Rock It, Mom (摇滚狂花)
Dec. 22nd, 2022 10:44![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
superborbPeng Lai was a popular rock star in China, before leaving her daughter, Bai Tian, behind to try and make it in the US; years later, after Bai Tian's father dies, she returns.
I thought this was one of the more unique and interesting modern cdramas I've seen, with a lot of nuance in the portrayal of the complicated characters. Pacing was a bit messy, with some repetition (we didn't need quite so many episodes of mom-daughter revenge pranks) and contrived scenes (why would a job interviewer bring in a candidate who they were not going to consider...), and there was some tonal whiplash with the comedy parts. However, the last couple episodes really pull it together and end well!
Peng Lai is pretty awful, and the mother-daughter conflict is fully on screen without flinching; obviously, they have to end with some reforming, but I think they don't let her off the hook. I was particularly impressed that despite the centrality of the biological mom relationship, it executed the step mom relationship well and gave it respect.
They also did a decent job of fleshing out the side characters given that it's only 12 eps long. I found it a shame that they didn't have the space to really reflect on parallel of the grandma - Peng Lai relationship though. OTOH, I don't usually like the focus on a confession scene / misunderstandings in an early relationship, but they did a great job with this one and it was genuinely super cute. Of course, I loved the Chen Yue-Peng Lai antagonism, but it never quite lived up to the starting scene slow mo hair toss cut of Chen Yue.
Overall, I thought it was well done and certainly very different!
CW: alcoholism, terrible parenting, medical issues. If you need English subs, be aware the current set are clearly MTL; Bai Tian's name is often translated to daytime / during the day / Tony (???), and Xu Duo's to many.
I thought this was one of the more unique and interesting modern cdramas I've seen, with a lot of nuance in the portrayal of the complicated characters. Pacing was a bit messy, with some repetition (we didn't need quite so many episodes of mom-daughter revenge pranks) and contrived scenes (why would a job interviewer bring in a candidate who they were not going to consider...), and there was some tonal whiplash with the comedy parts. However, the last couple episodes really pull it together and end well!
Peng Lai is pretty awful, and the mother-daughter conflict is fully on screen without flinching; obviously, they have to end with some reforming, but I think they don't let her off the hook. I was particularly impressed that despite the centrality of the biological mom relationship, it executed the step mom relationship well and gave it respect.
They also did a decent job of fleshing out the side characters given that it's only 12 eps long. I found it a shame that they didn't have the space to really reflect on parallel of the grandma - Peng Lai relationship though. OTOH, I don't usually like the focus on a confession scene / misunderstandings in an early relationship, but they did a great job with this one and it was genuinely super cute. Of course, I loved the Chen Yue-Peng Lai antagonism, but it never quite lived up to the starting scene slow mo hair toss cut of Chen Yue.
Overall, I thought it was well done and certainly very different!
CW: alcoholism, terrible parenting, medical issues. If you need English subs, be aware the current set are clearly MTL; Bai Tian's name is often translated to daytime / during the day / Tony (???), and Xu Duo's to many.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-26 08:15 (UTC)..."Tony" is still a complete mystery to me aldjfa;lkf
no subject
Date: 2022-12-26 15:33 (UTC)