Review: Mischievous Princess of Jang Nara, Alec Su

Prior to Wedding, I believed Jang Nara’s turf was only romantic comedy dramas because of  Successful Story of a Bright Girl and my favorite My Love Patzzi.  Here in Chinese series Mischievous Princess (or My Bratty Princess), she offered flavorful comedy acting, perhaps because this was also an epic drama and she teamed up with Alec Su and Lu Xing.  

To be honest, I am not fan of epic dramas and I watched this series because of Jang Nara. I also know Alec Su only in Love at the Aegean Sea (with Chae Rim) so beside these two the rests of the cast were unfamiliar for me.

Review

Acting and characters

Compare to her portrayal in the Bright Girl and My Love Patzz,  Mischievous Princess (MP) wasn't so amusing for me.  As Little Lobster or Situ Jing, who dressed up and pretended as man to act as ala- Robinhood to her legion, she's entertaining but not outstanding. I giggled when Emperor Zhu Yun (Su) found out that she’s a woman. However, those only few factors that made this character different.  Thus if you're a fan of playful Jang Nara, then MP is a must-see series for you. If not then watch her other shows.

To clarify, I am not saying that this 33-episode (in China it's 36) epic series is unimpressive. It’s long and yet entertaining to watch as it's a light epic drama. As Emperor Zhu Yun, Su was a regal, wise, and handsome. Though there were times that he acted like nonsense and unrealistic, his character was the ideal king.  I have few favorite Emperor's scenes like when he felt closer with Little Lobster. Though, as mentioned, my favorite one was when he discovered that Senior General Situ Qing Yun’s second child was a girl.

As members of royal family; Gu Yong Fei (Empress Dowager), Alec Su, Bao Lei (Princess An Ning), and Kou Zhen Hai (King of Yunnan); played well their characters.  The only annoying part of Empress Dowager’s character was she favored whatever her niece Wen Mei Er (Chen Xiu Li )’s bratty sentiments. I mean one is enough, but following orders from someone when you’re the authority is questionable mindset.  Aside from this issue, Gu Yong Fei and Chen Xiu Li had effective villainous acting.  

Script and direction 

In terms of drama, feel-good vibes, romance, and twists - MP is amusing. It taught few meaningful lessons that worth to remember. An example of those is Emperor Zhu Yun’s realization about his stoic lifestyle. It would remind us that living in a castle is not all fun. Commoners may have happier dispositions because of their simple problems and fewer restrictions.

However, if you really want to enjoy MP set your expectations lower than usual. It have some loopholes that may distract you.  Few of those are Catherine Hung’s character, the mysterious teacher of Little Lobster. She always had plans and empty promises. The problem here is not only about her messy story line, but also the execution of her scenes. She always mentioned about her comrades, maybe about 300, but you wouldn’t see those ninjas and allies in the entire show.  It’s only her, her right hand, and friends of Little Lobster.  On the other hand, it’s not only her who had few followers, even the Emperor also. When he attacked Yunnan’s Kingdom he only had about 10 soldiers in his line.

Meantinme, the love affair of Jia Nan(Lin Jiang Guo) and Wen Qiang (Gao Lu) also had a great exposure in MP. It had impact because Jia Nan is Jing Er older brother, while Wen Qiang is one of the daughters of  power-tripper Prime Minister Wen Zhang (Wang Gang). In a way, it’s a creative way to make the three lead work together at the background.  On the other side, if you want to concentrate on romance and drama action among the three leads, then Jia Nan and Wen Qiang’s ill-fated love story is burdensome for you.

Aired in 2005, Mischievous Princess was one of the projects of Jang Nara in penetrating China.   That time, Lu Xing was only 31 years old, while Alec Su was 36. Surprisingly, the former looked older than  Su but they’re both handsome in the show.  As for Nara, I don’t know if she will do similar show like this in the future so it’s amusing to see MP.

Note: I originally wrote this review on April 27, 2009