REVIEW: Love Next Door (2024)
Love Next Door had all the ingredients of a perfect rom-com drama — popular and talented lead actors, friends-to-lovers trope, two sets of OTP, a slice-of-life vibe, the writer of Hometown Cha Cha Cha. Alas, the drama fails to give us a delicious dish. It does have some delightful moments but the show hooks us only in parts.
ABOUT
Choi Seung Hyo (Jung Hae In) and Bae Seok Ryu (Jung So Min) are friends since childhood as their mothers were close friends. They have had a bickering relationship over the years but also have lots of fondness and love for each other. In the present, he is a successful architect. She went to the US for higher studies and then was working there for many years. Now she is back in South Korea, after leaving her job and breaking up with her fiancé. The two friends reunite and their feelings start to become more than platonic.
REVIEW
Love Next Door starts out fine and efficiently establishes its characters, neighborhood and dynamics between different characters. The show has a slice-of-life vibe to it. It feels more like a weekend family drama.
When we meet the two leads Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu, we can tell that there is a lot of history between them. Gradually we find out more and more about it. It’s clear that they understand each other so well and they have the kind of rapport that shows they have known each other for a very long time. I also love the subtle moments where their relationship starts to shift from platonic to romantic. I do think it would have been better if Seung Hyo wasn’t already in love with Seok Ryu.
Seung Hyo is a thoughtful, caring and sweet guy who can also be petty and mischievous when it comes to Seok Ryu. She is sassy and impulsive, but also vulnerable.
I absolutely adored the second leads Jung Mo Eum (Kim Ji Eun) and Kang Dan Ho (Yun Ji On), and their love story. They are so cute! We see them meeting for the first time, then becoming neighbors and friends and eventually falling in love. They made me so giddy! She is a paramedic and he is a journalist who is a single father of a really cute girl Yeon Du.
I also enjoyed the hero’s parents’ track. It’s funny and also, poignant at times. I also loved the bromance between the leads’ dads.
Also, the friendship between Seok Ryu and Mo Eum (and the circle of friends that includes Seung Hyo) feels so natural. One of the highlights of the drama. I also love that all main characters are kind and good people, who are grounded and realistic.
Despite the good parts of the show, it’s not a gripping drama. You can feel that something is missing. The female lead’s mother is one of the most annoying characters ever! She is too loud and also violent. The writing also seems all over the place at times. Characters sometimes act in a certain way that doesn’t make much sense. The pacing is generally smooth, though it drags in places.
What really makes Love Next Door lose momentum is the misplaced arc of Seok Ryu’s ex and her illness. The point where she is starting to realise her feelings for Seung Hyo, the drama suddenly drops that arc and spends multiple episodes on sadness and seriousness, not to mention on Seok Ryu’s ex and their relationship. Hence, I could not feel my previous excitement even after everything becomes fine and the OTP gets together. It also becomes too melodramatic — that is not in line with its earlier slice-of-life vibe.
I do appreciate certain themes in the drama. Like through Seok Ryu’s story, the drama talks about how it’s not necessary to find a job that matches one’s high skills and education. Sometimes, one can pursue a job that satisfies their emotional needs as well. Also, we see the two extremes in the family life of Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu — indifference or too much interference. There should be a balance.
Coming to the performances, the drama has a superb ensemble cast and their camaraderie is lovely. Jung So Min and Jung Hae In‘s chemistry conveys warmth and affection. Both give a solid performance in their respective roles. Kim Ji Eun and Yun Ji On are charming. Jun Suk Ho and Shim So Young are funny as Seung Hyo’s work colleagues and provide some hilarious moments in the drama. I also liked Seo Ji Hye as Seung Hyo’s cool ex-girlfriend.
IN A NUTSHELL
Love Next Door offers some sweet, funny and heartwarming moments, but overall, it is just a mediocre drama that fails to meet the expectations.
MY RATING: 7.5 out of 10
