BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same.” – Flavia Weedn
This I would not call a ‘BL’. Perhaps it should be labeled more of an elegy about a deep personal connection. It is a story of two men smitten with each other but calling it love may be on a higher plane than actually exists for either of them. One has been so badly burned by love that he might be permanently scarred by its rejection while the other is too full of himself and his own arrogance that he is incapable of feeling it on any level. Until the realization of how much his own pomposity has destroyed any semblance of it.
If anything, this is a toxic love story. Not pretty and not meant to be. Criticisms of this series are all valid but that does not take away from its validity. Nor its brilliance. This series is real, honest, brutal, and contemporary. It is a middle-class love story about two rather baneful individuals who found each other at the wrong time in the right place. Let me explain.
Andre (Sebastian Castro), from the Philippines, has just accepted an award for his short film in Hollywood, CA. Unfortunately, because of his naïve and own arrogance, Andre is conned into thinking that a Hollywood producer is going to give him some inside opportunities for a fee. In so doing he literally wipes out the savings his mother has given him. It does not take long for him to realize that if he wants to find this guy and try to get his money back, he has to stay in Los Angeles and/or at the very least get a job to try and repay his mother back. By serendipitous luck, he manages to get to room with Joshua (Ellis Gage).
Andre is a self-centered, narcissistic, irresponsible, impulsive, short-sighted individual who looks at the world only through the prism of his eyes and is incapable of stepping into the shoes of others – until it is too late. He seems to have a string of bad luck following him. Almost like a Sad Sack. Meanwhile, Joshua, to a fault is a do-gooder, self-sacrificing, fiercely independent, proud, and wounded in love to the point he might not ever be able to recover. Terrified of letting his guard down as he knows what the consequences might look like if he does. Yet, despite the massive schisms between the two of them and their personality clashes, there is palpable sexual tension between them. Is it love? No, not really. Even they recognize that but a certain need to be with each other that makes absolutely no sense. There is an attraction that needs to be met and a relationship that will be always complex, complicated, and intense.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? Andre has a ‘beshie’ back in the Philippines that is as unorthodox and beautiful as the term best friend implies. Her name is Mikyla (Bombalicious Ecklaver) a drag queen in the Philippines. She is the conscious of Andre and his reality check. While dealing with her own pains as a drag queen, she manages to put the brakes on Andre’s wallowing into his own ego despair to remind him that in essence the world does not revolve around him and how can he help Joshua if he cannot help himself. She is his anchor. She plays the part with both humor and a heavy dose of gay reality. A special shout out also must be given to Lotlot de Leon, who plays Andre’s mother. While there are no scenes with mother and son together but only video chat, she manages to capture the complete essence of a hard-working, never complaining, accepting of life, Filipina who devoted her life to her son, and will continue to do so until the day she dies (even if her son seems ungrateful at times). She captured those essences in her face and movements and her overall performance is a work of art, even if brief. Kudos to both these remarkable characterizations. In fact, kudos to all the support casts; they are all so extraordinary.
This is not your typical BL series. The actors are a bit older, the screenplay unorthodox, and the story seemingly implausible. The two main characters are not likable characters indeed. Andre is self-centered and self-absorbed while Joshua is clearly depressed and wants to be loved so badly that he is even willing to accept it from Andre. Living in the Los Angeles area, I can categorically tell you that most of what is seen is so accurately portrayed. Even though there are millions here and it is so spread out, it is conceivable to find your father on the street accidentally as Andre did. (I have run into people from my hometown in Pennsylvania having lunch at Canter’s Restaurant on Fairfax on a Saturday afternoon). You can be labeled Chinese even though you are not. There is no shortage of bigots even here in Los Angeles. Con artist swim through Hollywood like sharks looking for unsuspecting victims. And, I am sure, while not unique to Los Angeles, “it’s always about the money” when it comes to relationship enticements. Perhaps more so here as it is more conspicuous and prominent.
Yet, this is their story with all its flaws. Two people found one another and, God knows why, briefly had a relationship and are apparently struggling via long distance to still work on it. To put into perspective, I want people to understand the magnitude underlying the emotions of this series: Andre lost his savings by deception, was rejected physically by his father, spurred by his friend and perhaps lover, got beaten up because he is Asian, while Joshua, is in a thankless job, rejected by his family for being gay, been taking advantage of not only once but nearly twice for being nice, and continues to try to hold his head above water emotionally. Andrea is back in the Philippines trying to screw his head back on tighter and become human.
There is great sadness in this series but also hope. Despite everything, this is a story of human tenacity and fortitude. It is not splashy, cute, or pretty but oh God it is real. Especially living in the City of Angels.
It is so raw and organic. Give it a look with an open mind. For me, this is one of the better ones for 2023 and it will no doubt be in my Top Ten for this year.
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