Girlfriend (楼下女友请签收) is a C-drama that has been getting pretty high views online and someone has recommended it to me. To be honest, I have not seen any of the leads’ dramas before although I understand that the male actor has a role in the Story Of Yanxi Palace. Hence, I was flying blind when I began with no expectations of what I would encounter. So, does this rom-com deserve a high rating? Let’s find out in this Girlfriend drama review then.
My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 36
Type: Romance
Aired: April 2020
Images Credit: MGTV
The Cast Of Girlfriend
- Lawrence Wong Guan Yi as Ye Fei Mo
- Xu Hao as Wen Xiao Nuan
- Wu Hao Ze as Gu Yun Zhou
- Bai Xin Yi as Wang Jia Yi
- Tu Bing as Han Hui
- Wang Ze Xuan as Jiang Fang
- Fu Shu Yang Jiang Ling Er
- Li Ying as Ms. Cheng / Cheng An Ya
- Ni Han Jin as Li Can / Director Li
- Wang Xiao Cheng as Zhou Xiao Jing
The Main Characters
Ye Fei Mo
Fei Mo is the President of an entertainment company called Anning Culture. He is handsome but cold and unexpressive. His ex-girlfriend is Han Hui and he has no interest in dating ever since the break up. Fei Mo also assumes that Han Hui is the girl who had once saved him from drowning.
Wen Xiao Nuan
Xiao Nuan is an unknown actress who only has very minor roles in movies and other productions. She has an optimistic and a warm personality with a face that resembles a younger version of Han Hui. Xiao Nuan has a brother, Wen Kai, who is running their late parents’ opera troupe.
Gu Yun Zhou
Yun Zhou comes from a rich family. He is Fei Mo’s good friend and also the Vice President of Anning Culture. He is a playful guy but is smitten by Jia Yi when he first laid eyes on her.
Wang Jia Yi
Jia Yi is Xiao Nuan’s best friend. They also share the same apartment. Jia Yi is an actress as well. She used to be quite popular until she quit to be with a rich man who later abandoned her. Hence, she has to start all over again from the bottom and carries with her baggage from her past relationship.
Han Hui
Han Hui is a successful international film star who has just returned from the US. She is Fei Mo’s ex-girlfriend and still has strong feelings for him. Han Hui wants a reconciliation and will stop at nothing to get Fei Mo back.
Jiang Fang
Jiang Fang is Xiao Nuan’s boyfriend and they grew up together. But he cheated on her to be with Ling Er in order to advance his career. Jiang Fang is ambitious and impatient to achieve success. He claims to be doing it because he wants to provide Xiao Nuan with a more secure future. Due to his relationship with Ling Er, Jiang Fang is given the Production Director post in Yaohua, a film and entertainment company.
Jiang Ling Er
Ling Er is an actress and also the younger sister of Yaohua’s CEO. She is spoilt and prone to getting what she wants. Although Jiang Fang is now her boyfriend, she is always jealous of Xiao Nuan and will not hesitate to give her a hard time.
Ms. Cheng / Cheng An Ya
Ms. Cheng is Fei Mo’s mother. She is smart and sharp. Ms. Cheng doesn’t like Han Hui one bit and wants to prevent her from reconciling with Fei Mo.
Li Can / Director Li
Li Can is a successful film director. He also has past disagreement with Han Hui and they don’t really get along. His love interest is Xiao Jing which he has known for 10 years.
Zhou Xiao Jing
Xiao Jing is the Agent Director at Anning Culture. She manages the company’s artistes including Xiao Nuan. Xiao Jing reports to Ms. Cheng and Fei Mo.
Synopsis
Fei Mo is a rich guy with good looks. He is also the President of an entertainment company involving in film production. Fei Mo has never dated ever since he broke up with Han Hui who has since become an international film star. His mother keeps sending girls his way in the hope that they will be able to get close to him but all of them always end up being kicked out by him.
Xiao Nuan is a small time actress who is in need of money to support the opera troupe in her hometown which is her parents’ legacy. When she is picked by Ms. Cheng to get close to Fei Mo for a handsome pay if she succeeds, she reluctantly agrees. Her mission is to attend a function as Fei Mo’s girlfriend in 15 days’ time. This is the function to welcome home Han Hui. Xiao Nuan is picked because she looks like a younger version of the film star. Will their contractual relationship turn into something real?
At the same time, Xiao Nuan’s ex-boyfriend is Jiang Fang who has since hooked up with Ling Er. Jiang Fang is now a Production Director at Yaohua which is Ling Er’s family business. Jiang Fang still has feelings for Xiao Nuan while Han Hui wants to reconcile with Fei Mo. As such, jealousies abound as they create troubles for Xiao Nuan and Fei Mo.
Girlfriend Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Being a rom-com, it is expected that Girlfriend will have a happy ending. The last scene is of Fei Mo and Xiao Nuan having their wedding photos taken near the water in her hometown. Fei Mo falls into the water after a misstep. Xiao Nuan jumps in to save him. Her kiss underwater and then during the resuscitation gives him the same feel as the person who had saved him years earlier. So, the savior that he has been looking for turns out to be Xiao Nuan after all.
Why Fei Mo Assumes Han Hui Is His Savior
When Fei Mo was pulled out of the water, he saw a birthmark on the back of the girl’s shoulder in his semi-conscious state. Han Hui has the same birthmark and hence, Fei Mo assumes it is her. Xiao Nuan had this birthmark pattern painted at the same spot on her back then because Han Hui used to be her idol.
That is why Han Hui was confused when she learned that she was supposed to have saved Fei Mo’s life. But she never clarified the matter with Fei Mo because she wants him to come back to her.
Is There A Wedding Scene In Girlfriend?
No, viewers are not given the luxury of witnessing Fei Mo and Xiao Nuan getting married. But they are briefly shown having their wedding photo shoot. There is also a proposal scene whereby Xiao Nuan surprises Fei Mo with her presence when she is supposed to have gone abroad for a year to take up an offer by an international director.
Xiao Nuan tries to propose to Fei Mo first with the ring he ordered before their temporary break up. But he took over the task from her when she becomes overwhelmed with emotions. You can check out my Girlfriend episode summary for a full recap of the last episode.
Why Fei Mo Break Up With Xiao Nuan
Fei Mo decided to break up with Xiao Nuan because he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He didn’t want her to feel heartbroken when the time comes for him to die. So, Fei Mo thought it is better for Xiao Nuan to hate him as it would be easier for her to get over him that way. He did so by claiming that she is indeed a mere substitute for Han Hui since they look alike.
However, Fei Mo realizes that he should not hurt Xiao Nuan in this way. Her words in her acting sounded too real and touched him to the core. So, he decided to apologize and get back together with her despite his illness. Fortunately, his cancer was wrongly diagnosed and they can have a happy ending.
What Happened To Han Hui
Han Hui decided to return to the US. She lost the best actress award to Xiao Nuan. The role was specifically arranged by her for Xiao Nuan because she thought it will lead to Xiao Nuan’s break up with Fei Mo. But it backfired as Fei Mo and Xiao Nuan ended up together instead. While Han Hui tried to make Xiao Nuan feel that she is a substitute for her in Fei Mo’s life, Ms. Cheng reminded her that she is also a substitute for Fei Mo’s savior. After all, that is the girl that Fei Mo had been looking for.
Side Couples
Yun Zhou proposed to Jia Yi and she accepted. She finally decided to trust him after hearing his touching words.
Li Can also proposed to Xiao Jing. He did so spontaneously when he learned that Xiao Jing would be going abroad for a year to accompany Xiao Nuan. She accepted his proposal.
Jiang Fang and Ling Er went their separate ways. Ling Er let him go after indirectly causing him to fall down the stairs and hurt his head. Although it was nothing serious, it made them take a step back and re-evaluate their lives and relationship. Jiang Fang also left Yaohua and joined a start-up company instead as his way to start from the beginning again.
Girlfriend Review – One Of The Best Rom-Coms For 2020?
Personally, Girlfriend started off well but faltered halfway through. It has been stretched longer than it should and there are too many cliches that the plot becomes predictable. You might even cringe at the events that happened in the last few episodes notably Episodes 32 to 34.
The story of a man falling in love with a woman who resembles a younger version of his ex-girlfriend has the potential of a great drama. But somehow, it falls short because this aspect is only explored towards the end of the drama in less than 2 episodes somewhere around Episode 31 and 32. I just feel that the story development could have been better done so that the overall flow is more natural as the drama progresses. As it is, Xiao Nuan only realized her strong resemblance to Han Hui when they appear in a movie together. This is despite Xiao Nuan being Han Hui’s fan for a number of years. Hence, you will see glaring plot holes here and there in Girlfriend.
Why You Might Still Watch
There are a few reason why you might still want to give this drama a go though. Firstly, the episodes are short. They are only about half an hour each. Hence, it is easy to sit through them as they finish rather quickly. Secondly, Lawrence Wong is an eye candy. It is very easy to fall in love with this guy’s looks. He can also be very charming when he smiles. I think without him as the male lead, this rom-com wouldn’t be able to attract as many viewers and make us watch till the end.
Thirdly, the Lawrence Wong and Xu Hao pairing has its chemistry. The couple is cute on screen which is kind of similar to what you will find in Go Go Squid! – a cool and emotionless guy falling in love with a warm and bubbly girl. And finally, I absolutely like the male character’s mother in this rom-com. Many dramas like to bring in parental objections to their child’s choice of partner. Everyone Wants To Meet You and Blossom In Heart are just 2 examples. But Fei Mo’s mother is a pleasure to watch for fully supporting his son’s girlfriend and even helping her to put down her love rival.
Final Verdict
Unfortunately, Girlfriend wouldn’t qualify as one of the best rom-coms for 2020 in my books. It has its good points as I have pointed out above. But the story build-up towards the ending is overused that I can only give it a score of 6.5/10 for this Girlfriend C-drama review. There is nothing original to it and the scene of them running towards each other on the beach just seems outdated for a 2020 romance drama for me. I just wish they have invested in a better script to give us a good drama all the way till the end rather than faltering at the halfway mark just like what happened in Please Love Me.
Anyway, if you want something more mature in terms of character development, even a college romance like Skate Into Love would be a better bet. The number of kisses in Girlfriend is also few and far in between despite them being mature adults in the drama. So, if you expect kisses to make you swoon like what you will get in Well Intended Love, I think you will be in for a disappointment. Instead, watch Girlfriend for its light and easy theme with its loads of cuteness. There is an element of innocence in the romance with a few fairy-tale like scenes for those who like this kind of sweet feeling. And of course, the good-looking Lawrence Wong is definitely a bonus!
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