Ally

The head chef from hell is back. Reigning superiority in all 4 corners of the kitchen. Gosh, if someone could strip his ugly veneer and reveals what is eating at him all this time.

Aigoo!

Sidetrack: After much fruitful searching, I have found out the title of the cooking programme Sae Young is hosting is Table Of Chef.

Now for the real deal.

The episode started on where it left off, at the pedestrian crossing. The face-off ensued and the strangely even-tempered side of Hyun Wook appeared once again. I have no idea what in the world is going on.

Anyway, Yoo Kyung proceeds with her life by spending the night downing glasses of Soju. She must have skipped the street fare as she stopped for a couple of instances to throw up along the sidewalks after. Then, she ran into Kim San. No clue as to how he coincidentally bumped into her; unless he was stalking her all that time.

Again, the Kdrama coincidences are flaring up.

He probes her about her heavy drinking and questions the reason behind it. “Were you fired?” Oddly, she struggles to keep her pride intact when she is around Kim San, unlike the countless of times she would appear in La Sfera despite her being fired by Hyun Wook multiple times. More on that later.

He decides to end his playful interrogation and lightens the mood by getting her “clean up after her puke”. She seems slightly more at peace and satisfied with herself for the rebuttals and casual talk.

At the time when the women were in their drunken stupor and sauntering along the sidewalk, Sae Young is once again featured — now pounding a treadmill. Then, a blast from the past reveals a tiny slice of her history with Hyun Wook. Hmmm, I wonder if he has any conscience for firing canoodling kitchen staff…

Thereafter, Hyun Wook walks into the same fitness center (24 hour gym. I. Am. In. Love.) after Sae Young has left. Eh.

This is yet to up the ante of weirdness. Kim San appears before Sae Young (Again! His first was at her book signing session.) at that hour of the night. My mind just trailed off the time when Hyun Wook mentioned that a woman meeting a man at such a late hour is to “sleep together”.

God how this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Ok, so maybe he was not stalking Yoo Kyung but dropping by to visit Sae Young as he was informed of her whereabouts? In any case… Don’t these people sleep?!

Tweet tweet went the little birdie by the window sill. It is morning! Hyun Wook arrived at work bright and early, pleased at himself of getting rid of her other sex in his workplace. Ah, the sweet sweet taste of victory and misogyny. Lingering, savoring.

Ah! Hyun Wook had a rude shock when he swung open the door to his locker. Yoo Kyung has taken residence in it, claiming it is the roomiest of them all. She pleas and whimpers a “I want to make pasta”. Honestly, this is when Hyun Wook is seriously pushing his character to its limits. “Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!” Never mind his unfriendly demeanor in the kitchen and his misogyny antics. What annoy me in the constant need to punctuate every sentence with a yell. I mean, for goodness’ sake. I CAN HEAR YOU. No need to scream to exhibit your superiority in the work place. I could go on all day with his actions…

Thankfully, but with little salvage to his annoying character portrayal, he nurses Yoo Kyung’s cramped legs. I like how he switches in and out of his head chef and civilian role. Being from care-less to caring. But still. The bad boy temper has to go. Pronto.

In a flurry of events, Hyun Wook calls for a change in the day’s recommended specials. This sends the restaurant out of total control, causing the kitchen staff fumble and a horrible backlog of orders. The waitstaff has even screwed up the specials. Nothing will do. Will La Sfera survive past today?!

Fear not! Hyun Wook called for back-up. Apparently, they are some sidekicks of his, a plan he devised from time immemorial. If he was taking over the kitchen, he was going to do it a lady at a time, then drive the male staff nuts to leave too.

After cries of “Si, va bene!” (also known as “Yes, Chef!”), the 3 sidekicks kicked into action as soon as they hit the frying pans. God how these professional know-hows made Yoo Kyung cower into silence. Her dignity is running thin, but it is apparent from the furrow of her brows that she is persevering to the very end. Whether he likes it or not.

You go girl!

Ah, the boys take a night out. By boys, I meant the newbies, head chef and new kitchen assistant. Oh wait, he just promoted the kitchen assistant to an assistant pasta chef 3 days after he started work. Injust! Yoo Kyung slaved for 3 years before getting to the place she is in now! (Technically, she is fired but I like to think of her as an assistant pasta chef. Let’s face it, the new kitchen assistant has A LOT to learn.) The boys sipped on their beers and pondered over the current situation. I am glad one of the newbies spoke up on women’s tenacity to hack the demanding work environment but Hyun Wook decidedly turns a deaf ear to the matter.

How angsty.

In parallel, the other male kitchen staff sits down for a meal at another restaurant. I like how this 2 rivaling camp in the kitchen is going on. All the challenges and aggravation. Oh, the men sure know how to fist-fight their way to righteousness and that is what I am waiting for!

Back at La Sfera, Yoo Kyung holds a pity party for herself while slurping on pasta. She assures herself that her cooking standard is qualifying to serve at a customers’ table. You can see she really wants the opportunity to showcase her budding talent. Oh dear…

Round 497 of in-your-face you-don’t-belong-here drama between Hyun Wook and Yoo Kyung. I admire her sheer determination. If I were her, I would have huddled in a corner of a dingy apartment with a box of tissue paper and cry myself to sleep night after night, till I grow sore from it. Despite the adversities, she insistently reports for work and Hyun Wook ignores her every step of the way.

Oh, also she made up her mind to fill the new position as a kitchen assistant.

Bother, bother, bother.

After that, the newbies cordially introduced themselves to the existing crew and failed. The latter is clearly displeased with the new management as the sous chef approaches Yoo Kyung with some words of advice, “You heard him, leave! Leave if you still have some pride in you. Even a 3 year old knows how to kick up a fuss when a toy is being snatched from him.” She remains transfixed and speechless.

Later, Kim San pops out from nowhere, demanding for a delivery of pasta personally cooked by Yoo Kyung herself during the restaurant’s prep time. Sensing something amiss, he probes her about her job at the restaurant. Finally, she admits to being fired. However, he goes on to press her for an Al Olio. Initially uncertain, she caves in and resolutely makes her way to the kitchen to prepare the portions. A waitstaff tries his best to talk her out of it but to no avail.

Just in time, Hyun Wook also pops out of nowhere and takes up the challenge to prepare the best Al Olio for delivery. If he loses, he will resign. If she loses, she gets out of his kitchen. For real. The battle ensues and the two chops, fries, shows off some culinary acrobatics and viola! Out spun 2 plates of Al Olio. Only difference? Hyun Wook’s was gracefully kept warm by a silver food cover while Yoo Kyung, by a chinese noodles take-out delivery box. She snagged it from her father’s noodle shop.

In a painful submission: Hyun Wook 1, Yoo Kyung 0.

The two race to the finish line with their take-out methods and arrive at the office building. Eh, no good is going to come out of this delivery. Sae Young was about to share an on-screen time with Hyun Wook. After that flashback, I think the two are better apart for now…

Back to the pasta, a waitstaff who accompanied them lifted the cover of Hyun Wook’s dish, only to reveal a magnificently twirled and towering Al Olio. At the meantime, Yoo Kyung busied herself by presenting her plate of plain pasta tossed with oil and sauce on-site.

Presentation-wise: Hyun Wook 2,  Yoo Kyung 0.

Everything hit a downward spiral thereafter as Hyun Wook’s Al Olio had way more strengths than Yoo Kyung’s. Furthermore, I have to agree that fine dining pays more attention to presentation than how the food actually tastes, so with that, Yoo Kyung noodle toss seemed off-putting and much too household for the fine diner.

Hyun Wook won the bet.

Once again, he raises his voice at the end of his statement: “In my kitchen, no women!” God, has the man ever heard of full stops?

In a finality, Yoo Kyung drops to her knees as Hyun Wook leaves in an elevator by himself, more frustrated than content. Sae Young and Kim San worriedly looks on from a distance.

Indeed, no rest for the wicked.

The idea of a cooking programme marathon sending my heart racing and my blood sugar to an all-time high. Translate this to a Korean drama with Lee Sun Gyun and you have just sent me to adrenaline stroke.

Cue pasta of all sorts sloshing in a pan with a rather watery cream base. Sounds a little hard to stomach (especially if you are having the runs) but hey, I am no Italian chef nor a food critic. Therefore, my judgment is as good as nullified. Carrying on.

Yoo Kyung is see grabbing ingredients from shelves in a walk-in freezer and refrigerator, as it turns out she is a kitchen assistant preparing them for the chefs in the kitchen. Quite expectantly, she sees a couple making out in the fridge and shyly shoos them aside to retrieve a Froie Gras from a shelf they were blocking and promise them “not to tell”.

Pan to an extremely busy kitchen scene where the leading lady hurries from one sink to another stove top, washing dishes and replenishing the stock of clean pans for the chefs’ use. As it appears, she has been at it for years and multitask breezily. No fuss, at all.

Like clockwork, she ends the day by taking out the trash, bidding goodbye to her fellow kitchen staff and returning home. However, that day was less ordinary as it was her mom’s death anniversary. Cue the gender biased dad who tips over the mom’s altar over a smart move which was made by her daughter. Apparently he gets worked up over his wife’s smoking habits. Should we eye his moves and put that in our memory bank for further analysis? Hmmm.

The following day, she wakes up bright and early and switches on the tube to watch a cooking programme. I was initially fooled into thinking the programme host was no more than a califare, supplementing Yoo Kyung’s ambition and chef-in-training days. Those days are over.

As you know, with every leading couple comes a rivaling couple; portrayed by Kim San (Clazziquai”s Alex) and Sae Young (Honey Lee). As mentioned before, the programme host is none other than Sae Young (somewhat related to Hyun Wook, you will see). This is when I get romantically confused. Just who is flirting with who?

Kim San seems to bear some interest in Sae Young, but fleetingly flirting with Yoo Kyung. Until Kim San clarifies himself as nothing more than an Oppa to Yoo Kyung, I will refuse to cease doubting his intentions. (clears throat) Player…

Up to now, Sun Gyun has yet to make his acting debut.

Then Yoo Kyung makes a trip to the market to set her orders for the restaurant. She visits the usual egg seller but it appears that he is one profit-driven, scheming businessman. He swaps some jumbo eggs for smaller sized one but prices a tray of jumbo eggs the same anyway. Though Yoo Kyung is suspicious, she continues to insist on her usual order of jumbo eggs and proceeds to checkout.

At the checkout, 2 complimentary goldfishes are handed out for a purchase exceeding 10,ooo won or something. She hesitates but takes the free gift anyway.

Seconds later, viewers are treated to a glance of Hyun Wook. With tremors of excitement, I watch in anticipation. Pleased, oh-so pleased.

Guess what? A clumsy act brought the 2 leads together! She dropped the bag of fishes, bursting it in the middle of a pedestrian crossing, blowing a damsel-in-distress moment wide open. Valiantly, our male lead swoops to her side instructing her to cup her hands while be scoops the 2 fishes into them and pour some mineral water from the bottle he just purchased scenes ago.

Remember guys. Buy mineral water to quench your thirst. Who knows? It may come in handy!

As she was carrying some grocery bags before the fish incident, transforming her hands into a makeshift fishbowl impaired her. Consequently, Mr Valiant offered to carry her groceries to its intended location.

Now this is when it gets teasingly racy. Picture a grown man getting all touchy-feely in looking for a set of keys on a lady and still in a process of doing so, becomes pointedly flirty. Well, all I can say is that with Lee, anything is possible. Squee!

“Where is La Sfera?” he quips. Unknowingly, he just opened the back door to the restaurant in question. Why he needs to be there? He does not say. However, Yoo Kyung takes everything for granted and assumes he is the new kitchen assistant the eatery is hiring. I sense something fishy going on… (no pun intended)

Simultaneously, the president of the restaurant promptly fires the head chef, Chef Totti. He is a very displeased man. He vows the cliched, “This place will not do without me” and flashes the “Just you wait and see” glare. Manager coolly shrugs the matter off.

In place, he has hired Hyun Wook who has a stint in Italy and knows a thing or two about the cuisine to a native chef. Ah, what a pleasant cost-cutting measure. Getting a local chef with an experience equal to a native chef with a lower pay. Or so it seems too good to be true…

Meanwhile, Yoo Kyung unabashedly dismisses Hyun Wook as a kitchen assistant, teaching him proper kitchen etiquette . She sure knows how to put on airs. Though I knew the whole embarrassing situation where she will realise he is the new chef was coming, she subtly flirting with him while he does it openly brings a refreshing palate to their developing romance.

I mean, most couples have the dominant flirt which breaks the ice every single time. This apparent role can get rather conventional and predictable whereas this, this is one to watch. Ahem, more flirting later…

Yoo Kyung arrives at the door with Hyun Wook and they part ways. Before so, he declares that the goldfishes do not belong in the kitchen. Why? Because they are females. Is that a prophecy? (Scary organ music plays)

Yoo Kyung innocence and blatant determination to work towards her aspiration soars in her characterisation, which draws away any of the bad mojo Hyun Wook is emitting. This is shown when Hyun Wook makes his true debut entrance as the new head chef, replacing Totti.

“Ah, cute. He is so handsome…” The women in the kitchen gushed. The first day at work and he is already laying on the charm on top of more smoothly executed allure. The women continue to pile on praise after swoon after praise. He could be easy to work with. Or so you think.

The second day arrived and the ladies doll up by the stove top. The men sneered. Is he that much of saint? Well, 10 minutes into the first order and he rears his ugly head. “This salad is too tall! This pasta is too oily! This antipasto, you got to be kidding me! Your pay is to be docked for wasting so much lobster!” Whack, whack, whack. Slam, crash and burn. Everyone went home with dirty aprons. All except Yoo Kyung. Could he be treating her specially? Eh.

Just when she avoided all his lines of fire in the day, she made a side misstep and tossed a large mixing bowl of ice cubes in the air and into the deep fryer. Every staff ducked for cover while Hyun Wook in another valiant act, shielded her from the oil splatter shower.

Day-end wrap-up: All the chefs and a kitchen assistant gather in the restaurant, awaiting the head chef’s arrival. One by one, he chews out the ladies (if you realise, the line-ups are split according to gender). You, crossed a customer despite your personal incompetency. You, shamelessly brought your relationship to work. You, spoke back. You, fused ice and oil together. All, fired!

Desperately, the female staff who was caught romancing in the chiller compartment begged to have her boyfriend’s title restored. If it were not for her, he would not be tempted. “Okay,” He coolly agreed. Gender bias? Hard to tell. The man simply could not stand having women in the kitchen. (As he so proves by their condemning clumsy or irrational acts of the day.) Could be a personal vendetta.

Only flashbacks will tell.

Subsequently, Hyun Kyung made it for his 11pm date by the same pedestrian crossing where they first met. She cannot believe he is asking her out despite firing her minutes ago. Is he out of his mind? She wavered and grew resistant to his first moves. Eventually, he ignores her and goes his own way.

This series is crafty in its own way.

Uh, to add, noisy too. Less yelling in the next episode?

Yes, the truth is never pretty. To note from here on, it is only going to get uglier. Brace yourself.

In summary, The Ugly Truth chronicles the bickering of producer Abby (Heigl) and Mike (Butler). An unlikely pairing which will send a cosmic imbalance. However, as more opportunities allow for Abby and Mike to spend time with one another, they will discover that polar opposites do, in fact, attract.

Spoilers ahead!

So much of Katherine Heigl is reminiscent of her days at Grey’s, a mean and fiery Izzie attitude which is an outright challenge to Gerard Butler’s stubbornness as Mike. For a moment, I saw Alex’s bad boy stance imprinted on Mike. Oh dear.

Maybe Gerard Butler’s muscular build got me a little doubtful of his portrayal as a hard-hitting, misogynistic individual. After all, my thoughts were running amock and frankly towards his time in 300. I never watched 300, but I thought he was going to charge at Abby with a spear and shield in hand if she continued contemptuously narrowing her eyes at him.

Not to mention his talkshow, The Ugly Truth.

Did anyone find the set (above) strange and unfitting? I mean, who arranged for such a stand-up comedic set which holds nary a semblance to the theme of his talkshow? (Low budget? Low profile?) Plus, did anyone see how strangled and unconvincing his performance was at downplaying the opposite sex? It was as if he tried a little too hard memorising his lines and it was showing. Obviously.

Ok, he could have been pro-women and insulting them with wit caught him off-guard.

Forgiven.

Moving on, the two who would very much love to hate each other ended up working in the same TV station. On top of that, Mike is working under Abby. Predictably, he overwrites her every order while she, trying her best not to cower under his whim and fancies, takes a swipe at him whenever convenient. Eventually, his segments brings her news program to a record show rating.

In utter disbelief, she approves of his blatant truth and willingly collaborates with him.

Now is the time when the leading couple unknowingly grabs hold of opportunities and spend more time with one another than with their wandering eye and future spouses. In another bout of predictability, Abby seduces Mike without knowing. He does not cave in just yet, but helps her with snagging her hot neighbour, an orthopedic surgeon.

Red hot mess.

More mishaps and comedic moments ensue and finally, the big reveal. Just when Abby was to take a step further with her hot boyfriend-neighbour Collin, the TV station where Abby is working in is in danger of losing Mike to another. Furious, the head of the station sends for Abby to persuade Mike to stay.

That fateful weekend (you know you have this in your romantic comedy forecast) led to Abby falling for Mike. Again, there’s the mating dance in the middle of a sweating and crowded dance floor and a couple of drinks to cloud your judgment. Painfully the couple splits moments after and Mike moves on to a career advancements.

As quickly as the writers put the two bickering persons together to ignite a predictable romance, they have pieced together a disappointing ending which yes, saw the writers quickly reuniting them.

Though one thing remained true to the ending: Relationships are the stuff of lust.

I rate this a 6/10. Fabulous soundtrack to salvage the rampage of cliches, but that is as far as it goes.

If you have watched Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give, kind of expect the same formulation. The heartbreak and upper-end old folk seeking for romance when they have least expected it.

In summary, It’s Complicated features the lives of Jane (Streep) and Jake (Baldwin). Divorced and not-so-lovin’-it. Just when they thought going their separate ways will be peaceful, their convergence will prove them otherwise and more; especially when Adam (Martin) gets intertwined with their lives. Who will prevail? Only time will tell.

Spoilers ahead!

Alright, It’s Complicated may deter some young folk as canoodling folk at the other end of the age spectrum can be a big Oh No. However, if you spend just the next 5 minutes observing the canoodling adults, you would clearly figure out that they are on par with the younger generation. Regretfully in thinking  and behaviour.

Jane divorced Jake for him committing adultery and ironically, she does the deed after a night of reckless drinking. Apparently, the absence of companionship (Jane was still single while Jake had a PYT as his new wife) drove them insanely in love with one another again. Well, specifically after a one night stand. Ever since, the two were mildly inseparable.

Along the way, Adam popped up in Jane’s life as her architect for her dream kitchen. Speaking about her kitchen, did I mention how perfect her summery, Mediterranean home is with or without the extra culinary cottage. Oh, let’s forget Jane owns a gourmet bakery. Ok, back to Adam. He is the perfect man for Jane: the supportive, finish-your-sentences kind of guy. Not to mention how he was impressed by Jane’s warm chocolate croissants. C’est tres parfait!

Pity Jane lost her mind and rekindled her relationship with Jake. This and a redundant visit to her psychiatrist (did or did he not help her make up her mind?). I simply cannot imagine mythical the saying “The older you get, the wiser you become” is sounding at this point. Jane obviously knows Jake cannot be trusted (divorced once, never charming twice!) and being with him would drive his current marriage to a head-on collision with an emerging iceberg.

Nonetheless she goes ahead and Jake loses his marriage. Also, Adam finds out about their affair and removes himself from Jane’s Dream Kitchen Project while he sorts his thoughts out. Poor guy. He probably did not want to hurt himself after his previous divorce (Interestingly, Adam and Jane are divorcees. Splendid commiserating partners.).

In the end, the Js untangled the mess they created by sitting down for a good talk. The first act of maturity ever exhibited in the entire film. Bravo!

More artful focus on the garden swing they were sitting on for the good talk later, the ending everyone was waiting for sprouted. Adam and Jane might end up together after all.

Overall, I would give this film a 6.5/10. Pretty torturous towards the end, seeing how the damage caused by the leading couple leads to trouble as predicted by audiences as young as 10. The only salvages were the side stories of Jane’s kids and the tasteful residence, work site (of Jane’s) and psychiatrist’s office.

Everything else was lukewarm, just like Jane’s warm chocolate croissants.