Hello There (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating:  Hello There (2023) - Slapstick humour in a light-hearted and speedy romcom

This is 6/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         6 Stars Plot:                       5 Stars Acting/cast:            7 Stars Couple chemistry:   7 stars Music:                    6 Stars Re-watch value:      6 Stars Enjoyment factor:   7 Stars

Hello There (2023) is a short and sweet romcom, at 20 episodes spanning about 30 minutes each.  The drama attempts quite a bit of comic slapstick humour, which is a little hit and miss. That said, it is a quick and stress free watch, with gorgeous leads!  

SPOILERS AHEADS

A simple romcom plot with slapstick humour 

Jin Mei Chun as Tang Bu Yan

For a spoiler-free synopsis, see mine 👉here, but in essence, this is the story of Tang Bu Yan's quest to find her 'destined person' to stave off an early premature death due to the Tang family's bloodline curse. 

The drama does not go into a heck of a lot of detail about this somewhat improbable bloodline curse, but suffice to say that all members of the Tang family die by the age of 25 (or sooner) unless they can meet their 'destined person'.  

Meng En as Li Cheng Xi

In Tang Bu Yan's case, that person is said to have a teardrop mole at the corner of his eye. (Completely off topic, but this did make me wonder if we would get a guest appearance from Si Feng of Love and Redemption (2020) fame, but alas, no😅).  Instead, Tang Bu Yan meets the coolly elegant Li Cheng Xi, head of the Xuan Qi sect, who does have a teardrop mole, but who is not the cure to her blood curse. He and his younger brother, Yun Gai Xue, also have a curse of their own which needs breaking.

Hilarity ensues as Tang Bu Yan and Li Cheng Xi embark on a journey to find Tang Bu Yan's 'destined person' and the cure to Li Cheng Xi's curse, and of course because this is a romcom, they find love along the way. And the romance in this romcom is very cute as two rather clueless people find themselves head-over-heels and decide to create their own destiny💕  

Slapstick sausage lips! 

In terms of comedy, Hello There (2023) makes liberal use of slapstick humour.  This will be apparent to the viewer right from the start as in episode 1, we are treated to some toilet humour as Tang Bu Yan literally lets off a series of loud farts whilst in close proximity to Li Cheng Xi (with these strong enough for her to mask up and for her downwind associates to pass out 😆)  

That pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the drama, as our rather loveable but ditsy heroine falls into various escapades... Let's just say that sausage lips, losing a prominent front tooth, and a blackened visage make an appearance.  I also loved Tang Bu Yan's dance moves and her creative approach to torture (waxing someone's hairy leg can be fairly torturous😅). 

Yan Ran v Yun Gai Xue 

The slapstick humour is a little bit hit and miss throughout, but on the whole this is a cheap and cheerful drama, full of light-hearted fun. 

The other duo in the drama (little brother Yun Gai Xue and divine physician Yan Ran) were also hilarious - impeccable comic timing! The crazy female-with-a-crush-on-male-lead Shen Yi was more of a miss though.   

What the drama really ought to have cut is drama land's most hated trope of amnesia at the episode 13 mark, which does not get resolved until Tang Bu Yan regains her memory in episode 17. This is followed by angst (that pesky bloodline curse hits) before a somewhat unexplained miraculous happily-ever-after in episode 20.   

Final thoughts 

🐼: Hello There (2023) belongs to the cheap and cheerful romcom genre and is quite an enjoyably comic watch, with gorgeous leads.  There is an irreverent sense of fun throughout and the drama does not take itself too seriously.

Some light-hearted fun! 😊   

6/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮