#acting as if I’m other countries drivers weren’t getting mobbed

[lovelylunas-world]

Ever single driver should have bodyguards.

Formula 1 has become very popular why don’t they have bodyguards is the question… there like what 100 thousand people at the race track alone hell no should you let your driver walk without security

[walkwithheroes84]

Muñeca Brava: A Review and a Rec

Recently I found the Argentine telenovela, Muneca Brava with English subtitles and decided to give it a go. Five days later, I have watched the first forty episodes and skimmed the last forty episodes. The show itself is 270 episodes and aired from October of 1998 to December of 1999. It has become something of a classic, with at least six remakes. It was also sold to 80 countries around the world. 

It follows the love story of Milagros and Ivo, two people who fall in love with each other in spite of the odds against them. It is a romantic comedy novela that also touches on issues of family, wealth, greed, deception, and most of all—love. Milagros was brought up in an orphanage when her mother died giving birth to her. She has no idea who her father could be and has spent all her years despising him for abandoning them.

She ends up becoming a house servant at the Di Carlo mansion when she turns 18, since she can no longer stay in the orphanage. In the mansion, she meets new friends, people who treat her as family; she also gains new foes who hate her for her tactless and feisty character. Most of all, she meets the love of her life, Ivo Di Carlo, the handsome heir of the Di Carlo fortune. Theirs is a love-hate relationship, decorated with funny antics they play on each other, and passion of their true love.

Ivo Di Carlo is a playboy, immature, and boastful. He has had everything handed to him on a silver platter. But he lacks the love of a father, as Federico Di Carlo makes him feel unwanted. Milagros, on the other hand, is religious, playful, and has a strong character. Their relationship survives many challenges, including issues that root from their parents' deceptive acts, secret love affairs, greediness, and ambition. As a playboy, Ivo also has several girls that go between him and Milagros, the most significant are Andrea, Florencia, and Pilar. Milagros also has flings of her own, she forges relationships with Pablo and Sergio.

Following the cut, I’m going to tell you the good, the bad, and the meh about the show. SPOILER WARNINGS!

The Good:

First  and foremost, the two leads of this drama, Natalia Oreiro and Facundo  Arana have AMAZING chemistry.  There is a reason they did another drama in 2007, he “guested” in one of her  music videos, and people swear the two have had a secret romance at one point or another. It’s crazy chemistry. Honestly, I’m not surprised that Ivo and Milagros were the childhood OTP of so many people.

 · Doña Angélica viuda de Di Carlo, the grandmother and head of the Di Carlo family, is one of the best characters EVER. She is kind to her servants, she calls her family out of their behavior, she is sassy and fun, and is the ultimate Ivo/Mili shipper.

The friendships in the drama are great, and an excellent reminder that     sometimes people make their own families. The servants of the Di Carlos     family have some of the best friendships; however, I must admit that I     adored the friendships Mili had with Father Manuel and the nuns from the     convent where she grew up. The servants have a very family sort of dynamic,   which is awesome. Socorro (the cook) is like a mother to Mili and the other maids, Romon (the Gardner, whose also in love with Socorro) is the father that Mili and the other maids never had, Rocky (the driver) is the older brother that is goofy but lovable, Bernardo (the butler) is the stuffy uncle, that slowly loosens up, Lina (and later Gloria) and Martha  are the sisters that are always fighting, but in the end, they care. I also must give a shout out to the Ivo and Gloria friendship. Gloria is a huge Ivo/Mili shipper, and Ivo takes Gloria as a sort of younger sister; they often have some very cute moments.  

There  is a romance for everyone. Literally. You have the older romance with     Socorro and Romon. You have the sweet romance with Gloria (Mili’s     childhood friend, who later becomes a maid at the Di Carlo home) and Chamuco (an under butler/all around guy for the Di Carlo family). You have the romantic and yet comedic romance between Rocky and the Victoria Di Carlo     (the younger sister of Ivo). You have Linda always on the lookout for love     and her crush on Bobby (Ivo’s friend). And, of course, you have the     romance of Ivo and Mili.

The  character develop for a lot of the characters is great. For example,     Victoria starts out as a spoiled and cruel rich girl, who slowly but surely falls in love with Rocky. And, because of that love – she becomes better person. Toward the end, she’s hanging out with the servants and finding her place in the world. Bernardo also starts out as this stuffy and rude butler – by the end, he’s a sweet and caring friend to all the characters. Ivo starts out as a womanizer that cheats on everyone, but in  the end, he’s matured and completely devoted to Mili, his friends, and his family.

The Ivo/Mili romance can be really adorable and sweet and perfect – when they are on the same page. Like, it’s seriously become one of my top OTPS and I haven’t even watched the whole show yet. I’m completely in love with these two.

   The Bad:

This is a long drama. It’s 270 episodes and each episode is roughly 45 minutes long. Though, most episodes have a 5-8-minute recap, that is simply the end of the last episode. Plus, the theme song is about 1 minute in length. So, the episodes are more like 40-36 minute long.

 Because the drama is so long, there is a lot of filler. Some of the story lines aren’t worth watching (Did I really need to see Federico (Ivo’s dad) gas-light his wife into thinking she was drinking again? Did I really need to see all sorts of company drama? Did it have to take 195 episodes for Mili to call out Federico as her dad? She knew much earlier than that. Hell, he knew he was her father by episode 30-something.) and the consent couple-jumping really gets to you after a while. Let me try and fill it out for you.

 At the start of the series, Ivo is 23/24 and dating the older Andrea. Andrea works at the family company and is the goddaughter of Angelica. Andrea is also having an affair with Federico. (Yes, you read that correctly. Andrea dates and has sex with Ivo while having a sexual relationship with Ivo’s father.) Ivo starts an affair with Mili, while engaged to Andrea (whose broken up her affair with Federico.) And, just as Ivo is about to fully break up with Andrea, she fakes a pregnancy. Heartbroken, Mili tries to move on with Ivo’s cousin, Pablo Rapallo. After the truth about Andrea comes out, Ivo starts a friends-with-benefits type relationship with his old friend Pilar. (Even though, he’s still in love with Mili and jealous of Mili and Pablo.) Mili and Pablo get engaged and nearly marry. Pablo gets into an accident and develops amnesia. So, Andrea tells Pablo that they are lovers. Mili cannot be happy with Ivo, as she feels she broke Pablo’s heart (plus, he goes missing for a bit and she assumes he killed himself or something – he did tell Lina that he’d kill himself if Mili ever left him.) Andrea spends some time going between Federico and Pablo’s dad, Damián. (who was having an affair with the maid, Martha.) Mili and Ivo nearly secretly marry, but Mili is told that Federico is her father – incest! So, she pushes Ivo away. Ivo meets Florencia Rizzo (the daughter of a mob boss and a recent divorcee.) Ivo decides to try and forget Mili and really tries to make his relationship with Florencia work. (To be honest, it may have worked – if Ivo weren’t totally in love with Mili and if Florencia didn’t still have feelings for her ex-husband). Meanwhile, Mili starts semi-dating a young lawyer, Sergio Costa. Ivo and Florencia divorce and Ivo decides to try and win Mili back. Mili and Sergio become engaged, but break up shortly after. Mili and Ivo get back together, but due to a misunderstanding and miscommunication, Ivo cheats on Mili with Andrea. Though, he quickly regrets in and tries to win Mili back. Thankfully, he does and the two end the series with a marriage. Don’t worry about Pablo – he marries Florencia’s sister, Marina. Andrea realizes that money and power aren’t everything, so she goes off to the United States to work for another company. Florencia may or may not get back with her ex-husband. Pilar ends up in a mental asylum. And, I like to think that Sergio went off and had a great life.

 And, that is just the main romantic story. Though,it does happen over 270 episodes. So, there is a bit of drag here and there. And, to be honest – I hated that way that Ivo’s solution (when he and Mili fought) was to run off and kiss or sleep with one of his ex’s. I also really hated (and loved) that Mili and Ivo were always kissing one another – even when they were dating, engaged to, or married to other people. I understand that a lot of it is a cultural thing and it’s all about TRUE LOVE, but. . .sometimes the affairs and musical romantic partners was a bit much. Like. . . I understand that Mili is 18 and Ivo is 24 for most of the drama, so they aren’t always the most mature, but I really wanted them just to run away and be together. I get way they didn’t – Ivo too afraid to be without his money and Mili too afraid that Ivo will leave her. I get it, but it was a bit much at times.

  The Meh:

 The characters (especially the maids, Rocky, Ivo, and Bobby) go out to these outdoor dance clubs that are popular with, as one character says, “the servant class”. Which is fine. But, for some reason the show felt like every time they go out to dance, we the viewers, needed 2-5 minutes of random clips of random people dancing. Toward the middle of the series, the family opens up their own dance place (I’m sorry I cannot think of the proper name) and we are forced to watch random dancing even more! I understand it is a cultural thing and that fans from Argentina probably enjoyed it. However, unless our two leads were interacting, it was fast forward stuff for me.

 Early in the series, because she becomes engaged to Ivo, Andrea moves into the mansion. Okay, fine. But. . .even after they break up – even after she breaks up with all the men in the house – she NEVER LEAVES. No one bothers to kick her out. She just lives there for the whole series – for no real reason. The same thing happens with Pilar. She moves in to be with Ivo, they break up and she goes to Spain for several episodes, and then returns for the last ten episodes or so. And, what does she do? She just moves right back into the family mansion. Both these ladies have families – so why are they staying with another family? I’m guessing it was just an effortless way to have all the characters together, but it was annoying. At least Florencia left when she realized that her marriage was over.

 There were a couple of unresolved stories (Andrea didn’t fake her pregnancy alone.) and no one was punished in any major way. Several characters do horrible things, and they get no jail time or kicked out of the house. Which bothers me a bit.

    Overall: The show is highly addictive, especially if you skip a lot of the boring bits. There are some amazing characters running around and some truly heartfelt moments between a lot of them. The friendships are wonderfully done. The Ivo/Mili romance is sexy, adorable, heartbreaking,  sweet, and humorous all at once. If you haven’t watched it – get on it. Yes, it’s super long. However, each episode is really only 30 minutes or less if you fast forward to the good parts.

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