BLISS RATING: ★★★★
“Forget the butterflies. I feel the whole zoo when I am with you.” – Unknown
Formulaic, superficial, and unfocused (well, sort of). But sshh, I liked it – a lot! This BL series is an obvious low-budget, cookie-cutter story with stereotypical characters, and so-so acting. But what was great about this story is that it is NOT in a university, or filled with rich people or fancy cars, and everybody seemed to be cut from the same human cloth. It is in a rural area with a dialect I am not familiar with (or did not sound like your typical series from Thailand). I am not Thai but just enjoyed hearing a dialect of Thai that is apparently from a different part of Thailand then where these stories are normally produced. I am assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that they are close to Laos.
The story involves two brothers who live with their father who by the way steals this entire series, as I shall explain later. He is absolutely adorable. The older brother is Sek (Billy Sompasith) who has a girlfriend that was once a girlfriend to Tak (Pracha Phm). Tak tries to warn him of her conniving behaviors but of course, Sek does not listen and must find out the hard way that she is a player. Through all of that, they develop a connection and do a lot of bantering with each other that is filled with so much sexual tension you can cut it with a knife.
What I liked about this series was its willingness to go there. There were not afraid to show some intimacy with each other in bed. Albeit the usual after they get drunk, they have sex. But they showed them kissing and making out which is refreshing and nice to see, rather than a lot of innuendo fluff. In fact, at the end of the evening, Sek complains why did he have to ‘hurt’ him so much while rubbing his behind. Awesome! It was funny, cute, and we got it! Without spoiling too much, they do end up together at the end.
The other couple is the younger brother of Sek, Ko (Tao Phichairak). He has had a crush on Teng (Virgo Nakharin) for a long time. Teng is a nice guy who takes Ko under his wings but is ‘straight’. So, Ko is told that a shaman in the woods can give him a magic poison that would turn Teng gay if he drank it. Not undaunted, Ko and his ‘Single Girls’ Club’ goes into the woods to locate this shaman. Along the way, they run into Tak and his friends (what they are doing in the woods late at night is anyone’s guess) and decide to go along in this adventure.
And here is where it gets nuts and goes off the rails. They run into a female ‘ghost’ (which is corporal) and the only way to get past her is for her to be ‘raped’ by Tak, which she willingly accepts and allows them to pass. One can hear them screaming with delight. Huh? Normally, I would be hammering at this point and saying that rape, even in jest, is not funny but it is obvious that the ‘ghost’ wanted it this way and was a willing participant. Now, why this happens is beyond me as a Westerner and perhaps I do not know enough Thai folklore or customs, especially in what appears to be close to the Laotian border, but I found it funny even if was an incredibly silly situation. Creatively, it sure was an original way of getting rid of a ghost. I have never heard of disencumbering a ghost by raping them. Yet, in this contest, it somehow did not seem out of place and everyone was fine with this solution.
In fact, it seems to be particularly erotic for some members of the Single Girls Club because they imagined themselves with Tay and it was difficult to contain their excitement. There were some funny innuendoes here. Ko gets the poison and eventually Teng drinks it, but it seems to have little effect on him. BUT by Ko’s tenacity and efforts, Teng begins to realize that he really is and indeed wants to be with Ko. Here again, after Ko gets drunk, he takes advantage of Teng as Teng came to help him get into bed.
Like the first couple, this series was not afraid to show lust and kissing and passion. I was taken aback as to how easy it was for Ko to seduce Teng, who did not protest and was a more than willing participant. Again, without giving to much away, these guys also end up as a couple and are an endearing one at that.
The rest of the support cast are all pretty good. The Single Girls Club are Jew (JJ Jungjing) [who by the way is stunningly handsome in real life] – too bad his character is so much a parody), Bee (Puifaiz Atcharaporn), and Pok (Bank Jakkapad Pusirnual). These three are obviously for the comic relief and in some cases, they pull off some funny scenes. But they are way too much over the top caricatures of what gay people are supposed to be and the female hanger on. Jew is way over the top effeminate and made to look clownish, Bee is well Bee, and Pok is your heavy-set side kick to be made fun of. I disliked these three not because of their acting but because of their representations. They are surprisingly good in their roles and I say this because they did not miss a beat and their comedic timing was nearly perfect. They are way deeper people, but we never get to see that side of them. They can show a genuine interest in their friend Ko and are committed to him and trying to get him to be with Teng. It is too bad that it had to be so farcical sometimes.
Tak has a couple of sidekicks that are so funny and are kind of entertaining. They are Pingpong (Aorlasin Chindala) and Tot (Ter Nithiroj). They are constantly with him and for some unknown reason say the same things in unison. They seem to know what to say together and say it all the time together. It is bizarre but, in a way, offered some very funny situations because by doing that they appear more menacing than they really were, and it worked. It was quirky but kind of entertaining.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? Unfortunately, the person who is so effective and really shines in the series is the father, but I cannot find who played that part. He is a father confused by his sons yet is astute enough to know what is going on. While he is not sure how to handle them, he knows that there is nothing that will ever stop him from loving them or accepting them. He is a person who grouses at his sons to correct their behaviors especially in how they treat guests (their friends), but he warmly greets them and makes them feel as if they are welcome. He is the ‘salt of the earth’ and seems like he lives off the land and is deeply happy in who he is. There are some poignant moments sprinkled with humor when he talks to a picture of his deceased wife. He tells her that he thinks both sons are gay and even if he had to kill them (jokingly), they would still be gay no matter what he would do. But on the bright side, he does not have to worry about a dowry. He does confront his sons about their gayness but does so only for finding out if he is misunderstanding their situation or not. He does not scold them, pass judgment on them, or in any way try to ‘fix’ them. I just loved this characterization of a father. Kudos for playing the part with such subtleness and letting us feel that all will be ok. He is omnipresent as a father but never overshadows his sons. His presence is felt in all his scenes and he commands the production when he is in it. In other words, he plays the ‘father’ with total conviction and it shows.
Look, this is not a deep series. The acting is not first rate, but it is not bad. They seem wooden and stilted at times, but they are playing their parts with purpose and comfort. They are all so incredibly good looking, handsome, and beautiful. There is no lack of good looks here. Tao and Virgo seem way more comfortable in their kissing and embracing scenes and even with their other scenes together. Thy were able to display a real chemistry between the two of them and when they looked into each other’s eyes, you could see the connection. Not quite magical but pretty close to it. When Teng had to tell his girlfriend Nuan that he loved her but also loved Ko, she asked him to choose. He could not. Nuan knew then who his choice was. His expression on his face was quite moving and I genuinely bought that while he did not want to hurt her; his heart belong to Ko. He displayed that and for me it seems real. While Billy and Pracha did have some good moments together, especially when it came to the bantering scenes together, it lacked a genuine connection to each other. While their bed scene together was intense and it was good, it lacked a real connection.
When they finally connected as a couple, Pracha was a bit more convincing in playing his part of feeling the connection but Billy seemed hesitant and lacked a real commitment to being with him. It just did not seem genuine or the chemistry between the two was not tight or convincing. The kissing (outside of the bed scene) seems mechanical and a bit too wooden. While I cannot be sure as I do not know their professional backgrounds, these guys all seemed a bit stilted and they could have benefitted from an acting coach to get them over their hesitancies and to get them to display more intensity in their feelings. This is NOT a criticism but a suggestion to help these guys become better actors in their craft.
I hope these guys get a lot more roles. They all made this short series, in a very weird way, work. I also appreciated that it was not at a university setting, or a big city, or wearing the fanciest of clothes. This was quite a relatable story to everyday people who live down here rather than in sheltered environments like universities or surrounded by wealth.
Kudos. I liked this series. Not ashamed to burn in hell for saying that. It is a great way to spend a fun time in an afternoon when it might be raining or snowing.
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