BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“When I look into your eyes, I see the mirror of my soul.” – GoodMorningMyLove.com
This is a continuation of the story You Are My Sunshine, based off a previous series called Stupid Boys, Stupid Love. The one thing that this series has going for it, along with the others, is its total doggedness towards its story. I have nothing but complete admiration for everyone in this production.
In this brief series, Khoa (The’ Bang) and Truong (Khai Van) are in a relationship to the point where Truong is taking Khoa to meet his mother, (Tran Chi). Initially wanting to tell his mother about their relationship, Truong is blind-sided by his mother’s questioning about when he is getting married and having grandchildren. Unbeknownst to them, Quyen (Thanh Truc), followed them to Truong’s mother and introduces herself as his girlfriend. She simply cannot accept that Truong does not want her and is in love with Khoa.
Coming to their rescue is his ’brother and sister’, Nhat Minh (Ngoan Trong) and Onah (Oanh Oanh) and Minh’s boyfriend, Trong Nghia (Hoa Dan). Onah is not going to have Quyen attempt to thwart the relationship between Truong and Khoa and is irritating Quyen at every step.
Unfortunately, Quyen manages to position the mother into overhearing a conversation between her son and Khoa and she now realizes that they are in a relationship. But Quyen, thinking she has the upper hand, will put a stop to it. However, Trong Nghia happens to witness what Quyen did and tells Truong to talk to his mother immediately. The wonderful exchange between Truong and his mother is a thing of beauty to watch.
While the mother would like to have grandchildren, she wants foremost for her son to be happy and to be with the person he loves. And at the end says to her son, “If it is not Quyen, I am happy.” Even she saw through Quyen’s phoniness. I thought that was not only humorous but an astute observation. Oanh gladly packs Quyen’s bag and in a huff, she leaves.
This is such a charming, straightforward series. Sure, it is low budget with production issues. But what this series has is what is lacking in many other BL series. It has heart, commitment, and a strong human connection to the characters. It just feels real. It has soul and a complete likeability for its characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this short series but do wish it was longer for more character development.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? One thing that is obvious in these series is the presence of strong-willed female characters. This one is no exception to this theme as well. In fact, you have two. The good friend of the family, Onah, played by Onah Onah is a force in and of herself. She sees right through Quyen immediately and she can match acridity with Quyen’s acerbity. She is a strong-willed character and is portrayed that way by Onah Onah. But who really steals the show is Tran Chi as the mother. Her characterization of Truong’s mother is so, as we like to call it, ‘salt of the earth’. Initially shocked that her son is gay, she was more disappointed that he did not tell her initially. Tran Chi shows us that wounded look, not with anger, but with disappointment. Subtle but so real. In addition, she was obviously not charmed by Quyen’s phony play for her. But she never let on that she knew Quyen was bogus. That tender scene between mother and son was so touching and sentimental that words do not really have to be spoken to get the message. Her acceptance, as best she is able to display it, is so genuine and real that it makes it very poignant.
I get that this is a simple basic story of love between two young men who are so new at all of this that they are still trying to figure it out. And so are Trong Nghia amd Nhat Minh. That is what gives it its charm. In its quiet way, it shows that changes are occurring, and acceptance is perhaps closer than we think. They present this acceptance in a soft, relatable, quiet tone and it begins to feel as if gay relationships are okay. In other words, they normalized them to the extent that they could. Just enjoy and be entertained.
Leave a Reply