Lovely Writer (2021)

If Only I Had More Stars to Give!

This BL passed my expectations in all my criteria. I admit I am easy to please, but I watch them all (regardless of reviews) and have the experience to compare.
Once again, I give a 10 star to any show that makes me "marathon" it and has a good ending. Check, Check!
Beautiful actors/actresses who can actually bring a character to life, Check
Sexy stuff and kiss scenes, Check Check Check!!!
The ML's were so lovable, but so many other characters made every episode great. I laughed, cried, and felt nervous almost all of the time. I literally wanted to give people hugs multiple times and even cried a couple of times. Yeah, they got me!
I agree that it was great having a different theme and I understand people get tired of the same school-themed BL, but I will admit that I watch them all. I will also admit that I would watch"Bad Engineer" if it was a thing, especially if Sib play's the Bully! I know I can't be the only person here that saw them acting on set and thought, "I want to watch that". I guess you could say it was a dig at the norms, but to a fan like me, it was like an easter egg and just another way this series gave me everything I wanted.

My only regret is waiting so long to watch this. I passed it up many times because the summary reminded me of some of the earlier BL series and movies that I watched but didn't love. This is easily now one of my favorites worldwide. This will be a hard act to follow. I pray 2022 brings it.

Lire davantage

Should be watched at least once

I've known about this series since the first teasers arrived on YouTube. What the trailers promised me was a story about the actual world of BL series made in Thailand: the work behind the scenes, the way the novels are written and published, the relationship between the audience and the creators, and even the harsh truth about the industry. While I do like BL series and I watched multiple shows, I'm not part of the fandom and I can't say that I know much about it, so I was looking forward to this series especially as an eye-opener for what do the actors, the writers and more in general the people in the industry have to go through.

In the end, I got exactly what I was expecting: a cute story that also showed the multiple facets of the BL series that I love so much. From this point of view, this might be considered a flaw: there was nothing about this story that caught me by surprise or that I didn't expect to happen. It was satisfying to watch and a cute story for sure, but I'm afraid that I can't praise much else about the story. A couple of things were left without a clear ending in the end, but I haven't read the novel, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and I'll just assume that there wasn't the chance to show everything properly in just 12 episodes. There's little angst and lots of fluff, which is something that I personally love, but there's also enough conflicts to make the story interesting.
The acting was VERY good, and so was the characterization. The characters have their own multiple facets and I can't think of a single character that was left with a one-dimensional personality. The chemistry between the two main characters was especially good: at no point of the series I felt like there was the tiniest bit of awkwardness in their moments together. Most of all, I was impressed by the acting from the rest of the cast: perhaps I'm too used to be let down when it comes to secondary roles, but everyone did a great job and I felt completely immersed in the story whenever I watched a new episode.

In conclusion, while I wouldn't call this the best BL ever or a favorite, it's definitely a good series that deserves to be watched at least once. I enjoyed myself while watching and it was interesting to watch a show that doesn't follow one of the usual plotlines that have been used so many times in other BL series.

Lire davantage

Ah, yes, quality content.

It was a pleasant surprise, to be honest. I've seen so many dramas already that I'm kind of used to (and a little tired of) seeing the same tropes repeating over and over again, so you can imagine how my mood took a turn for the better once I noticed that the story was opening up to new content. One in every twenty dramas turns out really good!

You know what? I watched this right after TharnType 2 and, honestly, anything you watch after that mess is going to look glorious in comparison. But I promise I am not being bias here. I genuinely, from the bottom of my heart think this drama was a very much needed change in the BL genre and I'm very content with it.

~Story:
Captivating. You got me hooked up once you showed me this wasn't going to be set at an university, so that's a good start. Some of the characters were still studying, but the story itself didn't touch upon that side of their lives. The biggest highlight about it is how realistic and relatable it felt compared to what you may be used to. Either the author/writers had personal experience, or they did their homework very well because this is, to me, the most relatable series so far. We had plot twists that left me shook and a triggering reality that I never understood why people make such a fuss about it. Why do people get so mad to the point of making a scandal when an idol is confirmed to be in a relationship? Probably one of the pettiest things to be upset about and my gay ass will never make an effort to understand people like this because they are not worth anyone's time.

By the way, whatever the hell drama they were recording within the drama was terrible. One part of me thinks the author was trying to make fun of all those dramas that are the same damn thing and, if that's the case, I love her. Get them, Jade!

~Cast:
What is this? Professionalism!? IN THIS ECONOMY!? The audacity!

I always wonder: if you can find actors this good, why do some dramas hire such horrible ones? Make it make sense! Let's go through the main cast, though:

~Gene/Nubsib: From the promo image, I knew Kao was going to do a good job. His performance in Until We Meet Again was pretty damn good and, even though I was left traumatized back then, he didn't disappoint me in the slightest. Up was also very good. A little too much some times, but he didn't let down. The chemistry was excellent between them.
The only time when I felt it was too much is on the episode he got really angry. It was a very petty reason that didn't require such level of anger, to be honest. I think the feelings would have been expressed better if he had just straight up punch Gene.

~Aey: I. LOVE. THIS. ASSHOLE. SO. DAMN. MUCH! This character was so well written and with a solid personality that you could tell exactly what type of guy he was going to be. Bruce did a very good job, specially with his facial expressions that unveiled more about the inner emotions of Aey. There were some things here and there that were missing, like, we needed to have a little bit more of his story to figure out why he did certain actions. For example, I had no clue what were his intentions with the livestream scene.
The episode with the family dinner was so good. I just love how good this drama was at building tension and then making it explode. Props to the director.
I related the most with him because, I mean, I am this character. I already saw my future and I can't complain because I probably deserve it hahahaha!

~Tiffy: Honorable mention because she's so unbelievably beautiful. I love a character that's unique and she definitely was something that you don't usually see often.

~The author: Girl, i just knew it as soon as I saw her. It was probably the most wholesome moment in the series and for some reason I was so close to crying. First of all, she's absolutely adorable and there's just something about her looking at her babies from across the room that felt so touching. I can only imagine the pride one could feel by seeing your characters that you spent so much time working on being brought to life by two amazing actors.

~Editing and Pacing:
I am not a big fan of hour-long episodes, but this one is an exception. Some things were dragged for a little too long and that is the biggest downside of this drama. The editing was good and consistent making the story flow nicely and even. I do wish, though, that they didn't focused on their past on just one episode. I would've preferred if we had bits and pieces through the episodes and then connect those with the moment, but that's just a preference of mine.

Mama this show has everything: Good plot, excellent cast, plot twists, trips to the past, truths and lies, male titties, dat bitch, absolutely horrible haircuts, petty scandals by petty fandom, brushing your teeth without wetting the paste first. I mean, what else could you want? I highly recommend this drama, specially if it's your first time or if you're bored by the copy paste that most BL dramas are lately. This one is genuinely so good.

Lire davantage

Very good and could have been excellent.

First, let me start by saying how much I admire the makers of this series for taking on dealing with the ugly underbelly of the industry they work in. And then balancing this darkness with what is largely a light and lovely love story, with actors that are just right for their parts.
It should have gotten a 10 stars from me, and it would have if it was 10 episodes instead of 12. As much as I enjoyed watching the bad guy crying and sulking, at one point there was just too much of it. The whole series could have benefited from better editing and a tighter pace.
Still, the series was very good and I've never seen a happy ending as spectacular or unique as the one they gave us!

Lire davantage

definitely the best thai BL i've watched!

this has a really really nice story, i love it. all the characters were really well written and i liked how in throughout the series, it subtly points out flaws and problems in most BL series, it shows that what you see on screen is not everything that happens behind. in the end BL actors are still actors, the character they play are just fictional, etc. i liked how it shows problems that happen in the entertainment industry, and as well as the in the lives of those who play LGBTQ+ characters/people who ARE in the LGBTQ+ community. the writer did really well.the cast were amazing, all the actors did really well and the series was well-directed. the actor who played aey really did well, he made me want to punch him in the damn face every time he appeared LMAO. and props to all the crew who helped made this series, all did very well. overall, i love it, and i definitely recommend this :)

Lire davantage

Must Watch !

Since I don’t have enough time to write a long review yet because of time constraints. I’m going to put in some of my main thoughts on Lovely Writer The Series.

I really did like Lovely Writer for what it stood for even if it lacked some things. The two major things that bothered me were:

Some of the Scenes were just so unnecessarily long. They did not need to show us them staring at each other for 10 minutes where they 2 or 3 sentences. We get it. Halfway through the show I started fast forwarding these long crying scenes or staring scenes making the ep take 40 minutes instead of 1h 20m.

“Wolf in sheep’s clothes” was it? By this metaphor I felt like we were going to get… more I guess. With all this mystery and dark aura around Nubsib, I expected more than him hiding the fact that they knew each other. But hey, at least nothing ground breaking.

- Aoey just annoyed the shit out of me. Kudos to the actor really. For me I always find the praise for antagonist actors a bit too much. Because it’s very easy for me to dislike someone and it’s also very easy to be mean. So acting out a bad character isn’t ground breaking for me. But Bruce did so well with Aoey that I really just hated the character to my bones. I think the way it ended with Aoey is pretty good because well, realism thank you. It’s not because you have a bad family background that you can ruin other people’s lives.

- Tiffy did bother me with how much she did not want to be stereotyped but was okay assuming things about Tum and stereotyping him. They never really explained what was happening there but I’ll let it slide.

I am letting any plot holes slide just because what Lovely Writer stood for is kind of revolutionary and maybe even paved the way for others. If you think about it, Lovely Writer took a risk with what they showed, they showed us the reality as much as they could.

I truly think Lovely Writer is a must watch, not for the love and romance plot but for everything else. From toxicity, social media, abuse of power, money, family, personalities, lies, gender norms, sexuality, hopes and dreams, hard work, identity, dangers of shipping and personal life.

Lire davantage

Fresh, New and Just An Amazing Experience.

Starting with the story, this has to have one of the most well written plots I have seen in BL and trust me, I have seen a lot, some of the plots were good but the relationship was toxic and IM SO GLAD THIS SERIES DID WHAT IT DID.

THIS IS GOING TO CONTAIN SPOILERS SO ALL I FAN SAY IS: I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I loved all of the characters, even the antagonists and the depth that each character had made them so much more charming to me. Aoey was such a pathetic and pitiful character, I just had absolutely no way I can hate him, the entirety of the fact that he's a bad person and he KNOWS how horrible he is both breaks my heart and makes me like him more.

I adore how this series tackled some very sensitive topics that are barely talked about and how it simply called out the hypocrisy of the BL industry, from the management and system to the fans, as a BL fan, this opened my eyes so much and I'm so happy it did.

The fact that they addressed how harmful NC scenes are?? Made me so happy, I have never liked NC scenes and honestly I don't think anyone should. The entire bit of "My Engineer" was too real... Really really too real, That shows how harmful those kinds of shows are.

On a random note, I love how Gene commented on BL being "just a fantasy", That was so true on so many levels and it drives me crazy.

Also, Gene's dad is Bisexual? Damn, that's just.. it's amazing, I swear to god, this representation was top notch, I was so happy to see a bisexual character and the coming out episode just made me cry.

ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT TIFFY AND TUM?? THIS TYPE OF REPRESENTATION, THIS TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP WAS ALL I EVER NEEDED IN LIFE. I just completely adore their relationship, one thing I have a problem with is Tiffy's audacity to just assume Tim's sexuality ??? I didn't like that, BUT WHEN HE RAPPED-

As much as I loved this story, I will have to admit that there were some pretty.. boring scenes and stuff that felt like they were empty, I haven't skipped almost any scene but there were some parts that felt empty and kind of unnecessary.

Now for the casting, I LOVED IT. The characters were so perfectly alligned with the actors, I loved every actor and I swear, only like 2 seconds in did I comment on the actors' visuals.

Kao's visuals will never fail to make my jaw drop, He is so incredibly handsome and I honestly loved his acting too.

And Up, Up is so adorable and I just couldn't get enough of his astronomical acting skills.

The osts were also super catchy but I didn't like them as much as I would usually like most osts, REGARDLESS, I loved this show.

AND THE ENDING, THE ENDING MADE ME SO EUPHORIC OH MY GOD I FEEL LIKE IM FLOATING. I swear I was crying not long before the ending, The way the characters broke the fourth wall was so SMART, the creativity of the writer of this show is amazing.

Lire davantage

extra cute

OK SO the plot idea is so great and storyline progressed so well!! i literally LOVED every character's story!! it's extra extra rare for me to feel this way towards a drama, especially BL. I LOVE SibGene, TumTiffy, even Hin's story! every character has depth and their relationship is so HEALTHY. that's a freaking big point right there. At first, i really felt weird towards nubsib bc he seemed to be so stubborn and pushy, but he actually was not :DD

too bad that aoey didn't get his happy ending tho :( ik he made a real big mistake but baby boi had been thru a lot too :(( he just wanted some attention, but why didn't he just accept mhok's love then... this one is confusing tbh, maybe it's bc of the lack of backstory to aoey's past..? i'm guessing that the author has another story that'll e focused on them..

The casting....... NO COMMENT, kao and up's acting was off the charts! they literally did a super great job acting as their character as well as a couple in love. Their love scenes from pick-up lines to steamy kisses were not awkward AT ALL. i was actually quite surprised because there were A DAMN LOTSSSS of kiss scenes but every scene rlly looked superrr natural!!
the other actors and actreeses did a very good job as well!!

Cinematography and filmography was pretty good. the graphic designs was also cute. the ost was actually a bit catchy, but i don't really like it. Literallhy the only flaw it has, i guess?

Lire davantage

A real eye-opener

From the behind the scenes in the production for BL series, to the mutual respect for people's private lives, Lovely Writer delivers a message that was long needed when it comes to the industry and the parasocial relations that follow.

Everyone did an amazing job with their role, but for me personally I found Bruce, Up and Kao to be the powerhouses for carrying all the way through. Their development, growth and expressions from beginning to end were excellent. Acting is strong in this show in general. Furthermore, as stated previously, there are a lot of messages in this show which also act out as callouts. I am surprised at how much they gave these issues the spotlight, as it was much needed and there is that glimmer of hope where people will recognize the rights and wrongs, and hopefully respect people that work in this industry because in the end, we are all people. Another plus is how almost every character plays an important role to the story. Most of the side characters/pairings develop in different ways which also add onto how the plot progresses. There's a variety of different walks of life, personalities and more that aren't the "carbon copy" support characters. And of course, Gene and Nubsib's relationship was wonderful to watch. From the ups (haha puns for days), to downs, the understanding, to setting boundaries, their relationship is one of the most natural I've seen in a show. I mean hey, having picture perfect characters would be boring, right?

The story does have some plot holes that I do wish were covered properly or at least given more time to understand, but for the most part it was well done.

In the beginning there might be people who will find the sound effects annoying (I'm on the bandwagon for that) but please give the show a try, there's more to it than quirky noises. Majority of scenes don't have them.

Overall, a really good series that does a good job at pointing out the main problems while also maintaining separate relationships and growth.

Lire davantage

The Quiet Moments and Serious Conversations

11/10! That's my actual score. (It would have been 12/10 but that scene with the toilet humor just took it too far. Just the idea of..., no thank you.)

I haven't been in love with a Thai show since the second season of SOTUS. I am thoroughly impressed. Crazy thing was, I didn't have any expectations when starting the series. I just watched it because someone mentioned the couple reminding them of another guy/guy couple. Eventually, the show grew on me. The characters and creative direction grew on me. I feel like, if I had more time to wax poetry about this show and not do my coursework, then I most definitely would. Just a highlight of what I loved from this show:

1 - Gene and Sib and their developing relationship through honest communication. (Sib took a while to be honest, but once he did he never lied or hid anything from Gene again.)Their backstory, reunion and ending was well-rounded and I'm happy with their conclusion. I didn't leave the series wanting more because it was lacking or wanting to forget what I saw because it wasn't worth my time. No, all's well that end's well. Everyone got a just ending it seems (Aoey too!) and it was fitting. No issues there.

2 - The music and sound direction. I love the quiet moments in the series. The moments where minimum to no dialogue happens and there's only nonverbal communication and visual interpretations of the emotional atmosphere at that moment in time. The first time it happened after Gene and Sib kissed and the white fadeout screen and Gene writing out the scene for his novel and the audience seeing the kiss happen through that as a memory and flashback was surprisingly creative but unique. So I love it. There's more moments in the series when its quiet and intimate for the people on screen. (Tiffy and Tum were very awkward and hard to read at the beginning of the series but as the show continued they made more sense to me and their interactions held more meaning the more the viewer got to know them. )

3 - The acting! The acting was everything for me. Gene is quite lovely. The actor fits the role perfectly, I think. He was mean, quiet, nonchalant, nervous, naive, shy, serious, silly, mature, kind and complex. He was relatable as a human and I liked that it was easy to understand how serious Gene took his writing and his career. Sib was a firecracker and I loved him for it. He followed through on whatever he said he will do and was so brutal and blunt that it was refreshing to see against Gene when Gene gets shy and polite in public. They mesh well together in that aspect.
The meeting near the end of the series, before the Press Conference was my favorite scene of Sib. Everything he said to Tum's sister was true! All of the side characters were memorable too. Loved Hin and Tum! They suffered too and their pain and struggles were just as gut-wrenching and sad. I had tears for them when they were sad and abused and joy for them when they were happy and successful. I appreciate the attention to detail for their stories and character depth as well. This show really felt layered and more complicated than I originally thought and I love it. (I said that already but it's true.)

4 - The social commentary and serious conservations. The moment in the later episodes of the family dinner after the main couple admits to themselves that they want to be together but they're not sure about coming public with it yet - was tense but realistically harsh and necessary. The conversation concerning the toxic nature of the entertainment and BL industry as well as the political ideology of those of the older or more conservative background have on the topic of gay men and their human rights was a reality check in such a fantastical show. The show didn't go into the debate of legalizing same-sex marriage in Thailand but it did raise some interesting questions about how people in Thailand see BL as just an entertainment phase and not a prelude for more legal rights granted to LGBTQ+ members living in Thailand. (Almost as if some people think that it's all fun and games until someone actually is gay. Props to Gene's mom for being the first to come around and leading the other parents to broaden their horizons so they don't miss out on their son's lives.)

There's more! Oh there's more but this is something I can see myself rewatching over and over again. Plus, that last episode and the last 30 minutes of the romantic scenario scenes were the metaphorical cherry on top! I was smiling so hard the whole time! Gene's outfit looked like it was tailored just for him. I saw the costume interpretations of Snow White, Juliet and Cinderella on Gene and started to clap out loud. My neighbors probably hate me but whatever! They broke the 4th wall in that last episode and the true ending was so touching. So happy for Gene, Gene & Sib and Ms. Rose - who wrote Lovely Writer??

Just brilliant. Take all of my money.

Lire davantage

“The TV station needs to use sweet moments between Nubsib and Aey to promote the series, so as to gain viewership.” aka the tale that exposes how even the people behind the BL industry know the quality of the content they create is not good enough to gain the viewers, so they can only rely on cheap tricks attracting delusional fans.

Lovely Writer had a great beginning and the end, with a rather mediocre middle part. Exploring the romantic relationship between Gene and Nubsib in the context of the BL industry was interesting, but the moment the focus moved from that to a childhood connection, it lost the appealing aspect that made me invested in the story.

Gene was also quite a frustrating character. One would think by episode 11 we would witness some character development, him standing up for himself, not being so easily swayed and manipulated. Sadly, that is exactly who he was till the end of the show.

Nubsib was rather one dimensional. Everything about him revolved around Gene. All his goals and motivations were related to Gene. Each decision he made was influenced by what he thought would get him closer to Gene. Sure, their scenes together were extremely cute, they were an adorable couple, but I always wish to see the characters not only as a part of a relationship, but also as their own individuals.

Many character developments happened in the last episode, and I was questioning where most of it came from? We had a 4 month time jump, so I guess all the self-reflection happened off-screen.

I have to say, after I picked this drama again, I started to appreciate the fakeness of Aey more. His “I’m fine, I’m not sad about Gene and Nubsib” live was truly iconic. Him trying to manipulate the situation left and right was simply entertaining to watch. He was the definition of a professional victim.

One thing I for sure appreciated was how the comments fans were making in the show truly reflected the nonsense some fans are saying in real life, for example “How can prime minister allow this” - I’m sorry, but what does prime minister has to do with 2 young gay dudes dating?

It’s nice to see a BL drama drag the problematic aspects of BL industry, even if the topic was addressed only at the beginning and the end of the show. Discrimination happening during the production, the lack of personal freedom for actors, the overbearing and intrusive delusional fans and many other issues that go even beyond the industry itself.

That said, some things missed the mark for me. Lines like “I might look gay, but I’m straight” - I get the good intentions, pointing out that liking feminine stuff does not make one gay, but framed in such a manner it suggest there is in fact something like “looking gay”.

The thing that bothered me the most was the introduction of the past/kids story. It was borderline inappropriate. While just the scenes did not really cross the line, how they were framed was a problem. Adding music typically associated with romantic scenes, Gene saying they will reignite their past affection (if they were not romantically involved, there would be nothing to reignite) and how salty he was simply because a child from his past did not show up to say goodbye. How Nubsib kept saying he was already in love with Gene back then. All that context made it borderline wrong. Gene was a teenager, Nubsib was a child - it did make me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Acting wise, Up delivered what he was asked to deliver and what the audience might want to see. I loved him in the role of Gene, even if at times I felt frustrated with the character. Kao… looked nice? For sure he can sell the confident flirty look, but sadly, I was not convinced by more emotional scenes. Overall, the whole cast did well. My favorite ones were definitely Up and Zorzo.

Overall, Lovely Writer has some amazing elements that were truly refreshing to see in BL. It falls back into some stereotypes and cliché bits, but at the end of the day, it was quite an enjoyable watch.

Lire davantage