Smiling Pasta Review

Drama: Smiling Pasta
Alternate Titles: 微笑 Pasta / Wei Xiao Pasta
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Language: Taiwanese
Number of Episodes: 17
Film Date: July 2006
My Favorite Episode: 10
My Rating: 5/5

Main Cast: Nicholas Teo as He Qun
Cyndi Wang as Cheng Xiao Shi
Gino as He Rui Zhe/Ah Zhe
Zhao Hong Qiao as Rita

Character Introductions and Descriptions:

He Qun - An idol singer, very popular, but will always remain protective and caring for his friends and family. In the beginning, he is rejected by his childhood friend Rita, who is taken away by his brother Ah Zhe one day during his concert. He Qun also has a bad relationship with his family, as they broke apart when Ah Zhe's girlfriend drowned due to He Qun's carelessness.

Cheng Xiao Shi - An optimistic girl with a heart of gold. Although she has already had 17 boyfriends who each dumped her after 3 months, her family is very supportive of her, always telling her to find a better man and encouraging her all the time. After being dumped by her 17th boyfriend, He Qun accidentally bumps into her on the streets and they kiss. Reporters get pictures of this, and as a result, Cheng Xiao Shi's life is changed forever.

Ah Zhe - He Qun's younger brother who never forgave him after his girlfriend's death. He has moved and lived apart from the family ever since. He also saved Cheng Xiao Shi once at school, so now she always makes him lunch to eat. Sadly, he dumps the pasta away every day and doesn't even glance at it. He takes Rita away from He Qun at the concert just to make He Qun mad as well.

Rita - The childhood friend of He Qun and Ah Zhe, she has seen everything they went through, including the death of Ah Zhe's old girlfriend and the separation of the brothers. She has always liked Ah Zhe, but because he liked another girl, she went to He Qun. But later in the drama, she starts to like He Qun again.

My Favorite Songs: Tears from Polaris, Little Turtle

Synopsis: Xiao Shi is a girl who has gone through many short relationships, 17 to be exact, not one lasting more than 3 months hence, she was cursed with a three-month curse. After being dumped by her 17th boyfriend, the world looks grimmer than ever. At that time, a famous idol, He Qun runs past, bumps into Xiao Shi, and they end up "kissing" on the street. Paparazzi swarmed by and to avoid a bad reputation, He Qun’s manager declared Xiao Shi as He Qun’s girlfriend of one year and fiancée. Thus, a love contract was made. This story is about how the couple learns to like each other after having disagreements in the beginning, as well as fighting the injustices the media throw at them. Will Xiao Shi finally break her 3 month curse?

My Review: Obviously by looking at my rating of this drama, you can tell that it was a great drama that I thoroughly enjoyed from episode one. It hooked me and the plot was very interesting. This drama is a Taiwanese version of "Full House", a Korean drama, but I found Smiling Pasta much more addicting. The characters of He Qun and Cheng Xiao Shi were also very well portrayed through Nicholas Teo and Cyndi Wang. Their chemistry is unbelievable. When I first started watching Smiling Pasta, I found that I couldn’t stop. Therefore, that day I saw 5 episodes in a row. This drama was so enthralling that I just kept wanting to watch more of it to see what would happen next. After I discovered such a drama as Smiling Pasta, it became my favorite thing to do every day. It was something that I’d look forward to after a harsh day of school. It took all my pressure and stress away and I’d be able to relax. Or perhaps, if I was mad, I would instantly become happy. Smiling Pasta had such a joyous mood and the songs were very upbeat, giving the audience a bubbly and lively feeling inside. It brought me to such a world I wish existed. Not only that, but it had very important themes and motifs that one can apply to their daily lives, and it opened up a world of Asian dramas to me. Because of Smiling Pasta, I discovered so many more dramas that I never knew existed and as a result, I am now able to experience more delight and pleasure through those dramas. One thing that I especially enjoyed a lot in Smiling Pasta was the relationship Cheng Xiao Shi had with her family, and how they were always supporting her no matter what. This is what a real family is like. Even though they were embarrassing and did many weird things, they gave her so much love and hope. Therefore, I rated this drama 5/5. This drama was literally PERFECT. There was nothing wrong with it. Well, there was tiny thing. I found it a little annoying how Cheng Xiao Shi really wanted He Qun to confess to her when she already knew that he liked her. I didn’t like how she kept pressuring him to do so, and how it seemed to be a big deal near the end of the drama. But other than that, it was PERFECT. The ending was very satisfying too. If they make a second one, I’d definitely watch it! Another good thing about Smiling Pasta – it’s only 17 episodes long! Unlike other dramas, Smiling Pasta doesn’t drag on and on for 30 episodes. It’s very straightforward and keeps you interested! So if you haven’t seen Smiling Pasta yet, you’d better start watching it! You won’t regret it. Trust me, I never have even up to this day. :)