A Millionaire's First Love

Synopsis (spoilers)

Jae-kyung, a high school delinquent who is always getting into fights, prepares to inherit a huge amount from his grandfather who passed away. He is arrogant, rude, extremely hot-tempered and thinks the whole world should listen to him because he is rich. Then came a bolt from the blue, the day before his eighteenth birthday when he is supposed to inherit the fortune, his family lawyer informs him about the will from his deceased grandfather. The will specifies that in order for him to inherit the fortune, he must graduate from Boram High School, which is at the countryside. Jae-kyung, despite violent objections and protests, had no choice but to follow his grandfather's wish. If not, he will only be able to inherit 0.1% of the inheritance.

At the countryside, he has to learn to lead a commoner's life, which means without his credit card or sports car! Initially, Jae-kyung tries all means to get himself expelled from school, but to no avail. Gradually, he started to change his opinion of the people there, as they all treated him with much kindness no matter how mean or rude he was.

There, he also met Eun-whan, also studying at Boram High School, whom he thought he had first met in his family's hotel. In actual fact, they knew each other way before, when they were only kids. Despite their initial conflicts, they gradually fell in love. However, Eun-hwan has been keeping a secret all along and exposing it might bring an end to their relationship…

Review

The movie is a balance between a comedy and a romance. There are many hilarious scenes as well as heart-wrenching ones that are definite tearjerkers. Hyun bin puts up a great performance in the movie, initially as the immature and hot-tempered person who cared for no one but himself. Gradually, you see him transform into a much more mature and understanding person because of the love he received from Eun-whan and also the pain he underwent. His charisma also builds up in the show. Of course, there are also parts that he totally sacrificed his 'perfect-handsome-guy' image, when he had to dress up as the maid for the high school charity concert. It was hilarious.

Lee yeon hee was equally amazing in her portrayal of Choi Eun-hwan, considering she is a newbie. She looks really sweet and her crying scenes were great. Not too much whining or weeping and no exaggeration of crying scenes. Scenes which showed her earlier liveliness and robust were also captivating. She looks very compatible with Hyun Bin and the chemistry was great.

However, there is one flaw I must point out, which most who have watched the movie would have realized. It progressed a bit too quickly at the part where the two fall in love, hence it was less convincing. Perhaps it was meant to be this way, since it was later revealed that they were actually childhood sweethearts, so it did not take long for them to pick up their feelings, which was buried in their hearts. Nevertheless, it would have been much better if the movie put more focus into showing how they fell in love. It came as a bit sudden.

There is a twist at the end, which I am reluctant to reveal, as it will kill the fun! A must watch for all Hyun Bin fans.