A Comprehensive Look at Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale 2024
Dive Into the storybook world of 'Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale'
Explore every aspect of ‘Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale’ in this comprehensive review. Dive into character insights, strengths, and weaknesses. If you haven’t seen the drama yet and are looking for a spoiler-free review, check out the link below.
Spoiler Alert
Please be advised that this review contains significant spoilers about the plot and characters of ‘Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale’. If you have not yet watched the drama, we recommend viewing it first to avoid any spoilers.
Series Details
General Information
Air Dates: May 31 – June 28, 2024
Episodes: 10
Where to Watch: Paramount +
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Starring: Pyo Ye Jin and Lee Jun Young
The Story
A young woman decides to pursue her dreams of marrying a rich “prince” by taking a job at a prestigious social club. But she is surprised to find that while none of the clients hold her attention, the only one she is attracted to is the handsome, young owner who doesn’t believe in love or fairytales. While he swears that he isn’t interested in being anyone’s Prince Charming, she can’t help but feel that there is more going on behind his callous shell than he will admit. And even though she should take him at his word and turn her affections elsewhere, she can’t shake her growing feelings for him.
'Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale' is a modern twist on an age old Story.
Meeting the stars: Pyo Ye Jin and Lee Jun Young
Pyo Ye Jin as Sin Jae Rim
Following the death of her father, Sin Jae Rim decides to follow her dad’s final advice to marry someone rich. She takes a job working at Cheongdam Heaven, an elite social club. Her dream is to win the heart of one of the handsome bachelors that frequents the club. Instead, she finds herself falling for Moon Cha Min, the jaded head of the club, who sees all women as dull, lifeless rocks. But when she confesses that her reason for taking this job was to become a modern day Cinderella, Cha Min vows to keep his walls up around her.
As she learns how to stand on her own feet, Jae Rim finds out that she isn’t dependent on a Prince Charming for her own happiness and she can have love and success on her own terms. Now if she can just get Cha Min to give her a chance.
Sin Jae Rim is cheerful and outgoing. But she carries the scars of having her mother abandon her. And although her step mom and sisters did their best to make her feel supported, Jae Rim has never felt like she had a place she truly belonged. Romantic comedies are not usually Pyo Ye Jin’s genre, but I always enjoy her acting. She carried this role well and it was fun to see her in such a fun, silly drama.
Lee Jun Young as Moon Cha Min
Moon Cha Min is an eighth generation chaebol. He runs Cheongdam Heaven, but his father is the owner. Cha Min skates through life and his motto is “Follow Your Joy”. Because Cha Min’s mother broke his father’s heart, his father has forbid him from ever marrying for love. Which is why Cha Min is engaged to the daughter of a business associate of his father’s.
So when Cha Min meets Jae Rim, he is shocked to find he is interested in her. And when he learns of her motive for taking the job, he refuses to let himself be swayed by his feelings. But the more time he spends around her, the harder that proves to be.
Cha Min is aloof and clueless in most interpersonal situations. But the hurt that he suffered when his mother ran away, leaving him bleeding in the street, has caused him to guard his heart carefully. And his father’s attitudes toward love and marriage have done nothing to help that. Lee Jun Young has had a crazy year, and it is fun to watch how much he continues to grow as an actor. I thought he fit this charming yet reserved character well and I loved his playful chemistry with Pyo Ye Jin.
Supporting characters
Kim Hyun Jin as Baek Do Hong
Baek Do Hong is a famous movie director who is Jae Rim’s first client in her new job. Do Hong agrees to help Jae Rim by trying to make Cha Min jealous. And Do Hong is hiding a secret of his own that could jeopardize his whole career
Song Ji Woo as Ban Dan A
Ban Dan A is Cha Min’s fiancee. She is rich and spoiled, and is used to getting everything she wants. But when she realizes that Cha Min is interested in Jae Rim, she does everything she can to break them up, including blackmailing him.
Baek Joo Hee as Hwang So Ra
Hwang So Ra is Jae Rim’s step mom. She finds out shortly after Jae Rim’s father’s death that she is pregnant. Although she has tried to love and support Jae Rim, Jae Rim has always assumed that her step mom doesn’t really love her as much as she loves her other daughters.
3 things i loved about ‘Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale’
1.
Step Family:
I liked that this drama decided to break with the original story to make the step mother and step sisters good characters with pure intentions. It would have been easy to paint them as stereotypical villains. But instead, they chose to give them a way to resolve their misunderstandings and grown closer after Jae Rim’s dad’s death.
2.
Narrator:
Every fairytale needs a good narrator, and I love that they decided to utilize that. This sassy and brutally honest storyteller adds a nice outside perspective to the story and allows for some fun jabs as modern society.
3.
Lighthearted:
This drama never promises to be profound or a theatrical masterpiece. But it is a silly flight of fancy with simple themes and cute relationships. I love that they committed fully to this casual tone and had fun with it.
3 things i didn’t love about ‘Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale’
1.
Ban Dan A:
Usually the secondary leads get a chance to redeem themselves and admit defeat graciously. But Ban Dan A was a spoiled and selfish brat from start to finish. I really hoped that she would at least show a tiny bit of class by the end, but instead she just came off as an annoying character who never gives us any redeeming qualities.
2.
Hit or Miss Humor:
I’ve said this a million times. I am not a fan of overdone comedy. So maybe I’m not the perfect audience for this kind of drama. But for the most part, while I enjoyed the cute interactions and silly antics, I found the heavy handed humor to not really be very funny.
3.
Secondary Development:
I didn’t feel like this drama had any secondary characters with any stories of their own or character development. A few had some fun potential, and Do Hong and Dan A both had hints of backstory. But neither of them ever did more than scratch the surface.
The Conclusion of 'Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale'
The Ending
Well, what would a fairytale be, modern or otherwise, without a happily ever after? Jae Rim is able to reconcile Cha Min with his mother. And he carries it a step further by helping his mother get back together with his dad. With that, his dad hands over the reins of the business to Cha Min, so he and and Cha Min’s mom can make up for lost time. Cha Min and Jae Rim both finally admit that they love each other. Cha Min gives her the ring he bought her earlier and proposes. And to make it all official, Jae Rim takes him home to meet her family.
A jump forward shows the couple happily married. Jae Rim’s family finally welcomes their new sibling. Cha Min is back working for his father and Jae Rim is pursing her dream career in some kind of illustration. And Cha Min brings her hot drinks and massages her sore muscles as she works.. They have their own kind of fairytale and that is true happiness.
My Personal Thoughts and Ratings
‘Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale’ is a simple, breezy rom-com that puts a modern lens on the story of Cinderella. It is fun and silly and the leads have great chemistry. Besides romantic love, the drama has positive messages of self and family love. The drama twists some traditional rom-com tropes for comedic effect and the tongue-in-cheek narrative takes some humorous shots at modern society.
But this drama is definitely cheesy and troupe-heavy. The humor is ridiculously over the top and the story is meant to feel more like a fairytale than a realistic plot. If easy rom-com that requires you to disconnect your brain is not your thing, you should probably do yourself a favor and just skip this one. On the other hand, if you are looking for a quick, short drama that is an easy watch, this one has some adorable moments. And I always love watching Lee Jun Young! I give ‘Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale’ a 7 out of 10.
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