Starlit Review

Title: Starlit

Genre: Romance, melodrama

Episodes: 22

Broadcast date: 2009-Jan to 2009-Apr

Cast: Jerry Yan, Terri Kwan, Alice Ceng and Chen Zhi Kai 

Cheng Yue (Jerry Yan) is a pianist, who once saved a girl from being hit by a car, which led him to break his hand. Everything seemed okay until he found out that he would never be able to have an agile hand again, which means that he’ll never be able to play piano again. His mother spent all her life trying to make him the best pianist in Taiwan, which only leads to him not doing anything else besides playing. After a huge argument, Cheng Yue leaves his mother and girlfriend, by running away and not contacting them again.

Two years past, Cheng Yue now a piano teacher, meets the girl he saved, Dong Xiao Lu (Terri Kwan), whom he now blames for all his mishaps, and ends up losing his job. Feeling guilty, she decides to help him get a new job at her company, and the two start to form a mutual understanding, and soon more than that. Cheng Yue confesses to Xiao Lu, but she rejects him telling him that she has never thought of him like that, but somehow her rejection seems halfhearted…

While I was watching the drama I didn’t feel the chemistry of the couple at all, even though it’s 22 episodes worth of screen time, which especially for a Taiwanese drama is long. Somehow the main actress annoyed the shit out of me, and made me want to yell “CUT!“ 50% of the time! Like there were times when I thought she was blind (like the actual physical form), but that was just because of the ridiculous acting.

On the other hand, she does a great job as a sick patient, and Jerry Yan does was he’s used to :P The drama reminded me of the Japanese 1 Liter of Tears with Nishikido Ryo and Sawajiri Erika, except it was adults and there was much more love story than illness.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Down With Love Review

Title: Down With Love
AKA: Just Want to Depend on You / Stick with You
Episodes: 16
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Broadcast period: 2010-Jan to 2010-May
Opening theme song: Jiu Xiang Lai Zhe Ni by Jerry Yan
Ending theme song: Ai Shang Ni by S.H.E
Cast: Jerry Yan, Ella Chen, Kelly Huang, Michael Zhang, Chen Zi Han, Xiao Xiao Bin and Ji Xin Ling.

Xiang Yu Ping (Jerry Yan) is heartless lawyer, who has to take care of his niece Xiang Yu Fei (Ji Xin Ling) and nephew Xiang Yu Ting (Xiao Xiao Bin) after the death of his brother. Hating kids and not knowing what to do with them, he hires nannies to watch out for them, but for some reason the nannies end up in the hospital or fall in love with Yu Ping, so he has to hire a new one every second day. By chance he meets Yang Guo (Ella Chen) a hardworking girl who is almost slave driven by her sister Yan Duo(Kelly Huang) who loves money more than anything on the planet. The two of them end up arguing, she calls him names and they split. To enlarge the coincident, Yan Duo happens to be the secretary of Yu Ping, and after Yan Guo being fired, mainly because of Yu Ping, the money crazy sister helps Yan Guo getting a job as the nanny of Yu Ping's niece and nephew, saying that she is impossible to break and that she is a lesbian, who will never fall in love with Yu Ping. To complicate matters even more, Qi Ke Zhong (Michael Zhang) the childhood friend seems to be the first love of Yan Duo, but he happens to be in love with the supermodel Ding Hui Fan (Chen Zi Han), who is secretly dating Yu Ping.
The day Yu Ping tries to propose to Hui Fan, she declines him and breaks up with him, believing he would eventually return to her. Yu Ping on the other hand feels relived, since he had lost most of his feelings trying to hide their relationship, feeling that it had become a habit to be with her. After finding out about Yan Guo, Dui Fan thinks that Yan Guo and Yu Ping are dating, she starts her mission, in getting Yu Ping back..

This drama is fantastic! Made me smile almost all way through.. I actually fell once off my chair, because I was laughing and I tossed my head back, not noticing the back of the chair was turned. Lol, so I was literally rolling on floor laughing.
Ella Chen and Jerry Yan as the leading couple, was both fun and sweet, occasionally passionate, so tooootally worth it. Chemistry knockout! The supporting roles were fun as well, Micheal Zhang and Kelly Huang were worth it. I was hooked at the beginning, right until episode 7. That’s were the lagging started. But the story became better further up, around episode 13. Shortly in math language ]start;ep 7] to [ep 13; end[ was the best, the middle is like a korean drama, dull.. :P lols.. All in all, GREAT!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts