Cutie Pie (2022)

How to do a Romantic Comedy

This show at the core is a romantic comedy. That’s just how I see it before seeing it as a BL, and that’s because there aren’t overplayed scenes or tropes like forced kisses or any tropes. I’ve seen plenty of BL to understand the tropes that are usually sprinkled in. Cutie Pie has all the good ones and acknowledges the bad ones. I really like how they brought up how gay characters (in the context of a commercial) are satirized and usually comical. Hia criticizes the idea and throughout what I’ve seen he’s a pretty solid person overall.

The main couple has amazing chemistry and I’ve been looking forward to Zee being in a new drama. His chemistry never fails, he’s such a talented actor and this project is another example for that. I’m wishing to have more self reflection from his character so he can showcase his full acting potential. The relationship isn’t toxic at all although there are flaws, and Hia has a front to hold up for his image, this show has a lot of potential and I’m guessing it will continue to be a fun watch and not agrivate me.

Kiren’s character is also complex and his alter ego makes the plot all the more interesting. He’s conflicted with his feelings but in a way feels obligated the same way Hia does. Kiren also holds a front but in a different way, he isn’t ready to be himself around Hia because of the business relationship. Kiren is generous and honestly the cutest ‘bottom’ in any BL I’ve seen.

I really like how gender isn’t a big deal in this drama and how the fact that they are engaged isn’t surprising or disgusting as in some BL’s I know they could’ve went that way. So far the complaints have come for the lack of chemistry between Zee and New, which stem from the age difference. I don't see it and either way how you see the chemistry is all opinion and personal preference. One way of the other if you're not into it then you aren't. I see the effort the actors put in and to me there's that spark.

So far I recommend for anyone wanting an easy watch that’s not too melodramatic. Cutie Pie made me laugh out loud many times and has witty and charismatic characters (specifically Kiren and the maid). This drama is super cute, and Kiren is also super cute. I had to pause a few times to take in how cute Kiren is. while Hia is super hot. I can’t stress enough how good Zee looks like in a suit, if you won’t watch it for anything else, watch it because Zee is hot in a suit. Skip through the side couple if you get bored, Zee X New is the breadwinner here.

UPDATE: Chemistry did not disappoint.. as of episode six I remember why I like Zee so much. The acting he is able to do with zero to no dialogue is all up to the capability of the actor and the direction. Zee is so good at giving off loving and concerned looks, he is so talented and with the kissing that talent shows. I'm not just a pervert everyone, he acts through it all and you can tell (just watch episode 6 to get what I mean).. and again by episode 8.. this show really does know what it's doing. The whole relationship is developing so well, and considering Zee felt comfortable enough to try new things for it.. watch to see what I mean but this show really is showing how BL is evolving. Consent wise, dynamics between two people, acceptance, etc.

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“You will fall in love [with Cutie Pie] just the way I do” [Maybe]

“Don´t be like everyone else, just be yourself. I love you just the way you are,
my Cutie Pie!” -

In terms of cinematography, Cutie Pie is a hazardous new standard for all the upcoming series. They made my heart burst with excitement and "second-hand blushing":

This has been the best introduction to a story that had many risks to portray the wrong message. I am so overly satisfied with how they wrote the entire show to be this non-toxic, or at least they tried their best to make it the least toxic. I remember a few scenes that are misleading f.e. when Nuea asked for help in the club. However, these types of stories tend to be even more toxic so I think they have done a good job of minimizing the triggers. Think about it, Lian, a rich guy and his compliant lover, Kuea, who tried everything to not offend "his Hia/ Lian" and even denied his own wishes and identity for Mr Wang/ Lian? That screams to have a high risk of selling another nonsense toxic relationship to the fandom, but it did not. On the contrary, I think they deliver a heartfelt message to the audience. Hear me out. <3


Production / Music // 9.5
Aoftion Kittipat Jampa, one of the creators of DoMundiTV, made another LGBTQI+ series glow up. He is best known for his screenwriting of WHY R U and with “Cutie Pie” he exceeded all my expectations! This man is such a blessing to the film/ entertainment industry and an idol of mine.

The introduction of New to the DoMundi / Mandee family has been such a blessing to everyone. Let´s also agree on the fact that all the DoMundi guys are extremely appealing to the eyes and were well cast for each role, delivering all the vibes and aspects demanded. The entire aesthetic fits the vibes of this story and undermines the characters and the inner colours of each and every one of them. It´s breathtakingly beautiful. The production team and the cast gave their best and put a lot of noticeably effort and affection into this series and it paid off. I especially highlight the arrangement and screenwriting of each scene! Nothing seems unfitting or out of context.

The music is as captivating as the series and the use of each piece fits the overall mood of “Cutie Pie”. I even saved some of the songs to my playlist, which I rarely do with OSTs from romance series. Some of you guys know I am a sucker for thriller/ horror OSTs, so as you can see, even though the soundtracks are the opposite of what I normally prefer, they still caught my attention, nonetheless.


Plot / Story // 8.0
When DoMundi and Mandee channel were releasing information’s about the plot a few months ago, I got worried. The risks this sort of story carries is still quite bothersome, and it can totally shoot in the wrong direction. Nobody needs/ wants another BL that is indirectly glorifying a toxic relationship. Nonetheless, they deliver this story with perfection and casually introduce a beautiful message to the audience:

“Be Yourself” “Don´t sacrifice yourself/ change your identity to be liked by someone” & “Don´t be someone you´re not just to satisfy others” - similar to the lyrics of NuNews OST of Cutie Pie.

Those messages may seem to be an obvious criterium for any show or even any life, but unfortunately, their importance is often not highlighted enough. “Cutie Pie” takes the portrayal of those problems/ issues to another level and even shows the development of a relationship if you start to be more honest and aware of yourself. With what you truly want. Nonetheless, it also shows the obstacles and issues that go hand in hand with being too full of oneself/ arrogant.

I personally just have my issues with the high society aspect, because that´s where those kinds of stories often fail to be realistic. In reality, the person you fake your identity for isn´t necessarily rich or someone with who you´ve been in love your entire life. It is not criticism towards the show, rather just a reason for me, why I don´t give the story aspect a 10/10, despite its very exciting and creative parts.

However, the portrayal of Hia´s observing character and him actually caring secretly without being toxic, rather just playful and ready to have a new start of their relationship and he´s ready to dive in deep with Kuea. Every detail they added, e.g. with the dismantling of the CCTV or that Kuea directly confronts Hia when he´s too full of himself, is beneficial for the overall message of this series and the pureness of their relationship BUT also beneficial if they want to leave a sustained impression on the audience - Admirable work!


Cast // 8.5
As I said before, New joining DoMundi has been such a blessing for everyone. He can act, sing, dance and on top of that, with everything I have seen so far, he seems to be such an incredible and angelic human being. Still, there is some room for improvement in his acting. Maybe it´s just the effect of being compared to Zee all the time, who has more experience.

And his partner in this series, be prepared, Pruk Panich the rising star of the MDL Leaderboards, a talented gift to the filming industry and a blessing to the eyes. HE DELIVERED AGAIN. How does he do it? I don’t know. He can “naturally/ realistically” adapt to all the various types of characters. How can I not be obsessed with his performances? The overall appearance of Lian matches the series in every aspect and I am blushing whenever he appears on the screen. It´s just hard to say if Zee and NuNew were matching because sometimes they did and in some scenes, they did not.

Nat and Max also hit it off, I admire their visual matching the most. They flourish in their roles as Yi and Kon Diao and the audience gets aware of their skills the more the story unfolds. Here I want to highlight Nat´s character as the most warm-hearted person I have come across in a long time and I can´t help but be taken aback by his overall performance. Amazing!

Perth, Poppy, Tutor and Yim don´t disappoint and they deliver them very well. Especially Poppy´s character, Lian´s secretary, was so hilariously relatable. Where do they always get such a talented cast? I hope they reward them well for their outrageous performance.


Overall // 8.5 !!
I feel like I can only loop around my praises for this masterpiece of a series. The storytelling, the screenwriting, EVERYTHING sums up and becomes this beautiful result of paid off effort. At this point, there is no border between the film industry and the LGBTQI+ film industry anymore, except for the fact that a lower budget was able to exceed most other series in visuals and delivery of emotions.

“If you were me, who gets to look at [Cutie Pie] all day, (…), you will fall in love just the way I [did]”

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Not flawless, but delightful!

Cutie Pie seems to be hated or loved, no middle ground, and before I start writing my review I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to give it a try and form your own opinion instead of going down the rabbit hole of threads/comments etc.
The thing is, this is a series that you might detest or watch giggling and smiling like an idiot.

Well, I was the idiot. And I will be the idiot, because I know I will rewatch it. This is to say that if you trust the negativity, you might miss something that can give you joy and fluff.

STORY:
The premise of the series is quite simple: there's an arraged marriage between two dudes. One older, a workaholic that seems quite cold, and a younger man, that tries to hide and present himself as the perfect heir, since he comes from old money. The main theme of the series is that miscommunication can (and will) ruin relationships and that being yourself sometimes requires a lot of courage. I won't spoil anything and I will keep this review vague, but let me say that both Lian and mostly Kuea end up lying because they think that this is the best course of action.
If you can't stand misunderstandings and you're one of the viewers that frequently says "just talk to each other and spill everything!" then this series is not for you. But if you can appreciate a plot that revolves around insecurities, being sweet and in love and sometimes imbeciles, then PLEASE go on.
Also --- I am a fan, but I have to admit it: there's quite a few plot holes. However, I never felt overwhelmed by them, just a bit miffed. I was also never bored.
The side couples are interesting too!

ACTING/CAST:
I loved everyone. Well, almost everyone, but there was nothing that made me think I shouldn't give a 10.
Zee is amazing, New surprised me so much.
This is a series where you won't find dead-fish kisses or awkward stares, or actors that seem bothered or downright disturbed by what they need to do to show that their characters love each other. When I was watching Cutie Pie, I was immersed and convinced that those characters loved each other. And I am talking about ALL the couples.
Love scenes, crying scenes, funny scenes, they were all so well portrayed!

MUSIC:
I enjoyed every song and it's quite obvious that the soundtrack was made with Cutie Pie and its plot in mind. New has a beautiful voice and I was pleasantly surprised by the other artists as well.

OVERALL:
I consider this a damn good series. A guilty pleasure, so to speak. Something that could've been done better (screenwriters, I'm looking at you!) but that is way better than many other series already aired or airing now. Cutie Pie was scrutinized a lot because it was highly anticipated and unfortunately, it received very harsh criticism where other series with worse plot/acting/production value got away in silence.
Again, I will repeat myself: give it a chance. Be aware that it's not perfect, start watching if you're looking for good acting, awesome fanservice and love scenes, a cute plot with silly drama.

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This is a Completely Incompetant Mess

I've been watching BL's since 2019. So not as long as a lot of people. But long enough to get a feel for the tropes, the good stuff and the bad stuff.

I can handle a little bad if there is even one likable character for me to connect with. This drama didn't even have that. It made no sense. The characters were unlikable. Their behaviors were inconsistent. Half of them were complete assholes. No one learns anything until this one 5 minute period int he final episode that retcons all the crap that happened the previous 11 episodes. It's an arranged marriage drama with no actual marriage. The writing was so bad it wasn't even "funny" bad. It was painful bad. This was the first drama I've ever fast forwarded through parts of. Fanservice can save a show for me. If there's something to save. But the fanservice here was worthless because there was nothing for it to rescue. I really disliked this drama. It's the first time I've ever regretted giving a drama a chance.

I wanted to like the idea of the arranged marriage but it was written in a creepy way that made me need a shower.

The music is pretty good, but most of it is cover music. The acting is okay but not anything special. The production quality is high but who only watches a show that looks good but has nothing else?

Give this a skip and don't look back.

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Better than anticipated

Delivered more than expected. First of all, Great performance from the actors, especially new.. i didn't expected this much from him.
Coming to the plot, I don't think its a simple love- hate story between hia and kuea, but in addition, they addressed LGBT community problems from the 1st episode itself. so i think we can expect more from them.
Apart from the trailer, the 1st episode shows that Hia really cares about kuea, but he never admit his feelings towards him, but we don't know why he is acting like this or what is the exact reason behind all this. So i think we have to wait untill the next episode.
Another interesting fact is that, new is really good at english, he speaks really well and he is a good singer. And as we all know zee is handsome and he maintained his aura throughout the episode. This Series is fun to watch and kinda portrayed the one side love vibe(in the 1st ep). And I'm a die-hard fan of maxnat (secondary couples), after watching- y destiny and why are you. I think you'll also fall for them.
Go for it guyz.. its 100% worth watching

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Not a flavorful pie

Well, that was an experience. Yup.......I will always imagine what could have been. My expectations should have been really lowered, and ready to just enjoy the visuals, the fan service, the music, and having "The Tongue" as a guest star, in this incomplete plot, lack of characterization, ode to 1950's housewives, who need their husbands to control everything in their small little world. Especially making sure, that they're "cutie pies, who are never naughty"!

I never realized that folks really enjoy seeing two 20 year-old, college students, being chastised, manipulated, and gaslit by their older lovers.

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Tutoryim saved it for me imo

I mean everyone has their own opinion and if you loved this show good for you! However for me I just wasn’t feeling this show at all but I loved Tutor and Yim’s scenes. I wish to see more of Neur and Syn’s story or a whole show with Tutor and Yim as mains. Maybe it was the whole arrange marriage thing I didn’t like and that was like the whole plot. Also the lack of communication between the two leads and side couple infuriated me throughout the show. Some scenes felt very cringe to watch for me. There was like no substance and felt gimmicky at times. The locations look gorgeous though. Again you should just watch this yourself to figure out if you like it or not as I see zee and new like everywhere so just watch a little and decide for yourself weather you like it or not.

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WOULD IT KILL YOU BOTH TO COMMUNICATE JUST ONCE?

No.

This was not good. At all. How anyone can get behind this is unimaginable to me. Kuea and Lian had no chemistry and just lied to each other the whole time. Chuck a couple of NC scenes in there and you think I’ll forget about it? No.

The plot was even more of mess and the characters were unlikable. Never once did I feel like they “fell in love.” Literally just 12 episodes of pure lies and conflicts that weren’t resolved by the end. Communication does not exist in the Cutie Pie universe!

Yi and Diao were cute but they need to learn to communicate too. They at least showed some feelings for each other.

The only thing stopping this from being a total train wreck was the third couple: Syn and Nuer. I loved them so much! But even so, they hardly got any screen time and were not given the opportunity to shine like the healthy and cute couple that they were! The soundtrack also slapped, I’ll give it that.

But I literally lost my sanity watching this series. I don’t recommend it at all. Someone get BounPrem out of there, they don’t deserve this.

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Utter Toxic Waste of Time!

Unless you want a "How to" for conducting your relationship with controlling, toxic, manipulative, threatening, evasive, lying, abusive techniques, then this drama has nothing to offer. There isn't even a consistent plot to fall back on. It's full of holes, boring in long stretches and it never really deals with the problems at hand. It just waves them away.

Some people liked it in spite of that because of the music. Which was nice but can't fix what's wrong with the writing.
Some people liked it in spite of that because of the hot men. Let's be honest, Max, Zee, Tutor and Perth being hot did not make up for the awful writing
Some people just wanted to ignore the problems and fangirl over it because of the sex scenes. But not me. I signed on for to experience a good story and this just can't deliver that.

Skip this and watch literally almost anything else. My suggestion at the moment would be KinnPorsche, La Cuisine and Where Your Eyes Linger.

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Snogging? – TICK! (10/10) Plot? – not so much.

First impression:
This series has had lots of money spent on it. The locations, the clothes, the superbikes – everything is expensive - and it is shot beautifully. I found the arranged marriage that Kuea and Kilen were so openly told about as children to be a strange and interesting starting point. I actually thought that this was setting the show up to exist in a fantasy version of modern day Thailand where it was accepted as the norm, but it wasn't. Their early interactions (as adults) were intriguingly dramatic and the first couple of episodes totally sucked me in. They don’t communicate well (understatement) and hide a lot from each other. Kuea’s misunderstanding, hurt and subsequent withdrawal seem totally legitimate reactions at the beginning. The ins-and-outs of their trusting each other and then not, and getting together romantically (so convincingly), to then fall into a state of unease again all become a bit confusing / frustrating – but it turns out that’s basically the plot! Once that became clear it felt a little bit limp, but I went in without any particular expectations so it was all good.

Cast:
Apart from a little bit of Zee and a tiny bit of Perth (playing Jay), I hadn’t seen the cast in anything before. I wasn’t aware of the Zee/Saint - CP/SCOY showdown (obvs I am now cos I’m showing off my acronyms) and I hadn’t even come across Boun and Prem. So it’s been educational for me ^^.
I wasn’t keen on the 2nd couple (Yi and Diao), but they didn’t have much to work with. I found it difficult to swallow all that Diao going to “teach” his judo class in secret (alongside the actual teacher XD), to a group of bemused looking kids. That sports centre though! I want a go on the climbing wall.
Zee - I love this man. I'd be happy to watch Zee in flirt mode (permanently activated?) all day, every day. I think the main draw of the series is the chemistry between him and NuNew and their pairing is as good as it gets. Apart from kissing, all Kilen really does for the second half of the show is try and reassure Kuea but I liked it - found it v comforting.

NuNew: blew me away - he's so talented he deserves his own paragraph (really needs to get some sort of BL newcomer award). He looked and acted the part – could not have been cuter - add to that his voice – he was bang on perfect for the role. His stage performances = zero cringe – he was simply a joy to watch - how is that even possible given the set up? Also give him credit for being a convincing crier – though I could have done with less of that towards the end.

Off the boil:
I lost watch-momentum midway through and it went from something I really looked forward to, to something I wanted to feel excited about but just didn’t. I had been watching the episodes as soon as they came out for the first 7 or so, but there a break in the schedule for Songkran/Thai New Year and I never got back into the swing again after that. There were a few things at the beginning that I liked and thought would feature throughout, but just vanished - like Keua’s parental home and housekeeper (she was a cutie!) and Kilen’s workplace. I’m glad Foei was a permanent fixture - he was a highlight - his side-eye in the car – hehehe!! It was the 3rd couple, Syn and Nuer, who saved it for me - arg, I loved them so much: the eye contact, the accidental falling-on-the-face-kiss ^o^. They brought life back to the series when it was flagging.

Slight agitations:
Everything in CP is exaggerated – it’s totally fantasy BL land - but despite taking it all with a pinch of salt I did find the infantilising of Kuea and Diao in some scenes (more with Diao) a bit.… gross. Other than that I didn’t have a problem with the dynamics between the couples. I don’t mind a bit of toxicity! -Especially not when it’s clearly depicted as being “wrong” and they try to right it.
Also mildly agitated (/amused) by Kuea’s interior decor – those massive pics of supercars, him on his bike and the Kilen shrine! XD

Overall:
Wouldn't watch the whole thing again, but I would do certain episodes. Best things about it for me were Zee and NuNew's partnership, and the music.

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