REVIEW: ‘Melo Movie’ Is Refreshingly Honest

Movies are a source of joy and escapism, something Netflix’s latest Kdrama, Melo Movie, highlights extraordinarily well. There’s an allure and fantasy to movies that fuel fans and the industry as a whole. Passion is what draws many of us to work in the movie industry, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Much like life, it’s painstakingly hard and sometimes takes more from you than it gives back. There’s a duality to film that’s explored in Melo Movie that is refreshingly honest. While the romance is a major draw, the main message is what viewers should stick around to experience.

Go Gyeum (Choi Woo-shik) is obsessed with movies. His day is not complete unless he watches at least one film, preferably with his older brother, Go Joon (Kim Jae-wook). This obsession with film leads to him pursuing a dream to become an actor, except he’s not particularly good or talented. This puts him immediately on the path of Kim Mu-bee (Park Bo-young), a blunt, prickly woman who despises films despite working in the industry. With her name sounding so similar to the word “movie,” Gyeum practically starts manic pixie dream-girling Mu-bee in his mind.

Gyeum’s peppy personality and overall charisma don’t immediately woo Mu-bee over. Instead, it annoys her. Yet, everywhere she goes, he’s there. Even when she sets boundaries, he finds ways to push at them, almost rendering the viewing experience uncomfortable. It’s straight out of an old rom-com movie, with the guy bordering on stalkerish behavior at times. Either way, his attentions eventually wear her down until just when she’s willing to give him her heart, he vanishes.

The power of film can heal, but it can also be a crutch. Melo Movie shows that.

Life is not like a movie, and sometimes, we don’t get the closure we seek when people disappear from our lives. Even worse, when the person re-enters our lives without warning, it stirs up the emotions we thought we’d finally addressed or buried. This is the conflict that arises for both sets of couples in the Melo Movie. Gyeum lives his life almost as if it were a movie, but his decision to re-enter Mu-bee’s life brings him consequences that he’s spent his life dismissing and running away from.

As for Mu-bee, she’s generally confronted life head-on, learning by observing her father that dedicating one’s life to film is stupid. But as much as she tries to hate her father, movies are what remains of him. And the impact his death has left on her carries ripples throughout Melo Movie. When confronted with the reality that something she wants will be taken away, she gives up. It’s easier, and that’s one of the largest traumas she has to face after Gyeum makes his re-appearance.

Movies can show us what we yearn for, but this often forces viewers to wear rose-tinted glasses, particularly in romances. Serving as a foil to the main relationship of Melo Movie, the relationship between songwriter Hong Shi-joon (Lee Jun-young) and screenwriter Son Joo-a (Jeon So-nee) shows the struggles of reconciliation and its more realistic aftermath. On paper, they are a textbook romance made in heaven, but on their seventh anniversary, Joo-a breaks up with Shi-joon without warning and disappears.

The movie industry is not spared from criticism.

Her reappearance in his life disrupts things, and not for the better. While Shi-joon struggles in his career post-breakup, Joo-a excels. Yet, with the sale of her most recent screenplay, she re-enters his life, unable to wholly let go despite initiating the separation. The tension is uncomfortable, and Joo-a takes shots at Shi-joon throughout the course of the series, casting her in a more villainous light compared to the similar Gyeum (lest we forget that he, too, disappeared from Mu-bee’s life).

The scenes between Lee Jun-young and Jeon So-nee as these pivotal exes feature incredible acting. While initially, Jun-young’s Shi-joon comes across as self-absorbed and a typical stereotypical “genius” musician type, there’s more beneath the surface that never wholly saw the light of day when he was with Joo-a. And as he admits that he’s trapped in the past, Jun-young’s face collapses into itself in a moment of soul-crushing acting. As for So-nee, her character progressively becomes more unlikable as the series progresses, but she finds pockets in Joo-a to reveal the woman she once was. It’s a hard role to tackle, and she does well here.

Also refreshing is how Melo Movie demonstrates that movies ultimately can’t distract from the inevitable. A few things in a person’s life can’t be glossed over: birth, death, and taxes. These moments supersede and take over completely and are impossible to escape, no matter how hard we try. It’s a depressing reality that director Oh Chung-hwan and writer Lee Na-eun don’t hesitate to display in their hammering home of themes.

Arguably, the strongest parts of Melo Movie are how Chung-hwan and Na-eun tackle portraying the film industry in the series. They peel back the curtain, revealing the humanity that lies at the heart of an industry known for burning through people at the same pace it attracts them in. And they don’t look away when it comes to things like the work conditions, the impact of criticism and social media, and even how difficult it is to secure funding. As much as passion fuels the movie industry, the reality is that it’s brutal out there.

Unfortunately, life can’t be like a movie, but Melo Movie reminds us that’s okay.

Sure, Melo Movie could have gone further on these topics, but it didn’t need to. Not to get to Gyeum’s point in the final episode about how movies aren’t real life. Enough is done to solidify this theme in a multitude of ways without needing to explore the underbelly of the film industry. This is seen through the experiences of all of the characters in Melo Movie and each respective character and relationship arc—whether platonic or romantic. But more specifically, with the character Ma Seong-u, played by the ever-delightful Ko Chang-seok.

The romance itself may take more of a backseat in execution, but it’s heartwarming to watch how Mu-bee and Gyeum grow and heal through their experiences with one another. Their trauma and refusal to let go of their respective crutches have tethered them for too long. By the end of Melo Movie, their impact on one another proves how far they have come in their respective journeys.

Melo Movie, as a whole, never pulls back from the melodramatics that sparked its title, giving plenty of excitement to view onscreen. The romance between its characters may be the hook, but the series’ refreshingly honest take on film, what it means to people, and how easily it can be used as a crutch adds extra weight to the viewing experience. Melo Movie proves that it’s okay that life isn’t a movie. Sometimes life is just, well, life, and we have to deal with what it throws at us. No slate included.

Melo Movie is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.