Lee Jia confirms drama, still waiting on her hero

by javabeans

Of all the numerous names that have been rumored to star in MBC’s upcoming rom-com Me Too, Flower! (or Flowers For Me Too or I’m A Flower Too), the heroine is the first to finalize: Lee Jia has confirmed that she’ll be taking the role of the petty policewoman romanced by the double-life-leading hero — when he’s not romancing a different woman at night, that is.

Lee Jia’s character, Cha Bong-sun, has a hot temper and clashes multiple times with the sly parking attendant of a designer clothing shop. In other words, our hero. Heh. She’s a quirky and bright character in her 30s; the drama is described as dealing with women in their 20s through 40s, and based on previous reports I think that means there are three ladies, one from each generation. (That explains why the drama was previously called Girls, and why two other actress names that have been mentioned in relation to the drama are Seo Hyo-rim and Han Go-eun.)

But it’ll have its share of boys, too, in addition to the parking-attendant-cum-lingerie-chaebol hero. Heh. That description alone makes me laugh. There are also two younger men rounding out yet another love triangle: Cha Bong-sun has a crush on one of her co-workers and imagines he’s her fantasy buddy, while another younger co-worker harbors a crush on her. Eek, I wonder how many lovelines this drama’s going to have — it’s enough to get your head all tangled up.

Writer Kim Do-woo said, “I recently met Lee Jia, and I felt a lot of understanding and interest in people from her. The acting that is shown to viewers is also important, but just as important is someone’s appeal as a person, and therefore I have big expectations of Lee Jia.”

A rep from Lee’s agency Keyeast stated, “It’s true that she deliberated very carefully on her next project. She received the offer and not only felt she could trust in writer Kim Do-woo and PD Go Dong-sun, but also felt a lot of charm from the character herself.”

I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of Lee Jia, mostly because I find her acting a little shrill and forced. I don’t think she’s a strong actress, but on the other hand, despite her rawness in her debut drama Legend, she had presence and charm as feisty, tomboyish Sujini. So I think she may have it in her if she’s given the right character.

This is a positive sign for Lee Jia, since it means she won’t be forced into retirement by her recent marriage/divorce scandal. But more than the acting or directing, what is becoming ever more evident with every mediocre drama I watch is that it’s the writing that makes or breaks it. And with the writer of My Name Is Kim Sam-soon and What’s Up Fox? penning this, I have higher-than-average expectations for it.

Currently, the drama is busily locking down its cast — expect casting notices soon — and will premiere in late October or early November. It follows Can’t Lose on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Via Sports Khan

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