“Fanletter, Please” aka “Please Send Me A Fan Letter” wrapped up its run a couple of days ago, here is what I thought of the drama!
Table Of Contents
The script
“Fanletter, Please” tells the story of a single dad whose daughter suffers from leukemia and has a wish, somehow, they get involved with top star Han Gang-Hee (Sooyoung) whose life gets flipped because of a fan letter.
As a concept, its a cute one for sure. I think for anyone who loves romantic comedies, this is such a cute treat.
The drama is only 4 episodes long and I think for such a concept, the episodes count makes sense. I don’t think it needed to be longer. In another world, I would assume they can make this into a 12-episode repetitive kdrama, luckily for us, that didn’t happen.
“Fanletter, Please” goes through a lot of the kdrama beats you’d expect from a rom-com, it does not challenge the theme in any way shape or form which is a bit sad but also understandable because they only have 4 episodes, it will be very difficult to inject much of any depth to the story in such a short time.
Regardless, the screenwriter makes sure to make it heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, but we don’t get to dwell much on anything because its 4 episodes. For me, that wasn’t an issue, it was still a nice break from whats currently airing.
It does have a couple of plot points that would have been suited well to explore more of the reality of celebrities in the industry and how an average man would be able to handle it. Its a shame we didn’t get to explore that a bit more, but like I said, its understandable.
I think the drama would have made a great 2-hour-long movie with some minor but vital adjustments to its script here and there, I think it would have also performed well in the box office with the right marketing.
The characters
My favorite character was Yoo Na, the cute little daughter. She’s so mature for her age which is both admirable and sad at the same time.
I loved how close she is to her father and how she handles her surroundings. They’re both very important to each other and I loved seeing how she provides him strength at a time he needed it the most.
I also liked the father’s character, he’s so cute. I felt so bad for him on many occasions but also happy he has such a cute daughter by his side.
In regards to Gang-Hee, its about as expected from a character about a misunderstood celebrity as you’d expect. So I wasn’t really intrigued by her.
I also liked the young actors who played patients in the hospital, I loved how they shut down their parents who endlessly gossiped about Yoo Na, her dad and Gang Hee.
The performances and chemistry
They chose the child actress for the role well, had she been not up to the challenge, it would have made it impossible for me to watch this. Shin Yeon-Woo started out in 2020 and she’s already a bright young star, I bet she’ll get even bigger roles in the future. I expect she’ll be cast in a historical heartbreaking kdrama very soon.
Yoon Park is adorable, as per usual. I like this actor, I think he’s very underrated which is sad because he’s very good. He injects a lot of life into what could be an otherwise average character. He’s also such a nice male character, not one cosplaying as nice.
In regards to Sooyoung, I said this with “If You Wish Upon Me” recently, I believe she’s playing very similar characters, and its becoming a bit repetitive. A strong female with a tender heart. I wish she’d challenge herself a bit because I think she’s a good actress, but I always get the same feel from whatever character she plays. I don’t know if she settles for those characters because she gravitates towards them alone or whether its because her range is limited. With time, we shall find out.
In regards to chemistry, I think Yoon Park and Sooyoung share such cute chemistry and it helps with the drama a lot. Generally speaking, Sooyoung shares good chemistry with all of her male co-stars.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a short and sweet romance kdrama, I think this one will do just that. Its binge-worthy and short, so it won’t waste your time. If you like any of the actors involved in this project you’ll love this drama too.
Overall, its a nice drama, does it stand out? No it doesn’t, but sometimes, that’s not what you need, sometimes, you just need to watch a heartwarming short drama to improve your mood. Nothing too complicated, nothing too overwhelming.
