Inn Love (2021)

Not Great. But not awful either.

This is a light and whimsical comedy-romance. There is no huge drama, and the happy ending is sappy enough to please even the most committed lovers of BL "happy ever aftering."

Pros:

-- The lead actors created quite believable characters. Until they found each other, Gino was unsure and nervous and had no idea what he really wanted. Alex was moody and lost in his past. I just wish the blossoming of their love had been a bit more gradual/subtle.

-- Oh, and yes, Migo de Vera has a world-class, A-No 1 body, and doesn't mind showing it off. They left me gasping in the final ep. when the scene changed to him mostly naked in the bed. Such perfection is rare indeed. (Not that anybody noticed, but he also has very attractive eyes.....)

-- The music was very enjoyable. It was light and very catchy -- it perfectly suited the mood for the series.

-- The messaging was good. Alex's little soliloquy at the end about "love is love" was really quite meaningful. And I like the very Pinoy framing of some of the discussions which situated gay love securely in a context of divine benevolence. That alone is a lovely and very explicit rebuttal to the homophobia espoused by many organized religions, and it left me cheering. But the messaging was a mixed bag......see below.

Cons: The messaging got to be too heavy at some points. Especially in the wedding scene. Overkill.

-- The plot was weak. You never got a good feel for how Alex suddenly started having feelings for Gino. Several of the episodes in the middle were just aimless wandering around the resort. And then the end......just toooo unbelievable that after GinEx had been together for precisely 3 months they were prepared to have a big, emotion-filled wedding ceremony......but they knew nothing about it!! I have to say that the concept of a having a surprise wedding (a surprise to you!) thrown by your friends is something totally new. I hope it doesn't catch on in real life.....I can see that sort of thing ending a lot of relationships.

-- The minor characters were not effectively developed. A couple of them (Kelly the room-maid) were almost offensively stupid. Others were kind of intriguing, but you never got to know them at all. And who was the middle-aged guy, anyway, who stimulated Alex's sudden realizations about the nature of life? Talk about the Deus Ex Machina who solves all the problems.

-- Production values were dodgy. There were sound and light issues at several points.

All in all, I think this is worth watching, but probably not a top priority. The last two episodes are key....so if you want to do some skipping, just watch the first two and the last two episodes. The ones in the middle don't add much.

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