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WHAT THE ??? AND HOW DID I STILL ENJOY MYSELF?
Like everyone has said, this is a train wreck. And yet, I still enjoyed watching it. Well, I enjoyed PARTS of it. If I ever were to watch again (I won't), I'd definitely fast forward through everything but the MCs together and the family scenes.
I had a LOT of trouble getting through the first few episodes. The acting was so wooden and clunky, the direction uninspired, and the script almost non-existent with scenes that were entirely unnecessary, and felt as if they were from an different series altogether (that doggie party lasted waaaaaaaaay too long). It improves (slightly) over time, but through to the end I don't think the writer/director/producer knew what they wanted to make. Comedy, romance, LGBTQ+ issue oriented??? They either forgot, or changed direction or just never paid attention and crammed everything in they could possibly think of.
I'm not a big fan of "camp". It has to be very well done and the comedy has to be very high for me to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this does not meet that criteria. So, for me, the camp elements were unsuccessful and detracted from what could have been a typical queer rom-com. There are a LOT of trans and cross-dressing characters. A LOT. Some are handled well. Some are regretfully used as the butt of jokes. Another example of more is less, where less would have been more.
The story has its moments. Like many BL series, things happen quickly, with little explanation. People change from arrogant, selfish a**holes to sweet, tender caring BF's or from delusional sociopath to penitent friend in one scene. Ace's transformation from horrible boss comes from out of nowhere. They try to explain it in the next episode, but it's too little too late. The Moira/dog-napping etc is just ridiculous. But it does fit with the zany ride they've taken us on. If you can put aside all logic you can get past most of what they attempt here. I'm not saying it's good, but you just have to go along for the ride.
But then we suddenly get an issue-oriented "gay is okay", "love has no gender", "I'm coming out to the world" ending that felt like it was from a third (or forth) series. To end on "I'm a proud gay" was baffling to me. The series did not seem to be leading there at all, so the last few episodes were very jarring. Why is Sky's gay-ness even an issue? His brother cross-dresses in every scene, but Sky is afraid his parents won't accept him being gay???
Was there a script? Many times, even up to the final episodes, it felt like the actors were improvising. They repeat the same lines of dialogue multiple times in the same scene. Was there ANY rehearsal? Actors continually interrupt each other, flub their lines, stand around awkwardly as if they don't know what they're staging should be. Was there a director? Often I felt like they just turned the cameras on and said go. Unidentified Background people are in intimate scenes that should be focusing on the MC.
Miko is okay. I personally think he has a lot of charisma. I forgave his amateur acting because he was just so darn likeable. Aki is very handsome (maybe too handsome? is that possible? but MAN is he an ugly-crier) and there are moments when he surprised me with a good performance, but overall both actors felt like they were in over their heads. I think they'll both improve with time (they did improve over the course of the series). But Sky's MOM. Wow. She was amazing. At times I forgot I was watching a series and felt like I was eavesdropping on a real mom having a tender moment with her real son. Incredible. For the most part, brother Ken is too shallow to really display any real acting chops, but in the one scene where he comforts his heart-broken brother he showed promise. Moira did a fine job. Jelai, Miss Becky, Ace's parents were all just ok.
Kissing and skin. Yup, everyone has mentioned it. I'm a fan, so I was happy to see as much as we did. But even moreso, I was happy to see a MM couple holding hands or just caressing each other affectionately. I did feel like they embraced real gay intimacy more than most. Thanks for that.
Like I said, I won't watch again. Not sure I can stomach S2. I'll probably wait a while and when I need a fix I'll check it out. But I'll go in expecting very little and hopefully will be satisfied.
I had a LOT of trouble getting through the first few episodes. The acting was so wooden and clunky, the direction uninspired, and the script almost non-existent with scenes that were entirely unnecessary, and felt as if they were from an different series altogether (that doggie party lasted waaaaaaaaay too long). It improves (slightly) over time, but through to the end I don't think the writer/director/producer knew what they wanted to make. Comedy, romance, LGBTQ+ issue oriented??? They either forgot, or changed direction or just never paid attention and crammed everything in they could possibly think of.
I'm not a big fan of "camp". It has to be very well done and the comedy has to be very high for me to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this does not meet that criteria. So, for me, the camp elements were unsuccessful and detracted from what could have been a typical queer rom-com. There are a LOT of trans and cross-dressing characters. A LOT. Some are handled well. Some are regretfully used as the butt of jokes. Another example of more is less, where less would have been more.
The story has its moments. Like many BL series, things happen quickly, with little explanation. People change from arrogant, selfish a**holes to sweet, tender caring BF's or from delusional sociopath to penitent friend in one scene. Ace's transformation from horrible boss comes from out of nowhere. They try to explain it in the next episode, but it's too little too late. The Moira/dog-napping etc is just ridiculous. But it does fit with the zany ride they've taken us on. If you can put aside all logic you can get past most of what they attempt here. I'm not saying it's good, but you just have to go along for the ride.
But then we suddenly get an issue-oriented "gay is okay", "love has no gender", "I'm coming out to the world" ending that felt like it was from a third (or forth) series. To end on "I'm a proud gay" was baffling to me. The series did not seem to be leading there at all, so the last few episodes were very jarring. Why is Sky's gay-ness even an issue? His brother cross-dresses in every scene, but Sky is afraid his parents won't accept him being gay???
Was there a script? Many times, even up to the final episodes, it felt like the actors were improvising. They repeat the same lines of dialogue multiple times in the same scene. Was there ANY rehearsal? Actors continually interrupt each other, flub their lines, stand around awkwardly as if they don't know what they're staging should be. Was there a director? Often I felt like they just turned the cameras on and said go. Unidentified Background people are in intimate scenes that should be focusing on the MC.
Miko is okay. I personally think he has a lot of charisma. I forgave his amateur acting because he was just so darn likeable. Aki is very handsome (maybe too handsome? is that possible? but MAN is he an ugly-crier) and there are moments when he surprised me with a good performance, but overall both actors felt like they were in over their heads. I think they'll both improve with time (they did improve over the course of the series). But Sky's MOM. Wow. She was amazing. At times I forgot I was watching a series and felt like I was eavesdropping on a real mom having a tender moment with her real son. Incredible. For the most part, brother Ken is too shallow to really display any real acting chops, but in the one scene where he comforts his heart-broken brother he showed promise. Moira did a fine job. Jelai, Miss Becky, Ace's parents were all just ok.
Kissing and skin. Yup, everyone has mentioned it. I'm a fan, so I was happy to see as much as we did. But even moreso, I was happy to see a MM couple holding hands or just caressing each other affectionately. I did feel like they embraced real gay intimacy more than most. Thanks for that.
Like I said, I won't watch again. Not sure I can stomach S2. I'll probably wait a while and when I need a fix I'll check it out. But I'll go in expecting very little and hopefully will be satisfied.
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