Imitation (2021)
Quick Take: Imitation (2021), starring Lee Jun-young and Jung Ji-so. 7.8/10. 12 episodes of 60 min.
Synopsis: The story centers on the travails of members of three Kpop groups, two startups and one established. There is a romance (forbidden), a death (unexplained), and a disappearance (mysterious), as well as insights into the lives of idol trainees and group members. The startup groups struggle desperately for recognition, but the pressure is relentless even on established groups. After years of effort, the blessings of fame and fortune turn out to be very mixed.
Review: Props to Imitation for highlighting some of the abuses of the Korean idol-creation system. Once recruited, often as very young teenagers, the hopeful performers find themselves with virtually no control over their lives — for years! They live in dorms, train relentlessly, receive only a small allowance, and can’t make a move without permission under threat of punishment or banishment. Such a power imbalance creates opportunities for abuse.
So I kept watching even though the acting is almost uniformly atrocious. The female lead in particular is just awful — all she can do is simper; that’s her entire emotional range. There is no chemistry between the romantic leads. Lee Jun-young is not a good enough actor to hide that he, too, is wondering what he can possibly admire in the small and squishy Ma-ha.
Producers like to cast Kpop celebrities in their dramas because idols bring a fan base with them. However, idols excel in singing and dancing — they are not actors. (In theory, Imitation needed real idols for the performance sequences, which are uniformly forgettable.). While some idols are decent actors (D.O. comes to mind) others are just an embarrassment. This show has several examples of the latter.
Rewatchable - 1, Compelling - 3, Plot/ Story/Writing - 8, Acting/Casting - 5, Production - 7, Bonus - 4. Bonus points for insights into the Korean idol training system.
Notes:
Lee Jun-young
made his debut as a member of U-KISS; he has been acting since 2016. See him also in television dramas Please Don’t Date Him (2020) and Let Me Be Your Knight (2021), as well as the Netflix film Love and Leashes (2022).
Jung Ji-so
began her career as a child actor and has a long list of film and tv drama credits, including international hit Parasite (2019). I saw her in Doom at Your Service (2021) and she was fine. Maybe she just hated this role.