Waking Love Up (2011)

Gosh, no one has ventured to write a review on this show? Well, this comes a little bit late but better late than never, right? So here goes.

STORY (No spoilers)
It was only after I had completed watching this show that I later discovered that this was a re-make of an older and, at that time popular, Taiwanese show titled "Prince Turns Into A Frog". Having never seen that older show but afterwards read about its content, it would appear that the overall storyline for both shows essentially remains the same. So, for those of you who have seen "Prince Turns Into A Frog" and loved it, you might want to consider giving this re-make a try.

I think it is also worth mentioning that the overall vibe of this show is that of a cheesy, light-hearted, funny and rather silly show. This show does not take itself seriously at all and has a lot of cartoonish, slapstick funny moments liberally sprinkled with your over-the-top dramatic scenes which, in another show, would probably make you roll your eyes. Since this show doesn't take itself seriously, viewers intending to watch this should also leave your brain at the door and just sit back and enjoy this crazy ride.
If you enjoy a bit of fun and silliness, as well as willing to suspend belief and swallow the cheese as well as the salt as this show turns on the drama, this show is a great one to watch.

ACTING/ CHARACTERS
LIU XIAO BEI - Tiffany Tang plays the loud, cheeky and bubbly Liu Xiao Bei really well here. While the vibe of the show promotes cartoonish actions and caricature personalities, Tiffany gives Liu Xiao Bei enough of a personality to make her a bit more than just a one-dimensional character. I found her character to be actually cute and likeable in this show, despite its inherent silliness, and that speaks of Tiffany's ability to breathe more life into her. She also enjoys good chemistry with her co-actors, especially with the main male lead (no surprise as they were actually dating in real life at time of filming).

XIANG TIAN QI - Roy Qiu plays this cold, rich, genius CEO as well as can be, given the craziness of the show and what the character himself has to go through. The first round of memory loss brought an almost complete change of character personality to Xiang Tian Qi, and Roy did a good job in making that difference palpable, believable and utterly charming to boot. I thought he portrayed the various personalities and emotions of his character pretty well, especially considering the playful nature of this show.

The second leads, as well as the supporting characters in this show, were played by actors who didn't mind looking a little silly or participating in scenes that were extremely cheesy and almost cringe-worthy. Not all characters were one-dimensional or one-note all the time in this show. There were moments of poignancy and feeling which added depth to certain key scenes and moments in the show, but on the flip side, there were also moments where suspension of belief was required and you'd need to roll with the punches.

It is difficult to therefore rate the quality of acting in this show, simply because of its rather quirky and erratic nature.

MUSIC
In line with its let's-not-take-ourselves-seriously vibe, the music in this show varies from hip-hop and rap, to pop and rock, to love ballads. A truly eclectic mix of genres rolled into a show, but you know what, it works. I actually enjoyed the music a lot (if you are a fan of JJ Lin, a lot of his tracks are played on this show), and thought it added life and beat to the series.

RE-WATCH VALUE
I guess this is a love-it or hate-it kind of show so if you liked it, you probably would not mind re-watching some of the scenes over and over again, even if it was just for kicks, giggles and laughs.

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