I went into this thinking that there would be a lot of bickering and tension filled scenes between the leads, but Wonderful Radio surprised me by focusing more on Shin Jin A (Lee Min Jung) and less on her romance. It's a well balanced film, delivering tender drama, comic relief, and a bit of romance.
Shin Jin A plays a former idol turned radio host, whose show doesn't get high ratings, but the staff is like a family. She interviews new groups who have never heard of her group, Purple, and she seems to be looked upon as a has-been.
The way Purple parted ways hearkens back to The Greatest Love where one of the members is still close to Jin A, while the other hates her. You have the feeling that she's protecting the one, while the other is lost in a misunderstanding, so is doing her best to make Jin A's life difficult.
Lee Kwang Soo is hilarious as Jin A's manager, Cha Dae Keun. Kwang Soo and Min Jung are such an awesome comedic match; both are great at physical comedy and their chemistry is undeniable. I just wanted more, more, more. Writer Nan Seol (Jung Yoo Mi) also has a good dynamic with Kwang Soo, making their scenes quite memorable.
When Jin A's producer goes on maternity leave, she gets a stern new replacement who is tasked with raising the ratings. He gets an earful before even meeting Jin A, and at that point knows that his work is cut out for him.
The radio show's new format involves bringing in listeners who have a story to tell, who then sing a special song. This further emphasized Jin A's caring nature and proved to be emotional to the point of evoking tears.
Though Jin A does clash with PD Lee Jae Ik (Lee Jung Jin), he's a more mature character who doesn't get dragged into theatrics. Love sneaks up on them subtley, and is very sweet when it finally arrives.
Manager Cha Dae Keun takes on various driving jobs to make ends meet, which is the perfect opportunity for Running Man co-stars Kim Jong Kook and Gary to make an appearance. These guys have such a great rapport, they played off of each other perfectly.
Jin A falls from grace in the public eye when she steps into a trap on-air. The process of her finding herself is shot in warm, romantic amber lighting, in music video style, and Min Jung is absolutely beautiful through it all.
Talent agency president, In Suk (Kim Jung Tae), made for a good villain with enough power to add tension and suspense to the film. He brought out the best and the worst in people, in way that was believable and lent itself to character development.
Our couple came together in a very cute way that matched their different personalities and brought the film to an end with all strings tied up nicely.
Director Kwon Chil In gave Wonderful Radio a romantic feel with his choices of lighting and framing. It's really a visually pleasing film to watch as well as a good story. Thumbs up from me and Kwang Soo.
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