So many unanswered questions..

When will these writers realize that if a plot point is important enough to put into the show as a conflict, it should dang well get a resolution?!

There were so many ideas introduced into this series that just didn't get the attention or closure that they deserved. The ones that did got an off-the-cuff comment and that's it. I understand that the focus is on the main couple but as a viewer, we also became invested in Jack, Time, Thian and Thoop, just to name a few of the side characters who were used for drama but then discarded with no regard to their storyline.

Especially Thian and Thoop.. like seriously.. that's some serious stuff going on there and we don't know what comes of it. Did the stepfather go to jail? Did the mother leave him? If so, why did it take her until her son went to jail for one night instead of doing something about her daughter being attacked and driven to suicide?! WTF

And poor Jack.. nothing is done about the video game and his mental illness is kinda washed aside with a fleeting mention that he doesn't have to take the pills anymore.

I really wanted to like this series but there was just too much left out while there was too much introduced without going anywhere. The love story actually had a decent arc and I really liked that they were older in the work force instead of the typical high school/university students. The acting was good within the main cast and it was fun seeing Drake in a role other than "one of the firends."

Leia Mais

Mixed feelings

This is a really tough review to write because I have such conflicting feelings about this series that I don't know if I can really explain why. I hated almost every character at one point or another, even if they had redeeming moments/story arcs and yet I couldn't stop watching. I wanted to sympathize with the main couples and then they did horrible things that made me dislike them for their choices.

Some of the acting was amazing while other performances were not as such. A lot of times I was wondering if the actor was just having a hard time portraying an actor on screen because they are essentially playing a person who is then playing another person. But overall, the stories were involved enough to distract away from that most of the time.

Speaking of the stories... Here's my takeaway from the different arcs.

Ep 1-5: Managers Suck. I was wondering the entire time if I'm supposed to feel bad for Pan and it's not until the end that you realize that his brattiness toward his manager is completely justified and that he was indeed the victim. But it sure made him annoying at times. However, this was one of the occasions where the acting was very good in my opinion. I'd seen this couple in Secret Crush On You and in that series, I really disliked Seng's character. I saw a little bit of it here but that was when he was putting on a face for investors. Seng's acting in this with all his different sides and emotions was really well played.

Ep 6-10: Managers Suck the Sequel. Honestly, the entire time I wanted to strangle Toon and Pla or at least have them do it to each other. I get that Gus was pretending to like Bew and all but even when he apparently is legit in love with him, it felt so fake to me, I was waiting for the next "behind the scene" with one of the managers to show that it was still an act. And after all the horrible stuff that he and the 2 managers did to Bew, why was Bew the only one made to feel like he had crossed the line in the end and be the one to apologize? Such bullshit.

Ep 11-15: This is why "reality TV" is so ridiculous. With the right editing and careful nudges, it is no longer "real" but a show within a show.

Ep 16-20: From the very beginning, I feel like half of the characters did a complete 180 out of nowhere. P, who up to now has been a nice, supporting person is suddenly a demanding producer and Achi who was this over confident serious actor and was good at everything could barely make it through a scene. I feel like there are completely different stories going on which would be fine if they weren't supposed to be the same people as before. And yet, somehow, I'm very intrigued and impressed by how Talay is played up "the bad guy." Within just 5 episodes, I wanted to cheer him, curse him and everything in between. He was made out to be this caring seasoned actor who was looking out for the new guys until he needed them to make a series. I mean, I get it.. there's a lot riding on the series and making things work and I understand why he had to be as hard on them as he was, but I swear there were times I thought the character was bi-polar. And yet, it still worked... don't ask me how.

I think the best I could say is that it is worth a watch but be prepared for a roller coaster of emotions and also be prepared that not all of them get a happy or even satisfying ending.

Leia Mais

Heartbreakingly beautiful

Man... I feel emotionally drained after that roller coaster.. I can't fathom what another season / sequel is going to do to me. But it was so incredibly well done that I don't mind all the tears and pulling at my heart. I see why it's rated so high across the board.

In reading some reviews beforehand, I saw a lot of dislike toward Teh and, while I can see where the dislike is coming from, I can forgive him to an extent due to the fact he was confused and scared about his own feelings which is never a good combination. It stood out to me how much Teh was pacing back and forth in a lot of scenes as if he were lost. He was clearly struggling with his thoughts/feelings throughout the series. You could feel the frustration coming off him.

I definitely loved how Bas was not ashamed to be seen with a boy and I think both Oh and Teh really needed to see that in order to experience it themselves. Bas's monologue at the end of cram school was basically Teh's inner thoughts and feelings only Teh wasn't brave enough to say it out loud and it cost him his chance with Oh. While Bas laid it all out, it was such a beautiful scene because we watched as Teh realized it all too, even though he didn't say a word.

In that respect, I'm curious to see how many pages the script was for this series because I feel like there wasn't all that much dialog for 5+ hours. However all that they said with their expressions was deafening. The actors were really good at portraying their inner emotions.

I usually don't like series centered around high school age because I feel like I'm too old for that.. But this was amazing and I didn't feel like I was watching teenagers, if that makes sense.

Besides the acting, the cinematography was absolutely stunning and I liked that it wasn't set in the city. The music was great and really helped set the tone for each scene, especially the piano version of the song they sang together. A lot of little touches like that really helped with the ache the viewer felt along with the characters.

I'd definitely watch this again and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of frustration to go along with a truly beautiful piece.

Leia Mais

Well hot dayum...

So.. this was a lot to process, especially after binge-watching it over the span of 2 days. One of the rare times I actually see the merit in taking breaks between episodes but I guess if I had watched it while it aired, it would have been weekly breaks.

Anyway, going into this series, I hadn't seen any trailers or read any reviews though I kind of had an idea of what to expect.
Especially with a name like Bed Friend, I pretty much assumed it would be spicy though sometimes the spice is lost if the actors don't have the chemistry. But let me tell you, they had the chemistry in this series and then some. I like that the writers didn't put such a stigma around sex without love or looking down on the whole FWB arrangement. It was straight forward and, as far as their intimate relationship was concerned, they had fantastic communication with their expectations.

I kind of found it funny how in the opening credits, they had Tutor as if he were a major part and yet he only shows up in the last second of the series and says one line. I mean, I know they have their own series coming out but it just kind of stood out to me as if he was supposed to have a bigger role here than he really did. Likely they filmed the two series at the same time as they probably used a lot of the same locations and actors for both.

But I digress. The things I didn't like about this series: Pretty much everyone who interacts with Uea other than his work colleagues. Seriously, I feel like the writers were trying to think of all the possible negative relationship experiences a person could have (IE abusive parent, abusive step-parent, cheating ex, obsessive ex, sexual harassment in the workplace) and threw them all at a single character one after the other. And not every one of them gets resolved which is super frustrating. It's like they were addicted to traumatic drama without the redemption/resolution or lacked the creativity to actually give each problem a solution.... or both. By the second or third incident, it's obvious that they just want to show that King is there for him and is his rock. But by the 3rd or so time it's like "okay, we get it. Now can you please bring justice to these people?"

I also don't like that Uea never once thought to try and get his sister out of that situation as well. Plus the sister never really stood up for him either even though she saw what was going on with the mother and heard Uea's claims about the step-father. And yet she still asks him to come visit on behalf of her mother? That's messed up.

Even with all of that, I still really enjoyed the series and I would definitely watch it again. And yes, I admit, that's mostly for the hotness between the two main characters. They had a great push and pull dynamic going on outside of the bedroom, sure, but dayum the bedroom dynamic was off the charts. Give me a soft daddy and a power bottom combo and I'm a happy guy. LOL

Leia Mais

Where "simple" goes a long way.

This series is proof that you don't need a huge budget to make a great show. If you have an interesting enough concept, the passion and the talent to back it up, those ingredients are enough to make a tasty dish indeed.

To be honest, I don't know anything about the production of this series though it is pretty clear they were working with not a whole lot. I can only assume it was because of the pandemic and there was only so much you were allowed to do when it was at the worst. But this didn't need a huge cast nor did it need lavish sets or location shoots. If you have talented actors, give them a hidden microphone and let them run with it.

This is a first time for me for Gameplay's works and I have to say he did a great job. However I was completely blown away by Jeff and I'll explain why. I know he has a huge following since he has an acting and music career and yes, he is really talented in both. This is only the second thing I've seen of his (the first being KinnPorsche) and I honestly liked him better here. I didn't particularly care for his role or performance in KP as he was pretty "broody" the entire time. But here, he was playful, fun-loving and seemed all-round NATURAL to the point where I wondered if most of his lines were improvised. He had great timing and honest reactions and the most subtle of looks/expressions that had me unable to look away from what he might do next. This performance alone is enough to make me a fan.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the series and truly wish they get to revisit it sometime again. Sure, it's not a sad ending nor is it a happy one which could be left as is for the viewer to imagine what happens next. But after such a fantastic ride, I would love to see a more solid (and preferably happy) conclusion.

Leia Mais

Good for a second season series, but..

.. the pacing was a little disjointed for me. Some parts dragged while the ending felt super rushed.

With the main obstacle/villain being Tee, I would have rather we get to see better justice for his wrongdoings, both against James and Ait as a couple but especially for what he did to Bas. All we see is the clip being played on the monitors at the press conference and Tee running out so we don't even know if he was ever held accountable for his actions or if he managed to get away in the end. It's super frustrating because he was an effective "bad guy" that we loved to hate. They practically spent the entire 2 seasons of the series showing us all the reasons to hate him and then we get no resolution, whether it's good or bad. It just simply does not exist.

Speaking of what doesn't exist, I wish James and Ait knew more about how much Bas was struggling. They were on his side and wanted the best for him and yet they didn't know he was contemplating suicide? To be honest, I could have done without James and Ait entirely this season as I absolutely loved Bas and Marco together. I preferred them over the other couple in the first season too even though they weren't acquainted yet. I found their characters were more interesting individually and then just got better when they were together. I thought Michael and Daniel were better actors overall too over Benz and Time.

Besides the ending, I still thought it was a good series overall and as far as the couples were concerned, they had satisfyingly happy endings, which I am a sucker for.

Leia Mais

Important message, even if it's exaggerated.

At the beginning, the show gives the standardized message of "this is inspired by real events but is dramatized for television" spiel. Yes, it is a drama that brings forward a lot of questions and possible insight but it is so much more than that. It's not your typical "actors are humans too" and leaves it at that. This really dives into the effect certain demands can have and not just in a relationships POV but in personal trauma and self image. Sure, they talk about shipping culture but, for me, the most important character and situation was Bas. Seriously, watch this just for him and you won't be disappointed.

At the time I'm writing this, I have only seen season 1 so I have no idea what happens going forward but I hope to all that is good that we get more Bas and Marco. Their arc is so beautiful and stunning made 100x better by Michael and Daniel's acting. I don't think I've ever hurt so much as I did when they were on the way to Bas' home and made a pit stop. (When you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about.)

The series had an overall vibe of an "artistic piece" where there were a lot of breaks in dialogue. I didn't feel like it dragged, though, because the cast was really good at communicating with looks and expressions that a lot was being said without being verbalized. The episodes average out to about half an hour each and the season only had 6 episodes, which seems like a very short time but I feel like there was good development all the way through with semi-satisfying resolutions at the end. I only say semi-satisfying because I'm sure they knew they were making a season 2 so they had to leave some things open.. I get it.

Speaking of which, it's time to move onto the next one!

Leia Mais

Cute story with minimal angst

Despite a couple of small grievances I have with certain plot points, this was still sweet and a good watch overall. For the most part, it felt very organic and most of it progressed at a pace and direction that made sense.

The first three quarters flowed well with the relationship building of all characters and the development of the story overall. One of the aforementioned grievances is in how there was so much emphasis placed on Bai Lang's trauma, to the point where it was the driving force of the entire show, and then once he decided he wanted to pursue XunAn, it's like it suddenly disappeared. Which is kinda too bad because Andy did a great job at conveying how powerless he was against his anxiety, only for his efforts to be completely traded for the bumbling younger guy chasing a serious older man trope.

The other issue I had was with XunAn's parent's storyline. I'm sorry but beating your child who is now a grown man living out on his own is pretty ridiculous. And for the wife to make excuses for him and apologize for him is even worse. If you don't agree with how to raise your child, that is some serious deal breaker. I honestly don't understand the use of this trope where the parents are so at odds with each other and yet they don't separate. How could she live with that guy after he beat her child with a cane? But, anyway, luckily that was only in the last episode and not a recurring thing as I likely would have dropped it otherwise.

I really liked the friendship Bai Lang had with Alex and enjoyed all of their interactions together. They bicker like siblings which made for some hilarious dialogue and then you can see how much they actually care for each other in the more somber moments. I would have liked more time with Alex and RJ's development but I understand they were just a side couple.

Even with the few things I personally didn't care for, I would still recommend this as it was a short and sweet piece full of heart and feels.

Leia Mais

Not bad but not great

It's hard to rate this because on the one hand it was a bit of a mess as far as the story went but on the other hand, I still found myself entertained enough to keep watching.

There were a few plot holes left open and some of the timeline doesn't fit right which I think is more of an editing problem than a writing or acting issue. Continuity could sometimes make or break a series and in this case, it certainly didn't do it any favors.

Although, with that being said, the acting could have been better for a few of the cast. (I do have to thank whoever first mentioned they watched shows at 1.5 speed because that really helped.) There were a lot of times where someone was standing there as if they forgot it was their turn to speak and yet the director just said "Keep rolling" anyway. Although the director certainly knew how to best showcase Film's.. ahem.. assets to full potential. Honestly, I liked Thee and Jet's relationship better than the main couple.

I can't really see myself watching this again although I am glad to have given it a shot. If nothing else, it was a cute, mindless story to spend a day binge watching.

Leia Mais

Wow. Just... wow.

I don't tend to give 10s out easily but I couldn't, in good conscience, give this show anything less. It was one of the best BLs I've seen to date and I'm so glad I came across it.

At first, the serious tone of the show had me putting it off for a while, thinking I needed to be prepared emotionally before getting into it. However, even though it was a more serious and mature plot, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

The story was intriguing and kept a steady pace of being interesting and exciting all the way through. I was afraid that it might get confusing when there are twins and hidden identities but it was super easy to follow and Gun did a phenomenal job at portraying the personality differences between Black and White; even when White is pretending to be Black.

In fact, the acting from the entire cast was great and I can't imagine anyone doing a better job in any role. There was a range of characters who were both good and bad in their own ways. It's nice to see a very human response from these shows where we are reminded that no one is perfect and, while we may have similar goals in mind, different people will act differently to achieve those goals.

As far as the music goes, I never really pay attention to soundtracks since it's always the same 2 songs throughout the series. This show, however, had an awesome and diverse soundtrack.. so much so that it was probably the first time I ever took notice of the music in a BL.

With a show like this where there are hidden identities and plot twists, it could either have a high rewatch value where the viewer wants to go back and see if they catch the foreshadowing or a very low rewatch value where the viewer is left feeling unsatisfied after investing all that time just to find out a cop-out ending.

Personally, I'm more the former in this situation because I feel like any and all revelations and occurrences were believable and only made the story better. That's a really hard thing to do when dealing with issues where there are so many opinions; not just among viewers but within the show itself and it's characters. Even if you don't agree with a characters method, you can still understand them and their motives. They even address that within the show by asking if the gang are vigilantes or heroes and it walks a fine line throughout. Some people might be put off by all the political talk but it is thought provoking and important, IMO.

Leia Mais

"Meet Cute" overload

This was a very funny and cute series. It basically takes the piss out of the world of BL and how the smallest "Meet Cute" could lead to a relationship. It has all the tropes everywhere you look but done in a way where the main character is practically pointing them out for the audience.

It's almost as if they made this series as an introduction to the world of BL however I find the humor is in the fact that BL lovers have seen all of this done multiple times and we know the truth behind the joke that it is overused. I feel like anyone can enjoy this, whether they are new to the BL scene or a seasoned watcher.

I read some reviews where people thought the ML's relationship kinda happened out of nowhere and was too short but I didn't feel like I missed out on anything. The show is completely centered around that idea of the first meeting and so I think it ended perfectly where he finally succumbed to letting that first meeting evolve into asking the guy out on a date. It still came around full circle. I know there is a second season (which I haven't seen yet as I write this) but I feel like this ended on a good note and I don't feel like it needed more. I'll still watch the second season just because I liked this one so much.

Last thought... I could watch the opening song countless times and not get tired of it.

Leia Mais

Second time around

I originally watched this a few months ago but held off writing a review, knowing I would watch it again when the sequel (Drama Special) came out. Part of me wanted to see if I felt the same way about the series the second time around and, for the most part, I did.

The premise seemed interesting and it was nice to have a BL not centered around University life. (Even though Kuea is in University and there are plenty of scenes with him at University, it's not centered around University life, seeing as Lian is older.) But even though the characters are older and supposedly more mature, they sure didn't act like it half the time. Take the misunderstandings that come with school dramas (the ML thinks the other lead is in a relationship with pretty much anyone they talk to) and replace it with a different kind of miscommunication consisting of lying and keeping secrets from each other. This really stood out to me the first time I watched it although it didn't hit as hard this time around. I mean, I can see they had their reasons but those reasons didn't seem like enough to justify the lying to go on the entire series.

It would have been so much better if, after Kuea first calls off the engagement in the first episode, that he actually does what he said he'd do and be his true self. In the first episode, we see him as a total bad-ass, riding motorcycles and playing drums but putting on a masked persona around Lian. Then, when he wants to call off the engagement, he still tries to seem obedient around Lian, even though he supposedly decided that he doesn't want to be married to him anymore and shouldn't care about his opinion. Because, let's face it, Lian was an ass to Kuea when all he wanted was reassurance that their marriage would mean something.

All that being said, I still enjoyed watching the show. There was enough investment in the side characters to help break up the constant lying of the main couple. (Excluding Diao and Yi who had their own issues that pretty much mirror the above.) I really loved the relationship between Diao and Kuea; that best friend who will drop everything (even at the risk of being scolded) to help each other out. And the engineering crew was hilarious. I enjoyed their interactions with each other and always laughed when they all would murmur "sadhu" when Syn would say his words of wisdom. I liked the healthy, professional rivalry between the Pentagon and Gemini and the interactions between Jay and Lian. They had respect for each other even though they were essentially in direct competition. Jay's support of Kuea's music career was nice to see as well... pretty much Jay brought in a good balance of what healthy relationships looked like against all the messed up stuff going on with the two main couples.

The music was enjoyable and catchy. At times I felt like this series was more of an attempt to launch NuNew's music career rather than his acting career but, either way, he deserves it.

Now that I've seen it twice, I don't know if I'll watch it again, to be honest. When the next sequels/spin-offs come out, I may browse through it on those respective couples (with pit stops along the way to see Jay) to refresh my memory on what we've seen of them so far.

Leia Mais

Deserves so much more attention

To be honest, I'm surprised this series isn't rated higher.. it was so good, Is it perfect? No. But it had so much good going on that the bad was next to irrelevant.

So what is this "bad" that I'm talking about? For me, the biggest issue was the editing and pacing. Seriously, there were so many inconsistencies albeit each one was minor. But even if they aren't huge or even all THAT noticeable, if there are too many of them, it becomes more and more distracting.

A few examples (SPOILER ALERT) I remember... the progression of the painting. (you see Phap making progress on it then in a few scenes later, it's back to where it was and for a minute I thought we were watching a flashback). The fact Phap gets fired and then a few scenes later, the rest of the employees are asking why he's not in the office and if he'll work for them after he comes back from Japan. (Like, he was fired. No. No he won't.) And then there was the jealousy and misunderstandings.. it's fine to have it in there but it's like, one minute it's there, then the next it's forgiven without any actual conversation, you just have Phap standing there with cotton candy and a megaphone, and then the next scene, he's all pouty again.

But even with all that said, I can't really fault the actors for any of it. They were all so perfect in their roles and it was fun to see a few of them in such different ways from other series I've seen them in. I very recently watched Triage and it was fun to see Tae in this fun-loving character after such a heavy and serious one. I also remember being fascinated by Singto in He's Coming to Me (another fairly heavy drama) and he was even better here. I've heard SOTUS was good too but I have yet to see that one though, after watching Paint With Love, I'm likely to follow Singto in every series he's in.

But I digress..

I really loved the chemistry between Tae and Singto, and I'm not talking about their romantic chemistry. They fed off each other with their bickering and their comedic timing was so good, I almost didn't even need there to be any romance between them. Almost. Not gunna lie, when they finally hook up, I was super happy. But I would have watched this even if it just turned out to be a buddy comedy, which is saying a lot because I love me some smut. The show was simply THAT entertaining.

The side characters were fun and interesting enough to have the viewer invested in them. There wasn't an overload of multiple storylines going on or an influx of new faces coming in and out. It was easy to follow and each one was relevant, at least to some degree (obviously some more than others.) I have seen Yoon in a few shows before and, while I think he's a great actor, I never truly believed his chemistry with his on-screen partner. This show was better and he definitely looked more relaxed in his role though I feel like the side couple still fell under the more typical awkward BL stigma where "intimacy" is concerned. (I put "intimacy" in quotations because I don't mean smut.. but instead anything that suggests there's romantic intent in their interaction.)

But overall, this was a very enjoyable series and I can certainly see myself watching it again from start to finish.

Oh, and whoever was in charge of Maengmum's wardrobe, I salute you.

Leia Mais

This was so good.

I honestly wasn't expecting to like this series as much as I did, just because of the nature of the plot. But I ended up loving it and it will likely stay in my top 5 for a long time.

The story was well written and had my interest from start to finish. It was a long road to find out who could be trusted in the end but it was worth it. There was intrigue and just enough BL within every episode to feel like it was all moving along. I can't recall a moment where I thought "this scene was unnecessary" or "I guess this was filmed as filler to make the time quota." Everything had purpose and left the audience questioning things which is the sign of fantastic writing.

I want a series with Inspector M... just putting it out there, Universe.

I love how the BL world is including mature storylines that don't focus on high school or University age relationships. I don't know if ML (Man-love) instead of BL is a thing, but I'm here for it.

Leia Mais

Gets more relevant with time..

It happened by pure coincidence but I came to this series in a time when the BL industry is being accused of romanticizing toxic relationships and I found Lovely Writer to be extremely relevant and thought provoking because of it.

Not to make this into a debate-review, but I feel like the show did a decent job of showing both sides of the spectrum. The big question seems to stem from "who is to blame for the way the industry does business?" and, while the show leans toward the corporate side as the main bad guys, it does a good job at showing how the fans demand things to be done and how the corporations have to deal with public outcry. The issue is, in order to give the fans what they want, the corporations need to sell lies and this show does a great job at showing how it is all connected and the lives that are effected on both sides of the argument.

With that heaviness aside, the show still managed to be fairly light and fluffy with lots of comedic moments. I loved how they essentially took the piss out of product placement nonsense while working their actual sponsors into the show.

The acting was really well done though I can't say anything stood out to me as outstanding. It was pretty typical, to be completely honest.

Some of the pacing seemed off at times but part of that I think was due to the writing being a bit all over the place in some parts, especially in the earlier part of the series. I think, for a long time, the writers were trying to figure out what to do with Aoey's character. Is he a bad guy or is he supposed to be part of a secondary couple with Mhok? For me, I felt like he didn't really do anything bad until he made the Instagram Live and, even that, I feel like he did it partially because it was what the industry wanted. He was like the devoted son of the Industry since he was the disgraced son in his home life. Either way, he always got the short end of the stick, just by doing what everyone else wanted from him, sacrificing his own happiness in the process. I would have preferred to see a happier ending for him, especially when the series practically made the viewer sympathize with him for 70% of the time.

I would highly recommend this series and I think it has a decent re-watch value. I can see how multiple views could bring to light more revelations and questions. Is there really a right answer with the amount of people and opinions involved?

Leia Mais