Yet another adaptation has hit dramaland, and while I cannot say if this comedy lives up to its inspiration, it’s off to a solid start — with a lot of name dropping and big name actors cameoing as fictional versions of themselves.
EPISODES 1-2 WEECAP
Any drama that begins with one of its main characters wearing a helmet with one of those little spinning propellers on top immediately has my attention, and that’s exactly the comical note on which our new drama starts. Set in the behind-the-scenes world of talent management, it’s fitting that Behind Every Star opens with KIM JOONG-DON (Seo Hyun-Woo) frantically driving his scooter — helmet propeller spinning wildly in the wind — to intercept a reporter on behalf of actress JO YEO-JUNG (as herself), who has been delayed at her horseback riding lessons.
Although Joong-don is just an agent, he should win an award for acting — or at the very least, lying — because he successfully stalls for time until his absent actress appears for her interview. The reporter is eager to hear about Yeo-jung’s latest casting rumor, and yes, she confirms, she’s up for the leading role in Quentin Tarantino’s latest time-traveling-revenge-porn epic. Yeo-jung is all too happy to gush about the project even though the contract hasn’t been signed. So, of course, the gods of dramatic irony — meaning Tarantino’s representatives — choose that exact moment to text Joong-don that Tarantino is no longer interested in working with Yeo-jung because she’s “too old” for the (rewritten) part — ooof!
Joong-don can’t bring himself to relay the message to Yeo-jung, so he sits on the bad news until WANG TAE-JA (Lee Hwang-eui), the president of Method Entertainment (who is about to depart on an overseas vacation), asks for an update. While most of the agency’s employees react with somber quietness, one young staff member gets scolded for not reading the room and being overly helpful — which leads to her rage-quitting in the middle of the meeting.
Although the young woman’s boss, CHEON JE-IN (Kwak Sun-young), is put out at having yet another newbie quit on her, it turns out to be a serendipitous opportunity for SO HYUN-JOO (Joo Hyun-young), who is looking to start a career as a manager. Having already tried and failed to use her (mysterious) connection with DIRECTOR MA TAE-OH (Lee Seo-jin) to secure a spot on the Method Entertainment staff, she volunteers as tribute when she overhears Je-in complaining that she needs a new fledgling manager on her team ASAP.
Hyun-joo is very wet behind the ears and clearly has a lot to learn, though, and on her first day, she commits a monumental faux pas. She accidentally tells Yeo-jung that she did not get the role in the Tarantino film because of her age — oopsie! To be fair to Hyun-joo, though, Joong-don had ample time to break the news to Yeo-jung himself, but he went out of his way to dodge her calls and hide under a desk when she unexpectedly dropped by the office to locate her wayward manager. So after CHOI JIN-HYUK (Kim Tae-oh) casually spills the tea while giving Hyun-joo a tour of the swanky storage room full of luxury goods, it’s no wonder Hyun-joo thought the actress had already been informed of her rejection.
Yeo-jung handles the situation like a pro, but during the long walk she takes in order to process the bad news, she stumbles upon Joong-don’s lunch “date” with KANG HEE-SUN (Hwang Se-on), the office secretary and a wannabe actress. Now that she’s cornered him, Yeo-jung plays dumb and backs Joong-don into a corner until he’s forced to admit that she didn’t get the part, but he fibs that Tarantino rewrote the script so that the lead character was male. She’s so upset by his lies she claims the trust is lost between them — which is awfully hypocritical of her given her exaggerated horseback riding skills — and she dumps him as her manager.
Meanwhile, back at Method Entertainment, Je-in lives up to her reputation as a script-stealer and tasks Hyun-joo with sneaking into Tae-oh’s office to confirm he’s in possession of Kim Eun-hee’s coveted new script. Hyun-joo tries to charm and trick YOO EUN-SOO (Kim Gook-hee), the only other person with access to Tae-oh’s email, into giving her his password so she can log in and see what scripts he possesses. However, in the middle of assuring Eun-soo that she’s an excellent secret-keeper, Joong-don storms into the office and demands to know who spilled the beans to Yeo-jung.
With Yeo-jung’s ties to the company up in the air, Tae-oh begins scheming behind the scenes, and after pulling some strings he’s able to land Yeo-jung the part in Tarantino’s film. There’s just one caveat: she must get plastic surgery to make herself appear young enough for the role. In order to convince Yeo-jung that she won’t look like an unnatural plastic alien after the procedure, he cons her with a fake picture of his 50-something wife, claiming she looks so naturally youthful because of Botox injections. (That’s some next-level manipulation right there!) And now that Yeo-jung has agreed to team up with Tae-oh, he plans on branching out from Method Entertainment to start his own management company.
But the bond between manager and actress is not easily broken, so Joong-don tracks down Yeo-jung at the farm where she’s been taking horse riding lessons (and still hasn’t advanced to sitting on an actual horse). Although he’s there to convince her to stay with him and Method Entertainment, he also genuinely cares about her and chooses to support her decision and career. So he follows her to her plastic surgery appointment, and waits outside for her to complete the procedure.
As Yeo-jung sits with the doctor and prepares to say goodbye to her current face, she has second thoughts. She backs out of the surgery — much to Joong-don’s relief — and decides to age naturally and gracefully. While this means she will miss out on the Tarantino gig, she plans on sticking with Method Entertainment — and Joong-don.
Amidst Yeo-jung’s defection threats, word got out that Hyun-joo was the one who told Yeo-jung she was rejected by Tarantino, so Je-in fired her. Underneath Hyun-joo’s timid nature, though, is a scrappy individual willing to do what it takes to get the job done, so in order to keep her position, she sneaks into Tae-oh’s office and steals the script Je-in wanted to get her hands on. She survives to see another day at Method Entertainment, but the same can’t be said for the company president.
While President Hwang was on vacation, he died unexpectedly. Rumor has it that he kicked the bucket while doing the horizontal tango, but the truth is that he slipped and hit his head near a pool. The tragic loss of their beloved leader sends the company into mourning — and survival mode. Tae-oh, who has abandoned his plan to start his own company because he no longer has a star actress willing to follow him, commandeers the ship and unofficially steps into the role of leader — much to Je-in’s annoyance.
First on his damage control task list is to reassign the actors President Hwang personally managed to new agents. LEE HEE-JOON (as himself) voluntarily partners up with Je-in, and he immediately puts her in an awkward position when he tells her that his grief is so overwhelming that he’d like to back out of his upcoming film project with Director BYUN YOUNG-JOO (as herself). Je-in has to either find a replacement or convince Hee-joon, who has retreated to a Buddhist temple to mourn in peace, that he should resume his filming commitment.
Je-in laments her current predicament over drinks at Joong-don’s house, but the long-time friends’ conversation is sidetracked when Je-in begins pondering her future and asks Joong-don to be the sperm donor for the baby she’s contemplating having. The fact that the two of them have such a conversation is amusing all on its own, but when a well-meaning Joong-don tries to solve Je-in’s problem by recasting Hee-joon with JIN SEON-GYU (as himself), she publicly renounces him as a contender for her platonic baby daddy.
The dispute between Je-in and Joong-don is mirrored between their respective actors, who have a long history of competing for the limelight and for being the president’s favorites. When Je-in learns of their history, which dates back to their stage acting days, she tracks down Hee-joon at the temple and casually tells him that it’s fine for him to drop out of the film because Seon-gyu is interested in the role. Of course, Hee-joon — as Je-in hoped — changes his tune.
Now everyone at Method Entertainment is tasked with keeping the two of them apart at President Hwang’s funeral until Je-in and Joong-don can sort out the casting fiasco. But, of course, the two actors find out mid-funeral that they both believe they have claimed the role. Cue: over-the-top kerfuffle in the middle of the funeral hall that carries over to the smaller, more intimate graveside service attended by key members of the Method Entertainment staff.
Seon-gyu is first up to speak at the private memorial, and he pours his grief into a song that expresses his feelings. Hee-joon, however, can’t stand for him to have all the attention, and so the solo turns into a duet. At first, the two men fight for mic supremacy, but by the end of the song, they’re sharing the microphone and hugging each other. Simultaneously, Je-in and Joong-don have the same epiphany, and together they successfully convince Director Byun to change the heterosexual romantic plot line of her film to a love story between two men.
While the majority of Method Entertainment’s seasoned agents were caught up in the drama between Hee-joon and Seon-gyu and simultaneously contemplating buying the company shares their president left to his widow, Hyun-joo — bless her heart — continued to bumble her way through her new position at the company. But at least she made a new friend out of novice actor GO EUN-GYUL (Shin Hyun-seung), who can’t mimic a Busan accent to save his life, right? Wrong! I totally thought we were about to have a youthful love line in the works, but before my ship got to fully hoist its sails, it’s tainted by the realization that Eun-gyul is Tae-oh’s son — and maybe Hyun-joo’s half-brother?
Hyun-joo’s connection to Tae-oh is still murky, but the show definitely wants us to believe he’s her father. I’m hoping — for the sake of my fledgling ship — that it’s a misdirect, but Tae-oh was vehemently displeased to find out Hyun-joo had befriended his son, believing it to be a calculated choice on her part. His excessive reaction indicates her mere existence is a threat to his peaceful family life, so it’s hard to imagine that — in the wake of his tirade — Hyun-joo’s hurt feelings and whispered comment about “family” alluded to some sort of metaphorical familial relationship.
Although this drama is billed as a comedy, I didn’t find it laugh-out-loud funny — but I don’t see that as a bad thing. The tone, pacing, and humor reminded me of Director Shin Won-ho’s dramas, and I can’t stress enough how much I love his work. So for me, this drama has the potential to become a favorite, but — full disclosure — once again I have zero knowledge of any of the previous versions of this show to sway my opinion. From what I’ve read online, though, the French Call My Agent! is well-loved, so I’m sure — depending on how this version goes — fans of the original might disagree with me and drop it.
I also have to applaud how Episode 1 tackled the topic of age and plastic surgery within the Hallyu (and by extension the film industry). Jo Yeo-jung’s story arc may not have been as humorous as the feud between Lee Hee-joon and Jin Seon-gyu, but that moment when she stared at her reflection and contemplated her decision to have work done on her face — chef’s kiss. I feel like the drama did well to call attention to a hot button issue without shoving it down our throats.
That said, there was one area of representation that I wasn’t wholly pleased with: the (presumably) gay character Jin-hyuk. I say “presumably” because they never explicitly state his sexuality, but — and here’s part of my issue — he hits every stereotype of the effeminate gay man trope with the added flaw of being annoyingly incompetent for the purpose of LOLs. Like, come on, I’m supposed to believe he doesn’t know how to work a phone and accidentally answers a call twice while trying to silence it? Even diehard iPhone users aren’t going to make that mistake their first time operating a Samsung cell phone.
So while I want to award the show points for having an LGBTQ character, I’m also annoyed that he wasn’t a more likable, positive portrayal. Maybe this was a characterization from the original that just didn’t translate well? Or maybe I’m being extra critical because currently airing Love in Contract — which, let’s be real here, hasn’t done many things well — actually did a great job with its gay character. It’s only the first week of Behind Every Star, though, so maybe Jin-hyuk will be handled differently as the story progresses. Maybe they can start by giving him a less ridiculous hairstyle.