BLISS RATING: ★★★★
“Love is a misunderstanding between between two fools.” – Oscar Wilde
This is an incredibly fun and interesting BL series that is a joy to watch. It is a humorous story about love connections. Bach Duong (Do Hoang Duong), is helping his friend obtain an autograph from her favorite singer, Nhat Nam (Cody Nan Vo). Through a series of crazy setups, Duong ends up in his room and tries to have him understand that he is only there to get an autograph. Nam is taken in by him and finds him interesting and intriguing and finds out where Duong works, which is a coffee shop. They begin to become fast friends and it is obvious that Nam is falling hard for Duong. But Duong is unsure and feels that perhaps he might not be the best choice for Nam.
Despite the obstacles, Nam invites him to go to his parent’s place as his father is sick and he wants yet again to try and patch their strained father-son relationship. Duong is extremely affable and in his boyish way manages to win over the father and helps Nam see that no matter what he needs to try and work on the relationship with his father. A stumbling block however is Nam’s manger name Mai Linh (Linh Mai), is trying to do everything to break them up as she feels it would be a bad image for two guys to be in a relationship especially with all the screaming females that are after him. She is supposedly looking out for his best interest but there is something more sinister about her actions.
Duong’s co-worker at the coffee shop, Ta Ha (Ngoc Phaoc), is constantly getting Duong and Nam in trouble as she is a vlogger and is posting videos and stories about their relationship. She secretly develops a relationship with Nam’s assistant named Hoang Minh (Ba Vinh). They tried to keep their relationship a secret but could not. They are a comical couple as he is completely under her spell and yet cannot seem to do anything right. All of these are set ups for some funny moments throughout this series.
But Duong tries to act disinterested in Nam and the more disinterested he is towards Nam, the more Nam gets jealous and tries harder and harder to win him back. Duong and Nam are photographed kissing publicly and the culprit to why this was so is Mai Linh. She tries desperately to break up the relationship between the two of them but fails. She is obviously in love with Nam but as he tries to tell her, “I see you as a friend and a close colleague.” He eventually has to terminate her services with him.
There is a happy ending to this because what his assistant proposes is that Duong become part of the music video and this will introduce him and the hope that the public will accept this BL music video, which they do. Enough money is raised (some of which comes from Nam’s father) to complete the music video with Nam finally living with Duong. (The music video is online and is cute, even though I am not its target audience, it was fun to watch as these two guys have a special bond).
This is a story of love development with surprisingly good acting and a nice story to it. This does not appear to be a big budget production but that does not take away from its charm. There is something endearing about these characters, and they play their roles with surprisingly conviction and a mellowness that draws you in and keeps you drawn in. You cannot but help to be rooting for these characters to succeed and be couples.
This is just something so magical for me about Vietnamese BL series that makes them so sweet and incredibly watchable with this one included. Perhaps it is the incredible chemistry these two actors have for their roles and themselves. They never overplay the parts and give such solid performances that make them credible. Plus, they are undeniably handsome, and both have a boyish charm about them that is infectious and pulls you into their world. What I further like about Vietnamese BL series is the down-to-earth quality of their characters and the way they portray them. They are not untouchable, they are not perfect, and they are not flawless. Yet they come across as whole people where the good does out way the bad in them.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? I am almost reluctant to name one as I do think that the two main characters are so very good. But I just loved Ngoc Phaoc as Ta Ha. She is so incredibly annoying and controlling but she added such a deliciousness to the whole concept of an annoying sidekick. Her portrayal of this bubbling, at times, inept and not very astute person is endearing and without her interference, the relationship would not have happened. She brought such a freshness to this role that normally for me I would have found annoying and irritating. Of course, she was irritating but it was all for a single focus and that was to get them together, even before they knew they needed to be together. Her character was likeable, and she made that so evident in the performance. I was surprised who much I actually liked her performance. Despite her bumbling attempts, she was sincere. And she displayed sincerity with a believable intensity.
I do wish the translations were a bit more on target, but this is not their fault. We are not their main audience as we are mere observers here. But I want them to know that of all the countries that put out BL series, Vietnam is top ranked in my book. Why? Because they are human. Solid. Well-acted. They do not cloud the story with unnecessary side stories or tangents. The characters are real, relatable people. The antagonists are not bad people just misguided. Sure, the production could be better. The acting could be more intense in certain spots. And yes, I would hope to see more intimate scenes in which they begin to show their love with each other rather than simply talk us through it. But none of that negates the effectiveness of the message of this series nor detracts from its simple warm and funny style. So enjoyable.
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