My Unfamiliar Family: All families are imperfectly perfect!!

Once the children get out of their safe place into the real world, they start having less and less time with their loved ones. For some families like Kim family, they become like strangers. The middle child, Kim Eun-hee (Han Ye-ri) starts to reconnect with her older sister Kim Eun-joo (Choo Ja-hyun) after years of distance; she starts to make effort while dealing with her own problems. The youngest child, Kim Ji-woo (Shin Jae-ha) is also facing a crisis as he tries to find a true calling. At this moment a bomb drops that her mother, Lee Jin-sook (Won Mi-kyung) and father, Kim Shang-shik (Jeong Jin-yeong) are getting divorced making her question how did this happen?

Strong- Suits

1) The complexity of characters

The recent dramas have moved past the bitchy jealous second leads who are irrational and annoying but rather offers the viewers good well rounded characters with flaws. By instance, Kim Eun-joo (Choo Ja-hyun), the older sister is brutally honest in front of her family but behind their back she would be praising and protecting them. She keeps her secrets to herself, not letting anybody see her emotions. All the characters are so similar to most of the people we often come across in our lives. They are not saints. And this what makes these characters relatable. Its like watching any other asian family, whether it is the strict father who still saves you from your mother’s wrath, the mother who is always making food for you despite you living away, this drama has it all.

Kim Eun-hee (Han Ye-ri) is not perfect either. She is naive, too trusting and easily jumps to conclusions. Despite that she is the glue of the family. She keeps everyone together and always their for them. She helps brighten up the room and dedication to the job makes every boss wish they had someone like her. While watching this drama, it becomes easier to understand as to why she is the main character.

Also their outfits though are not eye-catching but encapsulate each person’s personality. It helps you make judgements about their personality. Like older sister wearing something professional even when meeting family showing how she is stoic and distant while the younger sister not being fashion forward as she is hardworking and uninterested in romance.

2) The Backstory

The parents really have a compelling backstory. It shows how they met and both did not fall in love at the same time but rather took their own time. It touches upon accidental pregnancy and how it was a taboo back then which affected the mother’s entire life. The story is unravelled slowly which leaves the viewer wanting for more. It also shows how a lovely couple can suffer from years of bitterness due to lack of communication. Their older day’s chemistry really is brought in the present time and their past love for each other makes you wonder what could have possibly gotten between such a loving couple?

3) Shows how no family is perfect

In most of the dramas we see how the leads have a perfect family with all the stereotypical dynamics fit into place, they usually fail to showcase both the sides of the coin. They show us the funny ahjumma, the silent father and the annoying brother but forget the other part.

This drama however shows us the bitter part, it shows how the family has its fights, how the children fail to realize their parents struggles and how the parents are oblivious to turmoils in their offspring's life. It also focuses on the sibling dynamics which generally change over the years but their core remains the same. It doesn’t end here, it shows the joy of banding together against the youngest but at the same time protecting them from the parents. These small moments makes the characters dynamic as they hit close to home.

I think this drama was a perfect portrayal of real-life family, rightly justifying its genre of melo- family drama.

4) A light hearted plot

The plot doesn’t try to make anything dramatic or out of the comfort zone. The theme of the drama is revolving around a family rediscovering its old happiness and it doesn’t divert from it. There is no addition of manipulative characters or a kidnapping arc just for the sake of it. The plot is well written as it keeps being steady as rock till the end. Its lack of action helps to bring out the characters and focus on the story.

Shortcomings

1) Plot based on only misunderstandings

The entire plot revolves around one person misunderstanding the other. It is especially tiresome in the parents case as their misunderstanding span decades and are revealed very slowly through flashbacks. Also the lack of communication really makes one frustrated, though it’s pretty realistic. The parents are one’s typical asian parents who don’t share their problems and struggles with their children as they want them to be happy.

2) Their transitions are not smooth at all

As the story deals with several misunderstanding and past unresolved issues, it makes sense that there would be a lot of flashbacks and transitions switching between past and present. Unfortunately the editors fail to make a transition smooth and natural. The switch is so sudden that it throws the viewer off balance and breaks the flow of story. Not only this, the scenes switch very abruptly. I think that the editors and director were going for a cliff-hanger effect which makes the viewers hang on their seats but failed miserably by making the viewers lose focus with sudden jumps.

3) Very slow character developments

The slow character development, only works in dramas with a strong storyline which keeps the viewers intrigued. Since this show is a slice of life family drama, it doesn't have a very strong storyline or many funny segments which might make viewers lose interest in the first few episodes. Since the entire show revolves around the journey of characters as individuals and a group, it makes sense that they would unravel their hidden sides slowly. Though it becomes very difficult when one takes this long for it because it might make people drop the drama as the characters seem boring or unlikable at beginning.

Final Verdict

My Unfamiliar Family is a perfect kdrama when you are search of something warm and a drama which isn’t overly focused on romance but rather on familial bonds and the human sides of our people around us. This drama would leave you wondering that what kind of secrets and sacrifices are your siblings and parents hiding from you while you hide some from them.

Binge it on Viki !!!