Laughter In Waikiki Review: Will Make Your Tummy Ache With Laughter

The last time I almost died laughing was while watching the 2016 drama, ‘Jealousy Incarnate’. That drama took the word ‘hilarious’ to another level and I wondered if I would ever laugh watching a drama so much. 2018 broke the monotony and started the first quarter with a laughter riot titled ‘Laughter In Waikiki’. This drama is crazy funny. The cast is brilliant and the writing par excellent. I did not see a single flaw in this drama. I tried hard to find some point as a bad weight but failed miserably and am glad for failing at it. This drama deserves lots of love and appreciation.     

Laughter In Waikiki (Eulachacha Waikiki/Woohoo Wakiki) (2018) (20 Episodes)

Image Courtesy: JTBC

Kang Dong Gu (Kim Jung Hyun), a wannabe film director, and two of his friends Lee Jun Ki (Lee Yi Kyung), a struggling actor and Bong Doo Shik (Son Seung Won), a freelance writer, start a guest house named ‘Waikiki’ in Itaewon. Due to some on-going political problems in South Korea, the guest house fails to lure any foreign guests pushing the three owners into debt. Despite the piling debt, the three men have one common aim in life and that is to make a movie of their own. However, life keeps throwing curve balls at them and they find themselves in a fix when they suddenly discover an abandoned baby in their guest house. Not knowing what to do with the little child, they decide to hand the baby to the police. But, the moment they step out with the baby, a group of foreigners approach them and they happen to be looking for a guest house to live in. After a difficult dry spell, finding some guests for the dying guesthouse makes the three men think that the baby is their lucky charm and they decide to raise the baby at the guesthouse. Later, the biological mother of the baby returns and wants to have her baby back. Dong Gu and his friends decide to allow the baby Sol’s mother, Han Yoon Ah (Jung In Sun) to work at the guesthouse so their lucky charm Sol can be with them and the helpless mother too can earn a living. Apart from Yoon Ah, the three men are further joined by Dong Gu’s sister, Kang Seo Jin (Go Won Hee) who looks after the guesthouse and Min Soo Ah (Lee Joo Woo) who happens to be Dong Gu’s ex-girlfriend. Together these six people embark on a whimsical journey while finding their way to love, money, and success.

Let’s weigh this painfully amusing drama on our drama beam balance and see what makes it a treat to watch. 

Good Weights

I enjoyed watching Laughter In Waikiki because…

…they made the biggest of problems look trivial and easy to overcome. Lee Jun Ki gives innumerable auditions and works as the silliest of sidey characters but never ever complains about his life being too difficult. Instead, he overcomes every failure with his wide toothy grin and continues working hard.

Kang Dong Gu’s girlfriend dumps him after realising that he is no good and will never succeed in life. He feels depressed and takes his time to recover from the wound but once he is out of the ditch he never slips into it again. Instead, he moves on to focus on his newfound love interest and re-joins his previous job as a video director.

Bong Doo Shik is a typical freelance writer who juggles a part-time job along with the guest house while continuing to follow his passion for writing. At no point does he ever think of giving up on writing and taking up a full-time office job. He works hard towards achieving his dreams and does everything he can to keep writing.

If the men in the show were having a hard time, the women in the drama were not having it any easy either. Han Yoon Ah abandons her infant knowing that being a single mother is not easy and that she may never be able to bring up her daughter well. However, she soon realises her mistake and returns to her baby. She then toils hard at the guest house only to be able to raise her child well.

Min Soo Ah ruthlessly dumps Dong Gu but when she is left on the streets after being conned, she returns to Dong Gu knowing that he is the only person who can help her. Soo Ah is materialistic and selfish but she is also very honest and sincere. After failing to make it big as a model she tries her hand at business and gives her all to make it a success.

Kang Seo Jin wants to become a reporter but she keeps getting rejected by every agency she applies to. The rejections break her spirit but not her determination to survive. Even when she encounters problems at work, she takes it in her stride and does her best to surpass her senior’s expectations.

When you read about the problems the characters are facing it may seem like a serious drama but Laughter In Waikiki is anything but serious. It is hilarious to the core.

…it is funny like no other drama. Even when facing serious life problems the writing is so funny that you forget that the characters have problems at all. The script is smooth-flowing and consistent. The show performed so well that it was extended by four episodes and despite the extension, the story did not suffer as it went on at a good pace with the humour quotient as high as it originally began with.  

…all the six main characters on the show are well-rounded and show individual developments in the story. I liked how every couple in the drama had its own trajectory and a reasonable growth in the story. The writing focused on every couple and ensured that none of them was side-lined. In most dramas with parallel storylines, I tend to like some and ignore another but in this drama, I loved all the couples.

Not to forget the catalyst in the drama, the little munchkin Sol who would steal the show with just a chuckle. The little baby in the hoodie with ears would be the centre of attraction in every frame she appeared in. I will miss seeing her the most.

 

Bad Weights

I did NOT LIKE Laughter In Waikiki because…

…it made my stomach hurt with laughter. I would catch-up on this drama over the weekends while having lunch with my family and would always choke on my food. So basically, I could not watch this drama while eating. I am warning you too from watching this drama while eating something. There is no way you can watch it without cracking up.   

 

I give Laughter In Waikiki 4.5 out of 5 rating. This drama is the best stress reliever for anyone. No matter which genre of drama you enjoy watching usually. Do not miss Laughter In Waikiki because such good comedy dramas are rare to find.

 

Feature Image Courtesy: CJS Productions, Drama House

Screen-grabs Courtesy: JTBC

 

This is my most favourite scene in the drama. I must have seen it innumerable times. Hope you enjoy it too. 🙂 

Video Courtesy: JTBC

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