ever have sex????

Enagwolo said...

Yes, they have sex towards the end of the drama (after he knows she's a girl).

Toni said...

How about we look at it like this:

Rather than Han Kyul loving Eun Chan as a man, and therefore having gay tendancies, we could say that he loves her as Eun Chan regardless of her sex.

Just because he loves a person he believes to be of the opposite sex does not mean he loves all men. We should look at people individually rather than labelling them as either male or female. Therefore I do not believe he has gay tendancies.

Yes he fell in love with Eun Chan. But he did not fall in love with her as a man and nor did he fall in love with her as a woman. He fell in love with the person that is 'Eun Chan'. No more, no less.

Tina said...

Lol, It wouldn't be a drama if she did it, It would oh hey, btw i'm a girl.. REALLY?! NO WAY.. Sweet lets date.

Anonymous said...

toni, i could not have said it better.

pending... said...

It kind of make sense, because he loved her as a person for her essence not what she had under her clothes. I loved the Japanese guy, he looked like a chick though,