Cute Programmer (2021)

Illogical, tropey, toxic relationship. Say no more.

It is no secret that the rom-com genre is trope heavy but some shows make it work. This show did the opposite and it is hard to enjoy because of its many issues.

Let's start at the beginning. It was a slog to get through the first 5 episodes. The whole meet-cute was stretched to breaking point with the FL disguised as a man to get her dream job. They tried to milk the setup for laughs with all the cliché twists like going to the wrong toilet, picking a fight with a caveman, having her period while in the middle of the office, etc, etc. They are so obvious that it is just a cringe fest. Then we have to deal with the biggest plot issue. I'm sure an edict of not hiring any female programmer is straight up discrimination. I don't know about Chinese laws but I'm sure it can't be legal if it is a stated condition of employment. That whole set up just does not hold water but the writer pushed through with it and logic be damned. This led to many plot holes that are just painted over or ignored.

It did get a bit better once she came out as a girl in ep.6 and thank god for that because she was totally unconvincing as a guy. If you want to be generous, she might pass as a tomboy but most of the time she just looks like a girl with a short haircut and speaking of the short haircut, they tried to say that a short hair wig can hide a full head of shoulder length hair. Not likely. Once she is a girl again, a hit parade of tropes were dumped on us such as contract marriage, co-habitation, hiding their relationship from the world, etc.

As I mentioned in other reviews, it is important for us to want to ship the CP in a rom-com but the further the show progressed, the harder I find any motivation to ship them. A lot has to do with the portrayal of the main characters. The ML is a man-child who has low EQ but he is also selfish, rude and manipulative. The main CP's relationship is abusive if not downright toxic. He goes through cycles of being angry/jealous -> taking it out on the FL -> feeling guilty afterwards -> ham-fisted attempt to atone -> a) succeeds and we get a few moments of CP bliss or b) fails (which is often) he gets angry and take it out on the FL again. This is a destructive spiral and it wears mighty thin when it went on and on. BTW, the 2ML is a constant source of his jealousy but the 2ML is so beige that there is little chance of second lead syndrome.

The FL, on the other hand, is a top university graduate but has this crush on the ML for years and she will do anything to be with him and worshipped the ground he walked on. She ended up being his wife/slave/victim. Any crumbs of attention or affection from the ML will have her doing a delusional happy dance but she suffered so much more. This is an odd portrayal in this day and age. She also refused to let him see her face in the beginning of the show until she started dressing as a man. Why? Who knows.

Speaking of manipulative people, the show is full of them. The ML's mom is a classic schemer, the ML's father is a one trick pony which always gets his way with the ML by threatening to cut off his funds. His sister is a woman-child who manipulates everyone. Of course, no tropey rom-com is complete without the scheming ex-GF. We are in for a rough ride once she entered the scene on ep.11. This is why we need the CP to become a team so that they can push back against the antagonists and we can get behind them. What we have instead is ML being childish and annoying, their relationship precarious and unhealthy. I want to say to the FL, "give up, girlfriend."

And gave up, I did. The returns are few and far between. The dodgy paint by numbers script didn't help. It is not terrible but it didn't hook me. In a sea of tropey rom-coms, I needed something more to make me commit my time. I watched 12 episodes for free on WeTV. Maybe when all episodes are free-to-watch I'll speed run through to the end. I have no doubt that they will engineer a happy ending but it would be a looong march to get there.

Leggi di Più

Stupid, childish and irritating

It’s the type of drama that gives you lots of ANGST!! Lol... that’s why I never bothered watching You are my Destiny, although it had such good ratings. This has the same storyline and concept. ML CEO is the bullying and belittling type, actually likes the FL but don’t know how to admit nor express his feelings. Ex- girlfriend comes along and stirs up trouble etc, the leads separate and then in the end come back together.

The actress who plays the ex Li Man is the same actress that plays another bitchy character in Perfect and Casual. Seriously she should do other roles, cos she doesn’t want to be stuck with this kind of stigma roles!

Disappointed with this one. Wouldn’t recommend this.

Leggi di Più

A drama filled with cliches - but in the worst way possible

I would have just said Cold ML and Bubbly FL, but unfortunately, this drama is not it. This is a story about a cold/unfeeling/strong-headed ML and a pushover/no self-esteem/stalker-y FL. I watch a lot of romcoms and enjoy tropes in moderation with at least a slightly believable/ ethical plotline. BEWARE: This one is not the rom-com to watch if you like a cute/fluffy romance that is a feel-good timepass. The story is absolutely messed up - without spoiling, but if the ML were to do the same things that the FL was doing - It would really raise some eyebrows and questions. Not even going into how the ML is forced into marriage via forced drinking/ emotional blackmail etc. The FL taking advantage of certain relationships gets married to him - mind you, she has had a 'crush' on him for years now. I say 'crush' because it is not one - it is her being a stalker and taking advantage of situations.
They use various tropes and each as useless as the last one -
Crossdressing - There is no way that was a believable male get up, with makeup and liner. This was not executed to half ots extent and ends up just frustrating the audiences. How stupid do you think the people watching this are?
Contract Marriage - The ML is forced in quite some unethical ways by his family. The FL family makes sense and tries to her out of it.
Long term 'crush' - At the rate at which she is acting, it's surprising no one has labelled her a stalker/ creep. With zero sense of self, she is ready to do whatever it takes to be with this guy - Who very clearly states he doesn't want to be with her.
Living in - The ML is clearly uncomfortable with her ther and the next scene you see how happy she is that she gets to live with the ML. ML doesn't like the idea of marriage and she continuosly pushes it.

A doormat is too kind a word for the FL who clearly needs therapy and a restraining order.

Currently watching ep 10. I can't stop without completing any series and am watching this at 2x. It's still unbearable. Will keep the review updated.

Leggi di Più

Trash!!!!

No need to review it because it is a trash...trash......trash.........trash.......trash......trash...... dustbin........ dustbin.......shit.......shit......trash..........trash................................trash.........yess it is a trash.................................I need to write 500 words but I don't know which word I should use to describe this drama other then trash,shit and dustbin,,.....................






........






...........















....

The end

Leggi di Più

Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering

Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering.
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering
Very good show, acting is good, drama is there but not overpowering

Leggi di Più

ALERT: toxic relationships

Right. So I'm dropping this drama like a rancid hot potato.

The ML embodies toxic masculinity writ large. Selfish. Cruel. Insensitive. Self-absorbed.
The FL embodies doormat candy. Emotionally needy. Fragile. Incapable of recognizing and rebuffing the ML's cruelty.
The SFL is a caricature of the 'mean' woman. Essentially a female version of the ML. So they really are a match made in hell.

I wish drama writers would:
1. Stop valourising toxic masculinity.
2. Stop fetishizing men's cruelty to women in relationships as 'love.' And its corollary, women's acceptance of terrible behaviour as 'love.'
3. Stop pitting women against other women.
4. Stop making romanticizing lack of consent and rape culture.
5. Stop normalizing excessive drinking as socially acceptable when it is incredibly physically and mentally harmful.

Right...I'm off to bleach my brain.

Leggi di Più

The story is pretty weak, if your in it for watching the stars, or looking for a cuteness out of the couples its fine.

They reused the office building that was in the previous drama "Use for my Talents (2021)" which was a better drama than this.
Yi Da Qian gets more of a better role here than Love Designer, but the relationship they set him up didn't care much for.
Imo, they tried to make Jiang Yi Cheng's character style look too much like Yang Yang's, which didn't seem unique or appealing.
Bambi Zhu got to star in her own drama, in a role where she didn't act like a beotch like in Eternal love or Sweet Dreams.

The story starts off strong, but rapidly changes as Li Lu no longer is able to continue her ploy as she gets exposed. It then follows the typical drama plot where you try to get the cold hearted guy to break and fall for you, and then eventually when it happens, they have trouble maintaining that love.

Love causes you to do alot of dumb things, but Li Man's character was just too full of it, making things too obvious, especially without someone who has abit of power/money, she could get other people to do the dirty work. Her story could've been better worked out, chasing after a man who's married recently doesn't make much sense, especially if you've disappeared without a word for 3 years, after causing a workplace mess, if you think you can just "slide right in" then there are obvious problems. Also, anyone knows if you delete something from a computer server there are log in records, data backups, besides the camera they had focused on the work area so they had plot issues.

The story eventually diverges from programming as it focuses more on the main characters relationship, then jumps back near the end with Li Lu starting the tutoring program.

The ending with the issue with other company was rushed, and seemed more like they just wanted to tie loose ends with the story, which is a pacing and design issue.

The drama suffers from a lack of organization, as it has diverging stories that they all try to pay off in the end.
At many points it just felt frustrating to watch because the story wasn't vetted out, mistakes were obvious.

Leggi di Più

Stupid and annoying ML

It’s my first low rating after such a long time. I dropped this drama at episode 8 btw so this might not be helpful and just take my review as a pinch of salt. I just wanted to rant. I tried to persist on and watch further but I couldn’t stand the ML. He is annoying, stupid, rude, narcissistic and just plain terrible. I don’t find anything likable about him except for his is good in his field of work. So I do not understand and does not ship the main leads at all. Plus there is no logic in this show, I usually does not care a lot about logic because it is a drama after all, BUT hell no I’m not with this drama logic. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I had hope that there is character development but I found out that in the later episode the ML ex is back and he did stupid things again which made me decide to drop before the angst get over me. Overall it is already filled with angst for me in the early episode because of how unlikeable and annoying the ML is that is why I drop the show. A romance show with terrible lead’s character, poor character development and full of misunderstanding is just a waste of time to me. The story is not even interesting and the romance couldn’t even make up for it.

Conclusion: I usually does not drop a drama easily and tried to find good in a drama therefore I seldom give low rating like this. Anything enjoyable would have at least at a rating of 7.5 from me. But this is terrible. Watch at your own risk who knows you might actually like this kind of drama with annoying ML 🤣

Kudos

Leggi di Più

This is my first time writing a review on a drama so if this is all over the place that is probably why.
Let me get this straight. All the reviews that says that this is trash are right. You do not watch this to have a good time.
I am here to warn you .It has all the annoying tropes:

1/ the jerk, petty, childish ML with no redeeming qualities (I wonder if they actually tried to make him a tsundere but forgot to give him a soft side),

2/ the doormat FL that likes the ML from the beginning for no freaking reason

All my teenage years I spent reading shoujo manga with doormat FL and cold ML that doesn’t gives a shit about them and treat them badly but they still like him anyway didn’t prepare me for this nonsense.

3/ There is a lot of misunderstanding throughout the drama and No communication skills whatsoever between them.

4/ The psycho ex GF that still likes the ML. pretends to be nice in front of him and he doesn’t realize that she is a snake until the end that makes u want to strangle her.

Oh also do not expect the FL to be smart and confident and to have logic just because she has good grades and is a talented programmer .of course not this is a Chinese drama she has to be dumb to fall in love with the ML.

It has two of my favorites tropes: cross dressing and fake marriage but it was executed horribly. The plot dragged a lot.

Why did I watch this? You may ask .well, when this was announced, I had high hopes. I like both the leads and the story sounded interesting enough. I wanted to like this. I will never get excited for a Chinese drama again. I got my lesson.

If for some reason after reading this, you still want to watch it; my advice for you is to go with zero expectations .no except the worst.

Skip the scenes that u don’t like. Especially, when his ex-GF appears .trust me you will not miss much of the plot and maybe you will be somewhat entertained by this.

The only good thing about this drama is his sister and the cat momo .

Leggi di Più

Almost same story like YAMD....…????

Story of this drama much like You Are My Destiny. Many things are common. From contract marriage to FL's approaching and caring (because of one sided love) towards ML, misunderstanding between couples to still forgiving(FL) ML, caring FL by ML but in annoying way (ML don't want to show it yo FL), ML's ex-girlfriend's comming back to starting misunderstand between couple about their relationship, leaving FL for good of ML(as the FL thinks so) to find FL and cherish her to win her and a new hero's entry( who love the FL but help ML for the sake of FL's happiness). All are quite same. But with some twitch. Like their contact marriage here is not for baby(baby is in YAMD) but for their work and parents, not a accident meeting. Their meeting is almost a plan of FL ,like etc etc.... But how can the add same zipping FL's cloth like YAMD.... But ML's sister is truly 😂😂😂😂funny and along new male's character, turely energetic .....

Leggi di Più

Tolerable - one time watch

I am watching this just for the ML - Xing Zhao Lin , big fan of him ,he is good but not sure why is selecting such stories , he can do better .Have watched him in "Eternal Love" he can do better, please next time pick a better storyline.
The story is okayish and I have no idea how can someone allow an Ex-Girlfriend just take her Man away, this is just too much, watching I still feel we are in the ancient China where women were despised and thought as lowly people.
The Female Lead has beautiful eyes.Overall just a one time watch, neither found any songs catchy, at least in "you are my destiny" there was one song which I really loved was by Della "Dont fall in love yet" not sure the Title of it.

Leggi di Più