Boyfriend on Demand

When you have a concept like this, you can easily use it to break the usual tropes and laws of the genre. Not doing that, while also failing to keep the audience entertained, is a crime. because you can’t give us a virtual reality where you can date perfect men whenever, however, and as much as you want, only to fill it with the same regular dates we’ve already seen in dozens of other kdramas. Ironically, the characters in the show realize that virtual dates with predetermined endings aren’t that immersive. That makes it even more disconnecting for the audience because there’s nothing to anticipate. If this weren’t about virtual reality but instead about dating a bunch of “real” hot men, it would’ve actually been more engaging simply because you’d be like, ooh I wonder who she’d end up with. Or they could’ve fully embraced how absurd the concept is. Not exactly like Fleabag, but at least in that style by breaking the fourth wall in virtual world and leaning into the silliness, similar to how the main character’s friend used the virtual reality. The moment she unlocked the “love triangle plot” and that whole ten minute sequence was probably the closest the show came to showing how ridiculous and fun it actually could’ve been. so my issue isn’t that the show is stupid. My issue is that it’s not stupid enough. There’s nothing wrong with a show being stupid and cringey. Sometimes you pick something that’ll send you into an existential crisis, and sometimes you pick something that’ll help you zone out and escape your daily anxiety and burning deadlines. I’m not saying this to vindicate my taste or justify my picks(thats exactly why im saying this), but some people seem genuinely offended that this show is dumb. Yes, it is. And I suppose it’s even worse to write a whole Letterboxd review about a kdrama under the influence of wine and spirits, but let’s not judge each other by our preferred forms of escapism. thank you, gonna go pick another kdrama to watch and complain about it for another four paragraphs. P.S. the comments about Jisoo are kind of irrelevant. I’m biased, but she’s fun to watch and can absolutely pull off a comedic character because she naturally has that kind of charisma. She just needs a well written role, something she still hasn’t had. When she finally gets one, I think she’ll shine.