Bromance Slapstick

I'm not a big fan of slapstick comedy. It takes really experienced actors to pull it off. But I warmed up to it after I got my head into the story. The direction and editing is pretty amateurish, which distracts from the show. Let me see if I can make sense of the plot for you: Our hero is 17-year-old high schooler Jie'en. His mom has hired a tutor, 22-year-old Xie Yinong, who constantly bullies him. (The implied message here is when men are together they can exist in only one of two states: bully or gay-romantic. There's no middle ground where guys can just be caring friends.) Jie'en is in love with a girl named Ye Jinghan, so we have no reason to believe he's anything but straight. Jie'en shares his bed with Zie Yiong (his bed broke) and one night Jie'en strokes Zie Yiong's face while dreamingn of his girfriend. Zie Yiong mistakes this affection to be meant for him and from this point on becomes more caring toward Jie'en. One day, the devastatingly handsome friend of Jie'en's girlfriend, Xu Shaoyu, comes to visit while his apartment is being renovated. Xu Shaoyu is the "brother" Jie'en has always wanted. He's kind to Jie'en and helps him better with his homework than Zie Yiong. The 3 share the same bed that night and Zie Yiong pulls back the covers to reveal Jie'en cuddling with Xu Shaoyu. Assuming he's lost the younger man's affections, he leaves. (We only see the departure scene in an earlier episode and Jie'en is delighted to see him go). The final scene is the mirror image of the first scene when Zie Yiong arrives and Jie'en says in disbelief, "So...you're the new tutor my mom mentioned?" In the final scene we don't see who the new tutor is. In the first episode, Jie'en has a look of horror on his face at the sight on Zie Yiong; however, in this final scene, he has a look of delight. So, this must be the return of Xu Shaoyou. I'm not sure why the writer left the conclusion open ended, except maybe to force a sequel. We see enough of the new tutor to know it's a guy, so it isn't Ye Jinghan (the girlfriend). It isn't Zie Yiong because he has a silver suitcase and we know Jie'en wouldn't be smiling. Short of introducing a new character, there's no one left but Xu Shaoyu. Well, this was clearly a low budget affair, maybe they ran out of money to pay the actor for one more scene? It's a shame because the basic plot idea is sound and the cast is doing their best with a weak script. I'm not sure this qualifies as a Boys Love (BL) drama. This is really a Bromantic slapstick comedy. There are really no sexual situations except for innuendos that would only delight middle schoolers. The plot and the disappointing ending make this one hard to recommend.

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Refreshingly Realistic Love Triangles

This show was called "Innocence: Bangkok Love Stories" as played on Netflix in the U.S. It concerns multiple love triangles, anchored by three main male leads: Danny (Pond Ponlawit), JC (Kawin Manonukul) and Simon (Ten Tosatid). The most interesting triangle surrounds a BL story involving Simon and Keaton (Max Nattapol) and a wealthy female cougar (older woman who likes young men), Jennista (Nicole Theriault). Jennista is probably the most complex and interesting character. On one hand, she's presented almost like a stereotypical James Bond villain, always with a conspiratorial demeanor and seen frequently stroking a white cat alone in her sprawling mansion. Nevertheless, she becomes the hero of the piece, facilitating Simon & Keaton's dreams. Simon is our main BL hero whose mother (Rudklao Amratisha) is afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. Their scenes together are among the best in the show. Simon's main love interest is Keaton, who first met as children. There are many wonderful flashbacks to provide clues to their mysterious love-hate relationship. Honorable mention should be given to Naphon Phromsuwan who, as Dr. Krit, has a brief affair with Simon. Their scenes together are nicely rendered. All of the characters have very complicated lives and relationships. The dramas are driven by the mystery of which partner in their respective triangles will the lead guys choose. It's beautifully photographed, except the bar scenes tend to be too dark. There are several cliche LGBT supporting characters the are meant to provide comic relief, but undermine the realistic tone of the main stories. Overall, I enjoyed the show and can recommend it.

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Winning Story Idea ... Goes Nowhere

I was really looking forward to this drama as I'm a big fan of Zee and the idea of an arranged same-gender marriage sounded like a winner, but I had to read other reviews to see if I was missing something. It seems like one dysfunctional scene after another. The actors do their best with a script that looks like it was made by a committee -- or a computer randomly sorting every cliche BL stereotype together in a chaotic order. I liked the scenes with Kirin (NuNew) and Khondiao (Nat) the best. Having watched quite a few of these BL dramas now, I have to say that if the source material is more than about 5 years old, the screenplay writers need to bring the story up-to-date. I'm so sick of seeing a kiss taken like a threat of violence. If the writers think that's the appropriate response then let the characters shake hands instead ... until a kiss can be accepted for what it is. Sorry, Zee. I'll look forward to your next performance in a show with a better script.

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Gives a Good First Impression But Has Major Story Problems

I was looking forward to TharnType given its consistently high viewer ratings, so maybe my expectations were too high. Many other reviewers have noted the problems with the lead characters, so I'll try to add a fresh perspective here. Like so many BL dramas, the writing seems to be a bit two-faced, on one hand being a champion of same-gender romance while backstabbing the genre with horrible stereotypes. Leaving the childhood abuse of Type aside, a man of 19 years old should have figured his sexual orientation out soon after puberty. The suggestion that he's straight but suddenly becomes gay -- and gay only for Tharn -- is absolutely absurd. I accepted the explanation for Type's homophobia based on the childhood rape, but, in reality, it would probably scar a person for life and preempt any kind of romantic connection. I can think of several better backstories for homophobia. Other's have noted that the Tharn character comes off as a bit of a creepy predator in the first few episodes, another horrible gay myth. This undermines the audience fully embracing his character. And, of course, Type is so consistently homophobic and obnoxious, he's hard to like too. The romance is better than the formulaic BL dramas that never go beyond bromance with benefits, but TharnType has been eclipsed by newer dramas like WhyRU? where the main characters -- Tutor and Fighter -- set a new benchmark for steamy romantic and gut-wrenching breakup scenes. The camera work is not as good as other productions I've seen -- with some very poor framing. I should mention the sound was well above average for Thai productions which seem to have a lot of audio mistakes like off-mic dialogue, distortion and clothes rustling. I only observed a few mistakes in the music mix, but that's the fault of the editor. One final though to aspiring BL drama writers: if you want the audience to connect with your main characters, violence (rape) and sex do not mix.. Avoid the genre stereotypes. They're cliches that rarely reflect real life. And no matter how many hours your drama runs, your main characters better not utter "I'm Sorry" more than about 3 times. That phrase loses its impact really fast.

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Loved the Movie Version Even More

I really loved this series, which got a lot of luke warm reviews with many comments directed to not believing late 20s guys wouldn't be aware of their sexual orientation. That's a fair complaint but certainly earlier generations were so far in denial that they got married, raised a family, and only later in life accepted their preference. I suspect that still goes on today, even with younger people. For me, this seems like a pretty realistic plot and we're spared a lot of the cliches of BL/Gay cinema. No one dies (always with the subtle message that straying from the "straight" path will lead to a life of misery or violent death). These are adults with established careers rather than college engineering students. There aren't endless scenes of anguish about coming out to parents, although there are two flashback scenes with each lead recalling a homophobic encounter with school classmates. I won't repeat my full review of the episodic version, except for a few highlights: The Korean film industry sets a high watermark for production values and I love the quirky, fast-paced direction of this piece. Nothing seems padded here. All three of the male principals are absolutely great together. Like other Korean BL dramas, this one is pretty timid. We get a couple of shirtless scenes and some lightweight kissing. There is one rather amusing scene where the main lead has trouble walking due to some sexual excitement. But this drama definitely doesn't push beyond conservative sensibilities. Aside from that the only real plot weakness is the unresolved fate of the third guy in the love triangle, but maybe there's a sequel where we meet him again? Anyway, this is one I could rewatch many times. Highly recommended.

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Sets the Gold Standard in BL Dramas

"Mr. Heart" sets a new gold standard among the BL dramas I've seen. It hit all the right notes. There are some minor issues with the way the sub-plot of the loan sharks doesn't quite mesh with the rest of the story, but I'll give them a pass on that. Somehow "Mr. Heart" manages to dodge the usual pitfalls in these stories. For example, in formula BL stories there's always a scene like after a drunken night out the two guys wake up the next morning in bed together then freak out when they see each other naked. These scenes are just nonsense. Ironically, "Mr. Heart" overcomes this cliche perfectly with the two guys hanging out in a Jjimjilbang (spa). Excellent writing. What can I say about Lee Se Jin as Sang Ha. He nails this character. When he's not in a scene, you can't wait for him to appear again. While he's slightly less masculine than the Jinn Won character, he doesn't cross into the Uke stereotype. Cheon Seung Ho has the always thankless role of the bully love interest. Thankfully his character gets in touch with his feelings early on and doesn't go down the usual dramatic path of overcompensating. In fact, Jin Won's private enjoyment of Sang Ha's affections, as in the couple of bed scenes, is beautifully directed. We rarely get to see through the bravado of these bully characters until late in the drama. In full disclosure the English subtitles stopped working about 2/3 into the story, so I had to guess what happens from the action on screen. I hope to see the rest of this drama with subtitles some day. Korea could take the crown away from Thailand for BL dramas if they can keep this high standard. Update: I did get to see it with the rest of the subtitles. The film is cinematic enough that I guessed what the dialogue was pretty closely. The sub-story of the debt still seems like an afterthought, never fully in sync with the love story. Jin Won punching Sang Ha in the face in the final scene is out of character and undermines the audience's support for his character. No doubt the director wanted to show Jin Won's frustration but that could have been done just as well with a shove to the shoulder. Violence and love are an incompatible mix, like oil and water. That said, the final scene is very sweet. The movie is worthy of multiple viewings. I hope they'll release it on Bluray or DVD.

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Lots of Eye Candy, Not Much Meat

In an early episode of "Just Say No," we get a pretty steamy solo love scene, but the scenes featuring the two leads never quite reach the Thai BL gold standards set by dramas like "Love By Chance" or "WhrRU?" The plot is a bit old fashioned, better BL dramas have moved beyond the "O-M-G will my parents disown me if I tell them I'm gay?" cliche. Since Yaoi fiction lives in an alternate reality, it has always seemed to me that boy-boy love should just be taken as a matter of fact so that plots could revolve around more interesting ideas. I had expected we would have a big, romantic finish but, like the rest of story, it's like a series of fire crackers that just sort of fizzle out without delivering an explosion. The strength of "Just Say No" is that the two leads are given a good back story and their intimacy quickly develops on a logical path, without the usual cliche of having one character in denial. Aside from the solo scene, it's not at all clear why this has an R-rating. But given that "R" seems to be the default rating for two guys kissing, the producers certainly had wide latitude to include more interesting romantic scenes with the leads.

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Best Korean BL Drama to Date

Korea has had some catching up to do to compete with BL dramas from Thailand and the Philippines, but "Semantic Error" narrows the wide gap considerably. This one fires on all cylinders. The story is very realistic and captures the personality of a rational thinker (Sang Woo) perfectly. I really appreciated the fact we could focus on our main characters without the padding and distractions of multiple sub plots. It's also very cinematic, like a top flight feature film, without a constant stream of unnecessary dialogue. The photography sparkles and the music score is right on point. I found myself savoring each episode 2 or 3 times. The cast is amazing -- no doubt helped by the well-drawn script. So, it pains me not to give "Semantic Error" a full 10 but it falls a bit short of the gold standard set by Thai BL dramas like "Why R U?" that take us beyond a basic bromance of hugging, holding hands and a little kissing. The conclusion leaves open the possibility of a sequel, so maybe we'll get something a little more interesting, like a scene at a jjimjilbang?

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A Perfect 10 Across the Board

Well, this is a pretty dark story about our unique, pandemic times but Ali and Alec (as Key and Chen) put out enough heat on screen to kill any virus. But before I get into the main event, Boys Love story, Teetin Villanueva who plays Chen's sister, gives a monologue characterizing her meltdown about the pandemic that's worthy of a major acting award. It's a feeling I'm sure everyone in the audience -- of any age -- will relate to. "Boys' Lockdown" sets a high bar for BL dramas. The six episodes use most of their time wisely on our main and secondary characters. There's a bit of padding with a few extraneous characters but never to the extent we're used to in the 24 and 36 part epics. The leads have the looks and personalities you almost want to savor in slow motion. The script is tight, relevant and totally believable. Perhaps the most surprising thing here is what _isn't_ here -- "Boys' Lockdown" seems to exist in an alternate universe devoid of gay stereotypes. Heterosexuality is still the default as Chen asks Key if he has a girlfriend, but Key's reply of "No" transitions seamlessly to Chen asking, "Do you have a boyfriend?" without missing a beat. With the COVID Pandemic providing the dramatic engine to drive the drama, "Boys' Lockdown" doesn't have to force unsavory cliches on our main characters, like sexual violence or some other kind of emotional dysfunction. These are just two guys who are crushing on each other and trying to solve the dilemma of getting together when there's a deadly virus loose in the world. It could have had a tragic ending, but the writer delivers what the audience really wants.

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Extremely Satisfying

BL Dramas often have rather anti-climatic endings, presumably to force a sequel. This anthology brings a much more satisfying pause point (I won't say ending) to two of my favorite dramas: "'Cause You're My Boy" and "SOTUS." I'm only going to speak to these two shows.

Mork and Tee are back in Episode 3 for their third anniversary. The storyline about misconceptions is very cute. Drake Sattabut tops his previously excellent performance as Mork, who has now cast off any doubts about his love for Tee. Frank Thanatsaran still struggles to sell his Tee character as being Mork's soulmate. He's tightlipped in the kissing scenes. Plot-wise, credibility is a bit strained to believe that two adult guys who love each other this much are still living separately after 3 years, just to please Tee's mother.

Episode 5 reunites Arthit and Kongpob from the original SOTUS, which took way too long to get these two characters to the holding hands and kissing stage, where the drama abruptly ends. Finally, the audience gets to see the ending we had waited for. While Arhrit is still shy about public displays of affection, Krist Perawat dials up his performance to Oscar-winning status with a heartbreaking breakup scene. Finally we get to see Arthit's unmasked feelings for Kongpob. Singto Prachaya gives an equally satisfying performance as Kongpob, who remains stoic and strong to support Arthit in the breakup scene, only to let go of his emotions in the next scene. And the big payoff is Arthit overcoming his public display of affection hang-up in the final scene. This is excellent writing and direction. No doubt Singto and Krist's real life, off-screen bromance helped to bring a whole new level of life to these characters. I could see a spin-off series about Arthit and Kongpob living in China for two years.

The shows are more-or-less stand alone, so if you haven't yet met a set of characters in the original series, you can just watch the episodes where the familiar ones appear.

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Improbable, Feel-Good Fairy Tale

How likely is it that three half brothers, sharing the same father, turn out to be gay? How likely is it they all confess to their love interest on the same day? "Because of You" plays like an easy-breezy fairy tale with too many contrived coincidences. Lin Xun (Mu Ji Hsu) is the most grounded and believable character as the maybe, long lost fourth sibling. He turns out not to be blood-related so his love interest, Yuan Jung Cheng (Lee Shi Kang), is free to romance him. Early on, both men say they're open to dating a guy but have never done so. But when they end up in bed together, after a drunken night out, Yuan Jung Chen goes into an inexplicable, almost effeminate gay panic. That's inconsistent with his character on several levels. Then he spends time finding out how you can tell if you've had gay sex. Why would this even be an issue, given he's been established as gay man and that he likes Lin Xun? The other brothers are more or less sub-plots. They already have "maybe boyfriends" at the onset of the drama that they finally confess to in the final episode. It's all a bit too paint-by-the-numbers. The early kidnapping scene really undermines the credibility of the relationship between the two leads because it paints Yuan Jun Cheng as a violent predator, unworthy of anyone's love, never mind a trophy boyfriend like Lin Xun. On the plus side, we're spared the usual gay stereotypes. These are everyday guys who love other guys. For that, and Mu Ji Hsu's wonderful performance, I can recommend it.

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Great performances and OST Single

Boy Sompob's heartbreaking OST ballad "Back" tells the whole story of this drama, perhaps better than the drama itself. Thankfully "The Effect" is only 3 episodes, so there isn't the usual 18 extra episodes of padding and the interest level is at full throttle. James Prapatthorn originally auditioned for the support role of Pramote but was born to play shy and adorable Shin, a college Freshman. Oat Chakrit plays Keng, a handsome Senior who's the big man on campus. But Keng has a secret: he likes guys and it's love at first sight when he meets Shin. On his first day at school, Shin befriends two guys his own age -- veteran actor Yacht Surat as Bright and newcomer Top Akechat as Pramote. Bright and Pramote develop their own non-romantic bromance as the story goes along. Meanwhile, we learn that Keng has serious anger management issues. He's so sexually repressed that he ends up raping Shin. Well, that pretty much kills the story dead in its tracks. Whatever sympathy we had for Keng is gone. We never really learn if Shin likes guys, but he emphatically states he doesn't love Keng, so we'll have to go with that at face value. What salvages the drama from this point on is the unconditional (but unromantic) love Shin receives from Bright and Pramote. Usually these secondary characters are throw-aways, but Yacht and Top really get to show off their considerable acting skills. Keng tries to make up to Shin, and even though we can identify with the real life dilemma of a gay man being attracted to a straight guy, the rape was a deal-breaker for our sympathy. Shin, again, tells him to go away. Five years pass and Shin has finally completed university. He meets up with Bright and Pramote on graduation day (they graduated two years earlier). They part and Bright and Pramote walk off together holding hands. But we're left wondering what happened to our main characters. Presumably, through some telepathic connection, they commit suicide at the same time, by the same method of stepping out into the street in front of a car. The tilt up of the camera and dissolve to white suggests they died and went to heaven. Well, maybe so. But after such a long drama, that was a pretty abrupt and unmotivated ending. And if Shin died, who is narrating this story? His ghost? It may be the producers are setting us up for Series 2 but where would we go from here? If they survived the car accidents, who would cheer for Shin hooking up with his rapist? Anyway, I do hope to see James in something else. He had tremendous chemistry with Top in their scenes together. They'd make a great BL romantic duo.

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Great Leads and OST

"Bed Friends" gets off to a slow start but builds to a strong conclusion, giving my final rating a solid 10.. Net and James are outstanding in the lead roles, probably because their off-screen chemistry is off the charts. Unfortunately, this is the main weakness of the plot in that Uea (James' character) plays it a bit too cool with King (Net's character) right to the end of the drama. Yes, Uea and King do get a bit closer as King comes to understand Uea's backstory on sexual abuse, but even in the final scene, Uea seems a bit too surprised or skeptical of King's offer of marriage. I think there was a missed opportunity to do more with Jade's (Yim's character) as he's a real scene-stealer whenever he appears. HIs best scene is when he joins King to select a ring for Uea. (I'm going to have to go look for dramas where he's the lead.) Thai BL dramas set the gold standard for romantic scenes and "Bed Friend" breaks new ground over its DOMUNDI predecessors like "WhyRU?" Still, it seems a bit odd that shows like this go out of their way to avoid shirtless scenes. Maybe the actors don't feel they have the "6-pack" physique to pull it off? I also have a minor complaint with the Uea being drawn as a stereotypical BL uke. These dramas would be far more interesting -- and realistic -- if the characters were equally masculine. If you're new to BL, "Bed Friends" is probably one of the best dramas you could start with. The 10 episodes move along without being burdened by too much padding. The plot is fresh and the main characters are all likable. Highly recommended. I'd love to see Net & James in another drama where their characters are more like their real-life personalities, though.

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Refreshingly Different Plot

A lot of BL dramas take place college but the twist here is two guys are taking a couples relationship course (thus the name, "Love Class") and there aren't enough girls to pair up the genders equally so our two male leads are forced to pair together. One of the guys immediately tries to get into another class but they're all filled. Presumably this is a required course so he has no choice but to do the assignments with the other guy, as if they were dating. This seems like a stretch but somehow it works. (It did occur to that a more plausible plot would have required all of the men and women to pair up with the same gender for the kick-off class assignment to learn empathy, but I digress). Korean BL dramas are still pretty tame compared to their more racy Thai counterparts and "Love Class" is no exception. We do get a good final scene with our heroes but their chemistry is a bit uneven throughout the drama. I'm guessing the writer isn't aware that stalkers with baseball bats is a horrific gay drama cliche, so it's an unnecessarily ugly and offensive scene in an otherwise G-Rated drama. There were a lot of missed opportunities to beef up the plot but what's here is highly entertaining and worthy of a strong 9.

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Came to watch Akaso and Machida Together Again

I was attracted to this drama after thoroughly enjoying the chemistry between Akaso Eiji and Machida Keita in the BL drama "Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?" "Super Rich!" pales in comparison to the former. In the first few episodes, it's hard to like the lead character of Myoga Mamoru, played by Eguchi Noriko. Machida's character, Miyamura Sora, is also pretty disagreeable. So, we're mostly connected with poor little Haruno Yu, Akaso's character. No doubt my pre-conception of this drama was tainted by the earlier BL pairing of Akaso and Machida, so I kept hoping they'd end up in a romantic relationship. That would have been a far more interesting storyline, but no such luck and the pair really don't have any good scenes together. Akaso plays more or less the same role he played as Adachi, but this time as the cub in a cougar-cub romance with the older Myoga. Actually, I appreciated the challenges to social cliches like ageism and gender roles -- Yu does the cooking in the household and says his father was the better cook when he was a child. The production values in "Super Rich" are quite a step down from "30 Years." The pacing and editing is uneven. We bounce around from lurid violence to slapstick comedy to chick flick romance. This drama doesn't seem to know who the intended audience is and it feels like there were multiple directors who could not agree on the overall tone. There are a number of plot holes and contradictions. There are ambient sound gaps throughout the soundtrack. All that said, Akaso's scenes are well worth watching, but you might want to scan quickly through the rest of it. If they edit this down into a 2-hour movie, they should shift the "central character" focus from Mamoru to Yu.

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