You're Beautiful
You're Beautiful is the age old story of a would-be nun who pretends to be a man and joins a rock band. When I read a synopsis of You're Beautiful I thought, "You had me at nun! And a nun that sings? That's The Sound of Music to my ears!" Hahahaha, see what I did there?
Anywhoo, You're Beautiful is the story of Go Mi Nyeo, a nun-in-training who is recruited by the manager of a rock band to pose as her twin brother, Go Mi Nam. (Note: Go Mi Nyeo is the lady, but through the whole show she's called Mi Nam because that's her fake identity. I'm going to call her Mi Nyeo because that's her real name. And when I say Mi Nam I'm referring to the brother. Okay? Got it? Don't care. Moving on.) Go Mi Nam had a botched eye surgery and is hiding out in America, but he needs to sign with the band, A.N.Jell, ASAP or he'll lose the chance forever.
Enter Mi Nyeo, who leaves her life as a baby nun to become a transvestite rock idol. The only people who know Mi Nyeo's true identity are the manager of the band and the band's stylist, who helps Mi Nyeo pass and gives her some fake testicles. Quickly the band's leader, Tae Kyung, finds out Mi Nyeo is a lady, and after hating her for awhile, decides to accept her and help her pass. Shin Woo, another band member, figures out the truth about Mi Nyeo and falls in love with her, but doesn't let anyone know that he knows, which is his own way of protecting her. Jeremy, the last member of the band, knows that something's up, but thinks everyone just went gay all of a sudden.
Mi Nyeo and Tae Kyung end up liking each other, and their relationship is like, the most adorable thing ever. (Don't even get me started on the hand holding.) The fact that Tae Kyung knows who Mi Nyeo really is means that Mi Nyeo can let her guard down when she's with Tae Kyung, and stop pretending to be Mi Nam the hunky pop star. They have a great relationship as friends and secret-sharers before things get romantic, which makes it that much better when they finally get together. There are so many great moments, I can't begin to talk about them all. When Tae Kyung performs stuffed animal surgery to make the pig rabbit? Ohmygodsocute. I can barely handle the cuteness.
So, Mi Nyeo and Tae Kyung: One of my favorite kdrama couples. But I'd like to take a few sentences to talk about the other members of A.N.Jell. Let's start with Shin Woo. Oh, Shin Woo, you pathetic bastard. Shin Woo suffers from Second Male Lead Syndrome, which is a tragic disease in Kdrama World wherein a guy is perfect for the girl, he likes the girl, but he doesn't get the girl. Shin Woo has one of the worst cases of Second Male Lead Syndrome I've ever seen. I can't tell you how many times I yelled at the screen, "SHIN WOO. She's doesn't like you. You're embarrassing yourself. MOVE THE FUCK ON." But Shin Woo couldn't hear me and continued to be the king of the sad sacks.
As for Jeremy, he's the comedic relief of the show, and Hong Ki tackles the role with gusto. Let me just say, though, about the many hairstyles of Jeremy... I can't. I can't with the hair, Jeremy. Speaking of hair, Tae Kyung's hair in the first few episodes is gross. Maybe someone out there likes it, but they are bug nuts. But FEAR NOT! He gets a new 'do around episode 5 or so. Just in case that was a deal breaker for you (it almost was for me. I can't have my romantic lead having fuggo hair).
You're Beautiful is a show about a band, and fittingly the music is great. I'm a total A.N.Jell fan after watching the show. But be forewarned: Every time you hear of, or even think of You're Beautiful, you'll find yourself singing, "I will proooomise you..." But don't be scared. You'll totally be into it.
Pronunciation: Say "You're Beautiful" like Donald Trump says, "Yah fy-ahd." Bonus points if you do the matching cobra strike hand motion.
You're Beautiful: Free on Hulu or DramaFever