Mom’s Friend’s Son (2024)

strong leads, entertaining drama

With the 2 leads from 2 of my favorite shows of 2023, Alchemy of Souls and DP, how could I not watch this one? The premise of Love Next Door is very common these days: two childhood friends ultimately end up together. The strength of this show is in the story & the acting.

What sets this drama apart is that it pays more attention to the secondary story arcs. It gives almost equal weight to the families & friends, as aspirations & hopes intertwine between generations. Parents project their dreams onto their children because they feel they have no control over their own lives. Children are afraid to disappoint their parents. Are happiness & success the same? The cast made their characters captivating to watch.

The leads didn't disappoint as they delivered almost Queen of Tears level performances. However, unlike QoT the families are more down to earth & don't have members who end up in jail. And after all the drama, the story didn't hold any surprises. The final episode is all feel-good vibes & happy happy, which made for a rather boring ending. The show overall was very entertaining based on the performances.

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mi amado kdrama del año...

Cuando me di cuenta de este proyecto me emocione mucho, principalmente por mi Ju Somin que adoro y segundo por el gran elenco que lo conformaba. Desde allí se supo que iba a ser unos de los mejores kdramas de este año, los que llevamos un buen tiempo en este mundo lo sabiamos y era unos de los más esperados. Así que tenia altas espectativas y realmente puedo decir que las cumplio, hasta las supero. Para mi #LoveNextDoor fue mi kdrama de confor y me hizo muy feliz, también lloré demasiado por lo bien hecho que estaba el guión. Te muestran varias historias de la cotidianidad y como se va desarrollando para mejor. Te hace ver situaciones vulnerables mientras se descubre el amor y se sostiene la amistad. También hay momentos de humor donde puedes reir, enamorarse, enojarse, estar trister y más. Te da una buen enseñanza de la vida, los amigos, los amores, la familia y lo más principal, el tema de descrubir su pasión además que siempre hay la posibilidad de hacer las cosas que te gustan.

Ya hablando de temas más técnicos, la dirección, la actuación, la fotografía y el guíon estuvieron increible. Todo tan bien pensado y trabajado. Además del OST que es un joyita. Así que si quieres ver un kdrama bien desarrollado, divertido, fresco y cautivador es este el perfecto.

Tal vez, hay varias personas que no les termino de gustar o que el final no les lleno, es porque quieren algo donde de centre más el romatincismo, el amor, y no tanto en una realidad, no será tu kdrama fav.

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chaotic plot genre (?) but good (?)

ok, so I really like this but also I didn't. I feel very conflicted cause I got very attached to the side characters (THE SECOND LEAD COUPLE AND THEIR LITTLE FAMILY LITERALLY HAS MY HEART) and also to the dads, moms, and aunties. The story around architecture, food, paramedicine and finding hobbies when you are older were so inspiring!! Also the male lead was so so hot and the actor killed this performance. However I feel like this drama tried to do too many things at once. First the banter almost family-like, then the I liked-you-first, then the illness, then the small town found family, then the family drama... I don't know I feel like it would have been an amazing short cozy drama (maybe like 8 to 12 episodes) and I would have loved it, but it just went in too many directions and for too long so I lost all my interest in the main couple and was not feeling butterflies for them anymore. I stayed for the side characters and do not regret it at all.

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Would've been a better 12-episode drama, but no

This drama started out very strongly. The cast is terrific and the chemistry between the 1st and 2nd leads was excellent. The romance element evolved steadily through episode 8, where things took a dramatic and unexpected turn. Unfortunately, after weathering the fallout from that, the drama gradually lost steam before fizzling out to a somewhat trite conclusion.

This drama ran concurrently with the 12-episode drama “No Gain, No Love.” Both dramas had stellar casts, strong production values, and a reasonably good premise. But where NGNL felt tight and refined, Love Next Door felt loose, repetitive, and messy. There just wasn’t enough of a story to stretch it out to 16 episodes. It was kind of disappointing actually. Save this one for a rainy day when you’ve already seen everything else on your list, or you need a Jung So Min or Jung Hae In fix.

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The premise of the story is elegantly simple and absolutely captivating.

I really like this show. It's fresh, spontaneous, funny, and entertaining. The chemistry between the leads is amazing, and they look great together. Jung So Min's portrayal of a sassy, strong, and energetic girl with wit is magnetic, especially with the male lead. Jung Hae In's striking looks are hard to miss, but his calm and deep vibe makes him even more attractive and exciting, without being pretentious. The story's premise is simple, but I think the focus on the characters and their development within complicated Korean families makes it interesting. The dynamic and pace of the story so far make it much more enjoyable. I truly love the characters and the story. ?

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My first Ever Review, Take it from someone who has been with this drama from the casting news

I may not be a writer so I cant tell how good or bad the writing is but I do know that the Show gave us exactly was promised
Frienship☑️
Family☑️
Healing☑️☑️
Romance☑️
Love☑️
Comedy☑️
They managed to pull all of that off so to me that's good enough .
My major problem is how they hardly used the OSTs for some reason, the OSTs were actually very good but it seems they didn't want to promote them well in the drama.
The dynamics between the characters were wholesome , the chemistry between the lwads were on fire ??. the characters were realistic and it is amazing how they made them stay true to the characters mannerisms throughout the series to the end (Applaud them for that)
It is the kind of drama you can watch with your family , I am actually planning to rewatch the whole series with my family and I can see myself coming back to it time to time
I wanted to give it 10/10 so bad because, it has been long since I got so attacehed to a show
Anyways, Please watch this show on your own accord without any external influence , that is the only way, you will enjoy it , put your expectations outside and just enjoy the journey , laugh, cry , jump and love with the characters and I promise it will be fun....

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from childhood friends to lovers!

finished 8.5/10 ✨?
a story where I thought it would be set in a romantic comedy but in the end it turned out to be a family melodrama full of nostalgia and events from the past
Somin and Haein's chemistry is 10000/10000 ❤️
The script for me was the biggest flaw in this drama... from 1-8 and from 9-16 I felt like I saw two completely different stories... everything bad at the beginning and then everything good.
The ending seemed lukewarm to me and with some unnecessary final twists.
Despite everything, it was a project that I was really looking forward to and I enjoyed it despite some little things... it's a drama that's good for passing the time. ✨

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OK For What It Is ....

I ran into this one based off all of the raving reviews and I should have known better.

As with all dramas, I go into one with zero expectations, because in most cases they're so predictable, I don't want to immediately be disappointed.

I was sold for the first 10 episodes, leading to the first kiss. After that, everything seemed to be messy. Focus became on all of the side characters so much, that I more invested in Mo Eum and Dan Ho's relationship than the actual leads. It honestly felt like it was bottom of the barrel scraping to get this drama to 16-episodes.

The acting was great for what the story was given. The over-exagferated proud parents, the long ago lovers. The actors portrayed them well and convincingly. Despite the messy story, the relationships were convincing, minus Han Joon Woo's portrayal of the ex. Something didn't fit with all the other characters.

"What Are We" by Ha Sung Woon and "Reaching For You" by ZEROBASEONE immediately went on my regular rotation. I loved the array of songs and how fitting they all tie into the drama.

If I did re-watch the drama, it would be ONLY to fast forward to Dan Ho and Mo Eum's relationship.

Overall, it was a drama with a lot of potential, but instead of pushing it in the focus of a the 30-year old romance we were all led to believe it was about, we were sent on a wild goosechase with all these other characters with a sprinkle of "Oh, here's the leads, but we lost the plot."

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