Best Choice Ever (2024)

surprisingly disappointing

I was really looking forward to this drama given the cast, however i have to say that i was fairly disappointed. This was barely a romance it was rather a story of how a mother controlled her family with verbal abuse and blackmail. If they didn't fall in with her wishes she would become hysterical and scream abuse at all around until everyone would bend to her will. Any romance that there could have been disappeared into the background it was barely noticeable.
When i think about the overall impression now i see the wonderful character of Grandmother who was a wise and beautiful lady who cared deeply about the people around her, and a screaming manipulative mother. I cannot for even a moment understand how this was being presented as a loving family. the Romance faded into nothingness. The ML and FL did their best with what they were given by the writers however they were not given much to work with, I do wonder if this was the outline and script that they signed up for in the beginning.
I do not really know why i watched it until the end of the series.

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If you like overbearing and annoying mother then you may like it. Acting was mediocre by everyone

Best Choice Ever is a Romantic Comedy about a 30-year-old unmarried girl who lives with her overbearing mother, who has done nothing but ruin and embarrass her, even slap her in front of everyone for what her mother called "I did it because I love you."

My Reviews:
1. The overbearing mother is so annoying. She is too much, and Yang Zi's (Mai Cheng Huan) character is too weak to stand up against her overbearing mom.
2. Xu Kai's acting ability is mediocre, but he is handsome and good to look at. I could only manage to finish his modern dramas, but I ended up dropping all of them for costume dramas because the acting was so bad.
3. There was a scene when he lost his dad to a car accident, and his character went through the grieving stage. Xu Kai did not show griefing emotion and barely shed tears for such a loss.
4. Yang Zi is a good actress, but she needs to branch out a bit because she plays a similar type of role, which doesn't stretch her acting ability. She always plays a bubbly girl, career-driven, timid, and filial daughter to an inferior mom.
5. It is watchable since there is nothing good or exceptional with the Cdrama in 2024 until the last four episodes when the mother was diagnosed with something that was not severe but went missing. This caused a frenzy, and everyone had to drop everything to look for her. The last four episodes were annoying and frustrating.
6. This drama focused more on the mother's character than Yang Zi's. I would give it a high rating until the last four episodes when the ending ruined everything because of the unnecessary plot about the mother missing.

Downgraded to 6.0 rating instead of 7.0 rating.

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Dysfunctional families

This is my first time watching both Yang Zi and Xu Kai in a contemporary drama. Their acting was convincing, and kept the plot going. In general, the supporting actors also did a credible job.

Ranking;
#1 Dysfunctional Family Mai... Mother
#2 Dysfunctional Family Xin ... Son, Daughter, Father, Mother
#3 Dysfunctional Family Yao ... Father

MAI family
Mother Liu Wanyu was overbearing and controlling, but she was emphatic and kindhearted occasionally. She was the nucleus of the Mai family. Her husband Mai, son Zao and daughter Huan were her satellites. The drama should have been named Story of Wanyu since she seemed to dominate the plot. The actress should have been attributed a Main Lead designation.

XIN family
A privileged family of four, lacking in ethics, but full of arrogance and condescension. Son was too clingy, trying to manipulate Mai Cheng Huan. Daughter was psychotic and condescending. Mother and Father were calculating.

YAO family
Ex-convict Mr Yao had his fifteen minutes of fame. The day he grew a conscience, was the day he died. That was cold, Scriptwriter! Yao should have lived, reside permanently at Xing Anli, and work as a host. Son Yao Zhiming realized too late that his father had redemption.

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If Mother/Daughter Dramas are you're thing, this is the one for you...

I loved this drama because of its heartfelt messages of love and family unity in helping to face the difficulties of life and family strife. These messages are conveyed in the story of Mai Chenghuan, who has dreams of excelling in her career, but has a well-meaning and controlling mother who gets in her way.

I think this drama hits home for many women, young and old, who've had moms like this. They work hard all their lives taking care of you and wanting what's best for you, but just can't seem to make the transition from raising their children, to being hands-off companions to their adult children. They get caught in the push/pull of what they believe will make their children happy instead of listening to what they actually need, making them horribly unhappy because they've grown used to being in control. This is where our story begins.

The mother/daughter leads are played masterfully by Yang Zi, as Mai Chenghuan, and veteran actress, He Sai Fei, as Liu Wanyu. These two actresses were phenomenal together. They took us into their tumultuous relationship, making us cry with their heart-breaking fights and making us cry again when they make up. They got their characters down pat and brought them to life on-screen. What an honor I can imagine it must have been for Yang Zi to work alongside such a talented actress that is He Sai Fei. I could see right off that she took all her younger counterparts to unimaginable heights. My hat is off to the director for guiding them all to go further in their performances. The ensemble cast were all wonderful as the Mai family. They felt like a very real family, supporting each other in good times and in bad. It is no wonder then that Yao Zhiming, wants so badly to be a part of it?

Xu Kai, as Yao Ziming, is the quiet loner who slowly becomes entangled with Mai Chenghuan and her family life. They both share a very important person in their lives and she is instrumental in teaching them that nothing is more important than love for family and doing what is right. She gently guides Yao to become more free and less transactional, employing the efforts of Mai Chenghuan in her endeavors. I was very impressed with Xu Kai's understated performance. He could be the cold CEO, but you could see that he had a big heart and that he was guarding it, not willing to give it away until he was ready. I appreciated that about his performance. He understood his character completely. That inner monologue was present and you don't always get that in less seasoned actors. He was alive, a rock for Chenghuan, but vulnerable at the same time. The rawness of his need for a family was palpable. All I can say is the noodle scene. Without giving anything away, that was the moment he won me over as an actor.

The weakest areas of the plot were at the beginning. The first few episodes felt disjointed and slow. I think the drama was still trying to find its footing and those first 12 episodes could have done with less cliches.

In a forest of Chinese dramas full of young, handsome romantic leads and cliche plots, this was a diamond in the rough because it doesn't just dwell on romance. There is much more going on and that is a good thing. Even the secondary romantic couple is well written and doesn't detract from the main couple or the principal situations. I highly recommend this one for viewers who like slice of life dramas, or want more going on than just the romance.

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Its good but very exaggerated mother daughter duo

I am very confused with this drama honestly.i watched it for xu kai, but ended up watching till the end. i just hated the exaggeration of a mothers obsession towards her children. i kind of did not like the unprofessionalism where a mother can randomly enter a daughter's office meeting and say to have lunch. They were a lot of unattractive points in the drama. but above all the ML and FL has carried the drama beautifully. Even FL's brother and Ex boyfriend did a good job projecting the relationship. It was sensible for a mother to be noisy in a daughter's relationship but it was really really not acceptable for a mother to be noisy in professional fields. I have a lot of mixed feelings towards this drama. Its a family drama with very weird obsessions. The granny was the best among everything.

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Oh so boring! :(

Unfortunately, yes. The trailers and reels would make you think it’s a romance story between Yangzi and Xukai, but it’s really not.

The drama revolves around Mai Chenghuan and her family, centering on her relationship with her mother. The mother has a really annoying character where she talks too much and constantly interferes with other people lives. Too much screen time were given to both the parents which I did not enjoy. The other couple which is her best friend and little brother also did not interest me one bit.

The first half focused mainly on the FL relationship with her bf of 3 years, whom she didn’t know was the son of a very wealthy family. Somehow forced to get married, she finds there’s too many differences in their social status and creates conflict with the future mother and sister in law. These scenes were so frustrating to watch. And her own mother never learns- even after breaking off the relationship, she secretly held an engagement party , tricked her to attend it and it was SUCH A MESS!

After that it gets boring, a grandma dies, she inherits a hotel and navigates her way to run the hotel, whilst getting closer to xukai and liking him… really not that interesting.

So unfortunately will be dropping this. I just fast forward too too much just to get to their kiss scene in ep26- and even that was a lack of chemistry and let down. Definitely not recommended.

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Mai ChengHuan's growth to independence

TLDR: If you've read the discussions on Viki and MDL, you will have seen the overbearing, annoying and toxic mom labels. I won't deny that the mother was portrayed very well by actress He Sai Fei. And many people who are unfamiliar with Asian culture may not understand her portrayal, so they dropped the series because of her, even though she eventually strives to understand her children better, and they reach an understanding. Also, if you're just expecting a RomCom, this series is not for you.

This drama is more about family life and the relationships between the family members. Not many of us will have the economic background as the Mai family, who are living in government housing, and where the parents' big dream is for the government to demolish their building so they can collect the relocation money and move to the suburbs. Mr. and Mrs. Mai have sacrificed enough to be able to send their two children to college, and ChengZao had scholarships while also tutoring while attending school. He's in his early 20s and still sleeps on a cot in their living room. Older sister ChengHuan is 29 and diligently works in the hotel industry. She wants to be independent and to be able to alleviate her parents' difficult life. As her mom increasingly interferes with her life, the fragile balance between filial piety and independence breaks, leading to a public row between her and her mom.

Things I liked:
- the very gradual and realistic change in the relationship between Yao ZhiMing and Mai ChengHuan. They started off on the wrong foot. From my perspective, he fell first but could only support her without her knowing about it.
- Yao ZhiMing and Mai ChengHuan being there for each other, physically present and emotionally available, was the most romantic thing. Viewers define romance differently. Some go for the big ring, flowers, chocolate. Me - someone to hold me when I'm down and someone to listen so I can hear myself think.
- ChengHuan's journey growing up with an overbearing mom to being able to speak up for herself, not second-guessing herself, but being able to stand up for herself was a joy to behold.
- the friendship between siblings ChengHuan and ChengZao. They're the only ones who know their parents and know what the other is going through.
- the friendship between ChengHuan and MaoMao. They have each other's backs.

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Love every second of this

This was such a great show.

It was a family drama and watching this family grow from where they stated to where they finished was such great entertainment. The whole cast was amazing.

The mother was so annoying in the start but you came to understand her and her story by the end. Every character grew so much from the first episode. I just loved every minute of this. I loved all the storey beats although I do feel there was a LOT happens in the last 10 or so episodes, they could have stretched it out. Who am I kidding I just want more of this show.

One gripe is I would have really loved to see a proposal scene between Chenghuan and Zhiming, that was the only thing that felt unfinished. I want my romantic proposal!! lol. Even better if it had been Chenghuan proposing to Zhiming. But alas, it didnt happenthefore it was docked 0.5. :)

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