Coffee Prince (2007)
Quick Take: Coffee Prince (2007), starring Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye. 8.8/10. 17 episodes 63 min.
Synopsis: New coffee bar “Coffee Prince” is hiring only men (Princes) as waitstaff, so flat-chested tomboy Go Eun-chan passes herself off as a boy. Her boss is attracted to her but conflicted about it, because he’s not gay — and yet. She’s conflicted about it too, because she’s attracted to him and she’s lying to him, even when everyone else in the coffee bar knows her secret. Tangled webs etc. The second couple’s search for certainty in love serves as ballast to all the nonsense.
Review: Ten years after his breakthrough role in Coffee Prince, Gong Yoo starred as Goblin in Guardian: The Great and Lonely God. The two characters are similar, in that Gong Woo plays a wealthy, sophisticated, confident man entranced by a teenager. It seems a bit of a stretch, except maybe to teenagers! You’ll need to suspend that disbelief to enjoy this drama. Yoon Eun-hee as Go Eun-chan makes it hard to suspend that disbelief entirely. She plays the tomboy too well, if anything.
Something a bit surprising about Coffee Prince is that the writers weren’t afraid to be outrageous with the physical and verbal comedy. Romantic comedies don’t usually include so many references to pooping and farting.
A major theme is the need for honesty in relationships. Besides the two main couples, there are three others that get derailed by posing.
This was the first role for Kim Jae-wook, who played the waffle-maker.
Rewatchable - 3, Compelling - 3, Plot/ Story/Writing - 8, Acting/Casting - 8, Production - 10, Bonus - 6. Bonus points for the second leads, and Gong Yoo.
Notes:
Gong Yoo
Coffee Prince was Gong Yoo’s breakthrough role. He is best known as Goblin in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016). Other notable roles include A Man and a Woman and Train to Busan, both 2016 films.
Yoon Eun-hye
made her debut with girl group Baby VOX in 1999, but switched to acting in 2005. She had early success with her debut role in comedies Princess Hours (2006) and Coffee Prince. See her also in My Fair Lady (2009), Lie to Me (2011), Missing You (2012), and Love Alert (2018).
Kim Jae-wook
lived in Japan till age 7 and is fluent in Japanese. He started out performing in a band and began modeling at age 17. His role in Coffee Prince shot him to fame. He was cast as the Japanese nobleman who married Son Ye-jin’s character in the period drama The Last Princess (2016). His first lead role in a romantic comedy was in Her Private Life (2019).