Full House swept the whole Asia into drama addiction way back in 2004. The wave is on again,stronger than ever and in full force.
Korean Dramas are all about chance meetings, serendipitous moments and living life run by destiny. Full House tells you what it means to take these ideas into the next level and tells you that it’s okay to live with a complete stranger in one house.
Well, sort of.
For those of you who haven’t watched Full House (Idunno how you even lived without watching it!), it’s a story about Han ji Eun, an orphaned writer who got tricked by her manipulative so-called friends into selling her huge house without her knowledge. Then comes Lee Young-jae, a famous, narcissistic actor who bought the same house. Chaos is bound to happen as the two agree to live in the house by signing a contract on a pretend marriage, as both of them deal with crazy issues ranging from an unrequited love to who gets to clean up the dishes after every meal?
Let’s go down memory lane, shall we?
TOP 5 things I love about Full House
THE CHEMISTRY. Now this is how all on-screen couples should be like! Well, the constant bickering, name-calling and teasing can frustrate you to death but in the end you’d still understand that deep inside the obnoxious characters there seem to be something deeper that’s brewing. There were no shortage of random jokes, embarrassing moments and cringe-worthy situations. You just get hooked right on the spot!
NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS. Yes! Finally a drama where there are no incest issues, sibling rivalry, terminal illness or revenge! It’s like watching two completely different individuals catfight it out endlessly and wait which one of them gets knocked out. I mean, think about it. There was minimal set changes (house and outside the house), minimal activities (all they ever did was clean the house, Rain was supposed to be an actor but what did he really do?), and minimal supporting characters. But it was packed with a whole LOT OF DRAMA for maximum effect!
QUIRKY CHARACTERS. Huge stepdown for drama queen Song Hye Kyo who always played the quiet, lady-like and graceful role. Here you get to see her chase down her friends in dirty back alleys, walk around Hong Kong with one shoe, eat a huge bowl of rice mixed with leftovers and yes, even dance kindergarten songs. She was like a woman-child in this drama! She cries a lot and only stops when you buy her ice cream, wears pigtails, colorful mismatched outfits and sticks out her tongue when she gets pissed off! She even writes weird, out-of-this-world stories and thinks of the craziest ideas. What’s not to love?
Rain is pouring—with charisma and star quality, you can almost forgive him for being the worst stuck-up, insensitive jerk alive. He even has his OWN bare-chested photo put up in his room like that! Vain schmuck. He always screams his lungs like it’s that time of the month, he calls Han Ji Eun cruel names like rice cooker/chicken, prances around arrogantly like he owns the world, and breaks his promises every single time. He is such a control and clean freak who drives everyone nuts! But surprisingly, you can’t help but love they guy despite all his fail. He just acts all tough yet deep inside he’s just an adorkable, sweet guy.
THE LOVE SQUARE YOU JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW. Sure, they all run around in circles one person after another. But you just can’t help but wonder if the bra-showing chick ends up with the token rich Mr. Nice Guy or the loudmouthed supposed actor who looks like a popstar?
SO MANY RANDOM MOMENTS. Full House is cliche ridden—poor nobody meets rich, famous guy who’s still in love with his childhood best friend, yadda yadda. There are details too that were incredulous—like how come Rain doesn’t have a cook or even OWN modern appliances, or why the hell does he wear clothes that are two sizes too small for him? But meh, it all worked out. Plus Rain in tight fitting white pants and leather vest is more like a bonus, really. And it’s not all about trivial matters. As the story comes along it shows how family and friends are important.
FULL HOUSE SEASON 2?
news from stareastasia:
“Full House was released in 2004 and is one of the most popular Korean drama ever; and made the already famous cast, Rain and Song Hye-kyo, to the new height of their career.
It is reported that the script of the sequel is in progress, but the director and the main cast have not been decided yet.”
A season 2 for Full House is said to be expected, and there has been 20 episodes written. It is to be expected to air in August 2009.
It just wouldn’t be the same if Rain and SHK would not be in the sequel. Let’s hope this doesn’t become a flop like Goong S which starred Se7en as the prince.
FULL HOUSE TAIWAN REMAKE?
from asianfanatics.net:
“Cross-strait film exchange takes place once again; Taiwan version ‘Full House’ will have Wu Zun pair up with mainland China’s first-line actress Zhou Xun, who hasn’t filmed a series in 6 years. Just by the male & female lead’s pay, they have to knock a massive $700,000NT per episode, and the production fees are estimated to be $3million NT per episode. However, this pair is definitely going to attract overseas earnings and it also complies with the government pushing for the idea of cross-strait exchanging.”
“The new version of ‘Full House’ follows the highly debated issue of cross-exchanging that Chinese people are currently very concerned about. This drama will be directed by Niu Cheng Zhe, and will film scenes in both Taiwan & China. The story tells of the 2 countries being separated for 60 years; Beijing girl Zhou Xun suddenly receives a notice from Taiwan informing her about her inheritance of her grandfather’s legacy. She then travels all the way to Taiwan, and discovers that her grandfather’s house has been rented out to big celebrity star Wu Zun for filming. Hence, she becomes very cold towards him, but gradually, love blossoms beneath their constant bickering and arguments. “
Yesterday, GTV Deputy Director Lai stressed that this drama is not re-filming Korea’s version of ‘Full House’, but is an adaptation of the Korean manga ‘Full House’. The storyline is not the same as Song Hye-Kyo & Rain’s version. Deputy Director Lai smiled saying: “The original manga did not have a Chinese name, ‘Lang Man Man Wu (Full House) is actually GTV’s original creation.”
Sounds promising. But I’m not too sure about Wu Zun’s acting, though. A lot of people commented that he just might not be a perfect fit for an A-list actress such as Zhou Xun. He’s definitely got the pretty boy eyecandy down to a T, but we’ll just have to wait and see!
FULL HOUSE PHILIPPINE REMAKE?
Several entertainment forums are abuzz with the newest installation of the Full House Korean drama into the Philippine waters. ” In Philippines, the show remains as the highest rated Korean drama, with a peak of 52.0%[1] Huge network GMA bought the rights to have their own version of the show. Richard Gutierrez will be playing the role originally played by Rain/ Bi. It’s still unknown who will be the actress to portray Song Hye Kyo’s role.”
Now I’m not familiar with the Philippine version or if this news is really confirmed, but netizens from the network’s official forum site said they have seen a very short preview of it on TV just recently.
POLL BATTLE RATTLE:
(1) What do you think of the new Full House versions?
(2) Who do you think looks best to fill in Rain’s shoes? Wu Zun or Richard?
Nothing beats the original rice cooker couple.
Some photos from popcornfor2.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Crossing over, drama review, kdrama, TWpop |
Floatingstars 
I’m a Filipino but I’m not really familiar with Richard…Yes..i know him but I don’t watch his drama….i mean I don’t watch Filipino dramas generally….but I have watched hana kimi and based on that….I agree to the majority of people that Wu Zun is not a perfect fit for an A-list actress….His acting makes me cringe all the time…the good thing is…he is such an eye candy…I think Jerry Yan can pull of the character of rain in FH….but personally…I don’t want drama remakes…most of the time..remakes just destroys the whole thing…with an exception of hana yori dango of course….because that is the only remake i really appreciated…
so true about wu zun in hana kimi! omg! i laughed so hard! he was stone-faced the whole time! if not for his crazy good looks that saves his acting lol. i was rooting for the more energetic and goofy jiro wang! that boy is so cute! good idea! yeah i can see jerry yan’s vain and arrogant yet sweet aura as rain in full house! and i agree, remakes have the danger of flopping if the previous one is really great in itself. hyd was pretty consistent though, i think the season 2 was even more exciting!
Ha I remember the joys of this series and to be completely honest it was the wonderful Song Hye Kyo that kept me going 😀 and ‘OMG more bloomin remakes!!’ is the only thing I can think of to say about that issue, but I am looking forward to season 2!
yeahh i love song hye kyo here! she’s so cute without overdoing it to the point of being annoying! sometimes too cute can be quite irritating but shk did a great job, she was so natural. she’s so pretty! i mean, she doesn’t age at all!
OMG FULL HOUSE! ok it’s taking a lot of effort for me not to do a word vomit spazz fest this very moment. ok breathe! full house is epic epic for me. first it introduced me to kdramas and of course, rain! initially i was like hmm what is this show and who is this guy? i was torn on whether i found rain cute, hot, or not. but then god! the charisma! and the chemistry between him and song hye kyo was so amazing it was tangible! so just like that i got hooked! i found myself weeping with han ji eun when she would be waiting for young jae only to find out that he was with bra girl hye won! haha it was only after i watched it 3 times that i realized that nothing really happens! so true! it’s amazing how much they achieved with such a small cast (god how i hated that pregnant couple who sold han ji eun’s house without her knowing!) and with half of the series just focusing on them lounging around the diva house. and the soundtrack! how can anyone not love the series! and then han ji eun’s outfits were so cute! i swear while that series aired here in the philippines, the bolero was a must-have for every girl. layering is obviously a problem in our tropical country so every one jumped at the chance of being able to layer with the bolero since it wasn’t too warm. it started the bolero trend here which also took a long time to die out. haha sorry random fashion spazz. love love full house! it’s still at the number one spot in my fangirl heart. favorite scene is during the first few minutes of episode 1 when rain, half nakey and groggy wakes up to the sound of the alarm clock lol! oh and of course having kim sung soo there as rain’s multi-lingual best friend and foil character added to the love.
yes it is so true! gma 7 is making a remake of full house here. -_- sigh i dunno. but for me i smell a fail. no one can ever do it like rain and song hye kyo. and c’mon… richard gutierrez? was never a fan. i don’t get the hype with him geez! i just don’t see any talent in him at all. haha sorry for the hate.
i don’t think wu zun can live up to it either. so true, if he wasn’t so ridiculously good-looking i would have never liked him in hana kimi! he perfected the dead-in-the-eyes look. good thing his co-stars were oozing with charisma and acting skills. lol
anyway thanks for the nostalgia hit with this post girl. i love it! aza aza fighting! (it was in full house too that i first experienced aza aza lol)
lol at your major full house spazz! i didn’t know song hye kyo became a fashion trendsetter there. my fave scene would have to be the cute ones. like when rain bought shk dozens of flowers and they were sitting in the middle of red roses….. gosh that was perfect photography moment right there! and when they went out camping and rain was so shy and embarrassed. dang. i swear they know how to make viewers go awwwww! was never a fan of kim soong soo though. he seems sweet, but there’s just something about him…. wait wait i wanna know more about that richard guy who’s gonna play rain. he looks young eh? and from the pics i got from forums i think he looks quite cute, a bit idol-y. i actually like wu zun! he was actually pretty good in a drama with ariel lin (if you’ve watched that) where he had crazy long hair. his acting was pretty decent in that and had expressions but i guess he just wasn’t as crazy goofy campy as his other co-stars. i mean, what can you do when boy-girl ella is bopping around going nuts with an equally energetic spazztic jiro? lol. i have chinese friends from school where i get this cpop/twpop stuff and i swear they drool all over wu zun lol crazies.
haha sorry it’s just that full house has had such a huge impact on me. i must show mah love! just kidding with that favorite scene. just my inner perv coming out. my real favorite parts are when they’re just in the house either bickering around while they’re cleaning (they cleaned the house a lot didn’t they? lol) or resisting falling in love with each other. aww. i must watch the series again later. hmm kim soong soo… i only like him since he served as an effective contrast to rain’s character lol.
about richard personally i don’t really like him. his acting is mediocre at best. well, he can pull off the rich conceited snob characters… seeing as he is naturally like that. the roles given to him are a testament to this. so maybe, just maybe, he can play the young jae character seeing as it fits the character stereotype he does. i dunno, the philippine masses all go gaga over this type of celebs. white or fair-skinned foreign-looking ones that look extremely rich and came from a snooty family of showbiz personalities. which is exactly why i don’t like him. it’s like he got well-known through his family connections blah not through his talents. oh well and oh recently he got into a car accident i don’t know if you heard about it. he was the one driving (apparently too fast) and one of the 2 assistants he was with died. he suffered like a stitch in the face or something. tsk i feel for the assistant’s family. so there he is good-looking obviously (and he struts around like he knows it for sheez), just not my type lol.
wu zun! yes i love him too even if he dies in the eyes. haha yeah ella pretty much steals the limelight every time with her goofy (sometimes too stupid but still loveable) facial expressions. hey yeah i remember i tried watching that series with ariel lin! i need to find that dvd too lol. omg i got to go it’s 6pm late for work! haha back to real life!
I personally would love to see Full house done by japanese actors… with Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi doing the leads. XDDD
The korean manga version probably has all the weird dramatic incest, stepsisters, amnesia thing that the drama doesn’t have. So I really don’t know what to think of that.
The girl in the Taiwanese one looks promising, but wuzun…. yes, he’s good looking, but he’s… not a good actor. I don’t know anything about Richard.
oooh a japanese version sounds pretty interesting! and tamaki would pull off the arrogant star character whereas juri fits the goofy cooky female lead very well!
I like how the Pan-Asian region have started to appreciate each others’ entertainment industries. I have no problems with remakes. I think they’re fine. I do agree that the originals are always the best and they’re the yardsticks everyone’s gonna measure the remakes against. Having said that, let’s give the remakes a chance.I wonder who will play Song Hye Kyo’s role in the Philippines remake. I only saw the picture of the guy.
you’re right. nothing beats the BiKyo tandem. this drama is the best of all asian dramas for me. ah, the nostalgia. i feel like watching it again. and i’ve watched it for ,like, 5 times already. haha.
and no to remakes!
If there is no Song hye gyo or rain. You should make kim so yeon and park si hoo go together . They are just finishing a drama together. The people out there also loves them so much. Believes me