Vice Versa (2022)

A meandering mess

If plots are skeletons of stories then Vice Versa is full of broken bones. It’s a meandering mess that doesn’t have a red thread to guide it. The idea of traveling to a parallel universe is an original one, considering how most BLs barely expand the university setting but unfortunately its execution falls flat because it’s used as merely a concept for the setting rather than a mechanism for plot progression.
The rules of how and who excatly travels between universes was never made clear as weren’t the rules of how to return to your own universe. To get back you have to find a person who‘ll be your portkey and then start dreaming. How is this person determined? How to find them? No idea! Apparently that person will be somehow connected to you or the body you inhabit in the parallel universe but it’s never truly explained how the supposed connection works.
As for the reason to these exotic travels? Well, apparently people travel to learn something and our main characters traveled to learn about love and that’s the most nonsensical idea the writer could’ve come up with! Why did they have to travel to another universe for that? They literally could’ve done the exact same things and learned the exact same things in their own universe. In fact it would have been much better if they never traveled anywhere and Talay got to know Puen by working with him on the same set. Nothing would’ve changed, the same interactions would‘ve happened.

Now let’s talk about the meager semblance of a plot point that there was: the filmmaking shtick which btw was painfully oversimplified in its portrayal.
Talay wanted Pakorns attention, so he used his position as Tess to approve of Pakorns script. That far it kinda makes sense, I can suspend my disbelieve for that. It crossed the line to unbelievability though pretty fast because our young friend group apparently managed to make a feature-length film in a span of only a couple of months (lol). Their movie bombed - no surprise there, they’re amateur filmmakers with no experience whatsoever. Also, it’s impossible to release a full feature-length film in a span of a couple of months. Maybe that’s why it bombed? They half-assed the job because that’s the only way a full fledged movie could ever be released in such a short amount of time. It’s honestly hard to say because none of the reasons why it failed were explained or even mattered in the great scheme of things. Then they decided to give up bc apparently that’s what determined people do but then they changed their mind again bc they seemingly change their mind at the drop of a hat, for very shallow reasons.
Talay and Puens romantic development was done very superficially too. How or why did they fall in love? Who knows. Their feelings don’t ever go beyond the kitschy „I love you“s bc the story wanted to zoom in on superficial fluff rather than explore the depth of their feelings.

Considering all this silliness and naïveté, Vice Versa felt more like a childrens series, apart from the insertion of gratuitous kisses of course, and tbh I could forgive it if it was targeted at preteens but then again I don’t think it was.
The twist at the end of ep 10 was probably the most interesting thing that had happened but was never truly explored in depth or even explained at all. Weirdly enough it had no real impact on the story either - again, no surprise there since that would actually introduce an interesting plot point to Vice Versa and that clearly wasn’t what the screenwriters ever meant for this series to have.

Another thing that’s hard to ignore was the unending string of sponsorships that Vice Versa needed to include. Considering that 11 out of 12 episodes were filler I can’t say the product placement took away important screentime but it did make the series look like an extended string of ads instead of an actual continuous series. Added to that, the actor’s way of promoting the products felt like a Bad Buddy 2.0
While the ads in Bad Buddy were funny and creative, Vice Versa pretty much copied them, which made it feel forced and annoying. Pat and Pran cleaned each other’s faces? Talay and Puen needed to clean each other as well. Pran shoved his black inhaler halfway up his nose? Talay or Puen needed to do it as well.
I understand that Vice Versa wanted to ride on Bad Buddy’s coattails which is obvious by Jimmy being the ML and by the insane amount of sponsored products it had gotten but there is a reason why copies almost never get as good as the original. It seems Vice Versa bombed in Thailand and I’m not surprised.

The plethora of random GMM actor‘s cameos and different BL lines that were taken from their more popular BL works (and were used as passwords?!) were distracting at best and felt like GMMs biggest ego stroke. Why? Were they too lazy to think of their own original memorable lines for Vice Versa?
Anyway, the acting was mostly ok, Sea is a great newbie actor but I think Jimmy isn’t quite ready for a main role yet. On the first glance he seemed to be doing ok but as his scenes went on, it became obvious that he’s struggling, especially in longer scenes. Also, he has a pair of the deadest, most unexpressive eyes I’ve seen on an actor, which didn’t help.

Now onto the positives: I liked the idea of parallel universe traveling even though it sadly amounted to nothing. I also really liked the soundtrack. Sea is a good actor and I do hope to see him again in a different and better series this time. Visually Vice Versa was aesthetically pleasing to look at, as the colors were nice and vibrant and the settings and moods were well conveyed. I liked Ohm and Nanons cameos bc they reminded me of Bad Buddy and my boy Neo made every scene he was in actually enjoyable.

In conclusion:

Vice Versa consists of 11 filler episodes full of forced romantic interactions and kitschy lines, interspersed with product ads. My favourite moment was when Talay ordered his sponsored chicken but actually ran away to find Puen before said chicken arrived. A true twist! bc I didn’t expect him to abandon a sponsored product like that.

I’m usually not a big fan of Jittirains stories but this one has to be her worst one yet..

Lire davantage

I love this series!!

I will leave the review for each part:
-The story: It's a really good story and I do enjoy it, there are a lot of moments make me feel emotional. The problem is like others people said: too much ads, sponsor, it makes me feel a little boring and drag but I understand that they need budget. If we removed all the ads scenes, it would be so perfect.
-The quality of the series: the colors, the details, the way they edited the film is so good and beautiful.
- The casts: Amazing, since Jimmy and Sea are newbie actors, they did a really good job here. I love the others actors and actresses as well.
-Music/OST: I have to say this, the OST of this series is so good, there are 4 songs and all of them are on my playlist now.

Lire davantage

Warmest Feeling BL Series

In my opinion, the vice verse storyline is very good and both lead actors did very good jobs in all ways for newcomers.

The final episode was very romantic and felt very warm and loving until the end.

Each BL series gives us a different feeling and a different storyline, but Vice Verse gives us the warmest feeling and how love grows into maturity.

I can feel that the character are truly there for each other and love each other so much.

You can't doubt either of the lead actors (Jimmy or Sea) have very good chemistry with each other. And they perform very well in all ways.

I can feel that it is a great success for them both for the first series. Keep it up! Great job, guys! Thank you guys!

(My favorite GMMTV BL so far, and even my favorite BL overall)

Lire davantage

The series couldn't find it's 'portkey'

yeah there...I said it ! If you compare it with bls that has been released this year (so far) , vice versa's plot is quite refreshing and It had so much potential to be one of the best series (this year) but oh well, the team said...not today! The show had everything they needed , but they failed to figure out how to put that to work.

PUENTALAY/JIMMYSEA
The story is about Puen and Talay who get transported to a different universe and wake up in the bodies of tess and tun respectively. They later find out that they are each other's 'portkey'. They start living as tess and tun, working on projects, spending time with their friends, having cute / fluffy moments with each other, fall in love and that's that. Honestly, as the show progresses , the ' different universe' thing is flushed down the drain, you barely see them struggling or trying to figure out things. It doesn't feel like they are living as someone else. They then go back to their universe just like that.
There was barely any actual plot. THEY MADE THE SERIES JUST SO THEY COULD PROMOTE THEM PRODUCTS. LIKE THAT SHIT WAS FRUSTRATING. There were more product placements than the plot.

I loved the chemistry between the actors though, THEY SERVED. If it weren't for them, I don't think the series would've worked out the way it did and people would rate it this high. JIMMYSEA >>>

TESSTUN/OHMNANON
It was made clear that they were cameos but I still did NOT understand what were they trying to do with these characters. There were so many things that are left unanswered. The reason they fought, the reason why tun had a crush on tess, how did tun manage to work as puen [who is suppposed to be a famous actor] what happened when they went back to their universe, etc. I mean, they do show them smiling at each other at the end and stuff but do you think that's enough?
I also want to talk about Tess' character. It is implied that Tess is a brat and Talay lost his job because of him. That part of the story literally made no sense, it seems as if they just made tess the 'villain' (what he did still wasn't enough to call him that because they didn't elaborate what exactly he did in those 2 years) just to add some angst , they just didn't want puentalay to meet so soon. so yes, what I said, tesstun/ohmnanon were just there..to be there which exactly what was intended to be done but again, the buildup, those plot points in the beginning, promotion and all, what was the reason?

OVERALL
As I said, It had the potential but fell short. I would love to see the leads together in another series though :)

Lire davantage

It Could've Been So Good!!

I have such mixed feelings about this show, if I'm being perfectly honest. From the start, I was /so excited/ based on the premise. I'm such a sucker for parallel universe stories, and for me the highlight of this entire show was how they played with the parallel universe aspect. "Qooqle" and "Headbook", Third from Theory of Love showing up, Tay and Godji having normal jobs, etc. That was all so much fun and everything I wanted from a show set in a parallel universe! So, the premise was there— but the plot was so, so lacking.

The biggest disappointment for me was the fact that the majority of the plot did not, in fact, center around Talay and Puen trying to find their portkeys and go home. Periodically, that was brought up, but largely the show focused on them simply living Tess and Tun's lives for almost two years. Much of the time, the plot felt to be more about Friend Credits making their movies than trying to get home from the parallel universe! It felt like the story, as well as the characters, often forgot that Talay and Puen were /not/ Tess and Tun. It was frustrating at times, especially when there were a few good moments here and there that could have pulled the show back into focus. And the romance became hard to buy after a while, considering how long Puen hid who he truly was from Talay— by the ninth episode, Talay was still saying he hardly knew who Puen was, and it was true! How can I believe in their love and romance when, after a /year/, Talay doesn't know the basic things about Puen? When he only finds out Puen's real name in the second to last episode?

As for the acting, I didn't feel particularly wowed by Jimmy and Sea. I wouldn't say they were bad, but I never really felt for their characters over the course of the story. Hell, when the confession scene finally came around, all I could muster was a meek, "Cool". I can't say how much of that was the script's fault or the actors, but I'm willing to bet it's a mixture of the two. As far as side characters, the only one who really stood out was Neo, whose character was named Up. Neo is a fantastic actor and I'm so glad to see him getting roles— I sincerely hope he gets a lead soon!

There's so much more I could complain about in this show, and very little more I could compliment. There was so much potential for this to be such an interesting and unique story, but it fell so, so flat. It was entertaining enough to keep me watching each week, and the parallel universe aspect was done well, but the plot and the romance were just not what they should have been.

Lire davantage

Boring's Definition

I don't know why I made myself sit through this. I think only cause it was a GMMTV series because on any other given day, I would've just given this one up. But because I adore Jimmy (the world's precious face) and I rather did enjoy the unique plot of it all, I kept up with it. More than once I just forgot to read the subtitles cause, who cared, and more than a hundred times did I skip past the bothersome talking and singing and disrespectful amount of product placements. If anything I'll remember Vice versa as the series that spent more time commercializing others' products than it did its own show.

Let's Dive In.

Is GMMTV not one of the most successful producers of BL content? Didn't they produce two of the most successful BLs known to date? Don't they have Thai celebrities throughout their facility, giving them the power and the recognition almost, if not, every single day? Why oh why oh why did they spend as much time as they did on ads in this series?? A cute little pan to the toothpaste as they're brushing their teeth is fine -- even the occasional I-just-got-randomly-thirsty-let-me-drink-this-perfectly-hydrating-drink is okay! But to have almost every part of the episode have a least one PP -- and not just subtle but some, "LOOK I HAVE THE BEST FACIAL MOISTURIZER EVER." screamed in my face for up to 3-5 minutes. It was so irritating, to the point that I was able to quickly analyze when product placement were coming, and I immediately just skipped that entire scene. Because what makes it worse is that the scene was going off what the product was and not, well -- vice versa. Someone teach GMMTV subtly, please.

I was also just incredibly bored. Outside of the universe-building, everything else was pretty plateau. They did an amazing job at building up the excitement for the cross-over, showing the difference in the universes, the reality of being stuck in someone else body living their life -- but everything else was extremely tedious. While I enjoyed Talay's and Puen's little friend group, it was very dull watching them make a movie and whatnot. The only time I was genuinely excited to look up from what I was multitasking with was when Puen made it back without Talay. Other than that, my head was down. And usually, I get extremely bothered if I don't read the subtitle word for word, but there were times entire scenes would go by without me watching 1/3 of the subtitles, and I just couldn't care. Nothing more to say, it was just -- boring. Although, the series does one of the best jobs at making it feel like Talay and Puen have been in the other universe for a while (2 years if I'm correct) it didn't feel rushed or unrealistic, it genuinely felt like they had been there for a while.

I wasn't really feeling Jimmy and Sea. I enjoyed them more than Joong and Dunk, so that's saying something, but I wasn't crazy about their chemistry. I think for what it's worth, it works, but something was missing. Like when they did anything physically, I was just not for it. Honestly, Talay could've forever been stuck in the other universe, and I think that would've made for a much more entertaining storyline. Also, Jimmy starts kissing with his mouth open, and it made me cringe to an ungodly extent.

I was really into Aou and Fuse and wouldn't have minded seeing an actual thorough love story from them.

The guest appearances were nice. Especially Mix, he is beautiful.

Most people were wanting to see more Ohm and Nanon, but I think out of everything, their time on screen was a perfect amount. They didn't take up too much space from the actual main actors, but they still played very important roles and satisfied whoever viewers that wanted to see more of them. I also was surprised to learn that Tess and Tun don't end up falling in love, which I was sure they were going to do.

Me being nitpicky, but did anyone else have to keep changing their subtitle for every part of an episode, 1-10, from Korean to English?? It was just annoying cause I set my preferences to English, but for whatever reason, the Korean subtitles would always come up, and I hated changing it when I just wanted to lay in bed and let the parts/episodes loop.

Ratings:

Story: 7/10 - Great universe-building, great time-passing, a few compelling sub-plots, Aou and Fuse. Everything else was tedious as hell to get through.

Acting - 8.5/10 - Sea was good. Jimmy was okay. Neo did incredible in this comedic role as always, and Aou was better here than in Enchante. Strangely was obsessed with Jeab too. Everyone else did decently.

Music - 6/10 - Skipped their singing cause *gag noises*. Everything else wasn't a distraction so cool.

Rewatch Value: 1/10 - no chance.


Jimmy did okay in this role, but I was hoping for better. Honestly, I shit on this series but it wasn't terrible. It was just boring. Oh well. Not recommended, but who am I to stop you?

Lire davantage

They tried to make a GMMTV-verse but forgot to write an actual story

This is pitiful- this drama had so much potential.

What drew so many people to this drama was the unique concept- two people, Talay and Puen are transported into another universe and to go back, they must find their 'portkey'. Along the way they must face the challenges that living in a new world poses and eventually, they fall in love. Pretty cool concept, right? Except that's not what the drama is actually about.

The 'travelling between universe' plot is relevant for three episodes at the start of this show, and then the show becomes a slice-of-life about a few guys trying to make it in the show-biz. Why replace the most compelling part of this show with such mundane sludge? It's as if the writers realised that they actually have to develop the concept and universe beyond the fun details and then panicked when they couldn't come up with anything. The 'portkey' stuff is important for a hot minute and then that becomes forgotten too. Why did Puen and Talay dismiss the fact that they could be each other's portkey? It doesn't make much sense to me.

Another thing i'd like to mention- the pacing feels off. You're telling me that it has been one year and these guys have managed to release two films? Puen and Talay have NO experience actually writing films- you're telling me that they just figured it out? This show might have been better off with less episodes. This show does not have enough substance for a full twelve episodes; six or seven episodes could have been sufficient.

Another gripe i had with this show was the unending commercials. Even the biggest fans of the show can't argue that this show had a product-placement-problem. It felt like i was watching an uninspired heap of commercials- at some points it didn't even feel like a show. The plot of some episodes can be boiled down to; they rave about KFC, use the black inhaler thing and eat an unhealthy amount of MAMA OK carbonara.

The GMMTV-verse thing was fun- at first. It was exciting to see other GMMTV actors and characters featured in the episode but it becomes dry pretty quickly. The show should have focussed on presenting a coherent story and then perhaps sprinkle in a few references in-between.

If everything i wrote before this did not offend the biggest fans of Vice Versa, the next thing i mention definitely will. The acting in this show is....barely passable. No, i'm not talking about the side characters (they were fine)- I'm talking about the main leads. It is fairly evident that the leads, Jimmy and Sea, were rookie actors. They were fine in fluffy scenes, but any scenes that required any kind of passion and emotion were painful to sit through. I'll admit that Sea was decent and even good in some scenes; but Jimmy was so stiff and unnatural- it was difficult to watch. There is no chemistry between them, i simply can't feel any kind of spark or magnetism from these two, which is shocking considering that even when GMMTV's output is below par they still manage to cast actors with electrifying chemistry. However, the acting became significantly better in the last two episodes; if they maintained that same level throughout the series i would have given a higher rating.

This show did not work for me, but for people who don't mind mindles fluff and a plot that goes everywhere and nowhere all at once- Vice Versa is for you.

Lire davantage

My comfort show

Everything is perfect in my eyes. The acting, the cinematography, the scene background, the location, the cameos, the lines, even the ads are cute. I love both actors so much, Jimmy and Sea are amazing as both Puen/Tun and Talay/Tess and I can't imagine other actors playing these roles. I can see the love the characters have for each other clearly shown in their eyes, and when it's a sad or angsty scene, the emotions in their eyes just killed me. It looks so sad!!! I couldn't bear seeing them cry. So far 7 episodes have been shown, they're brilliant and I am blown away. I ugly sobbed so much watching episode 7. Can't wait to see the rest 5 episodes that are left!!!!

Lire davantage

This series is truly amazing

I fell for this series fast its really binge worthy and for me the balance of plot and romance is amazing I much prefer romance over full on action plots taking over the story so this series is so for me and Jimmy and Sea did an amazing job acting and the chemistry between them blew me away. I already re watched it and i will watch it again and again it's that good. I need a season two I just need more of puentalay right now they are perfect if you want a fluffy series this is it. Also the colour themes are done so well in this series along with the locations and styling

Lire davantage

Major Slow Burn (falling in love with souls, not appearances).

General spoilers only. For enjoyment, I'd recommend watching for the interactions between characters and not taking the plot too seriously. Despite the weaknesses in plot, pacing, and some of the dialogue, I only fast-forwarded through some blatent product placement scenes and some of the secondary couple (which weren't a large focus anyway). The way they tried to determine who was their portkeys was drawn out in odd and contrived ways, and I could see that getting a bit annoying for some people. Overall I found it entertaining and enjoyable and easily binge-watched it.

The story was intriguing but it took a couple of episodes for me to get invested in the characters. Once I did, I was along for the ride and able to shrug off the weaknesses in the screenplay. I liked and cared about all of the main and secondary characters, everyone was cast well, I smiled a lot, it tugged at my heartstrings multiple times, and was resolved satisfyingly.

Jimmy and Sea have good chemistry but it comes across differently than many BLs. The focus is on their growing affection for each other as humans and not on physical attraction because they are in other people's bodies for most of the series. This purely mental-attraction type of slow burn was something new and I enjoyed it. It added emotional impact when they did finally kiss. I thought the story could have done something about them getting used to each other's physical appearances once they're back in their own bodies though, and maybe introducing physical attraction. I feel that was something obvious that the screenplay missed entirely.

The production handled the body-swap between universes very well. It's very clear and easy to follow. What I loved is that once they made it clear that Sea and Jimmy were in the bodies of Ohm and Nannon, they transitioned back to Sea and Jimmy playing their characters. You know they look different in that universe, but you get to see the actors play their character all the way through.

They did okay with world building and kept to the "rules" they established. The dialogue got a little cheesy with a couple cliche lines in the last couple episodes, but it was bearable. Music worked well but nothing really memorable for me. The coloring of scenes was often pretty or appealing. I'll certainly be more aware of this aspect of post-production going forward (the series prompted me to learn more about colorists and their job).

The thing that dropped this from a feel-good 8 to a 7.5 is the screenwriter's inane decision to make one of the leads (Talay) averse to affection after they confess to each other. I hate this trend in BLs. It's a cheap, unrealistic, and ineffective way to create sexual tension once a couple gets together. Seriously, "I love you but I'm going to freak out if you try to be affectionate, let alone kiss me" just does NOT make sense if you love someone and they love you too. They could be shy, sure, but not constantly uninterested, avoidant, asking "what are you doing", and giving bombastic side-eyes. Sigh.
At least Sea only acted moderately put-off and didn't act disgusted (like many actors do when it's written like this).

Overall there's some skinship and a couple good kisses.

I could see myself rewatching this in a few years.

Lire davantage

Although they gave us some different & complicated theme this time, they managed to make is easier

New theme, we have body swap this time. This is genius! Especially, there are so many colors to representing each episodes. Even tho Jimmy and Sea are rookies, they don't look like they are a rookies. They chemistry is perfect. I can feel it by the way they look at each others eyes. They found their universe in each other.
And don't forget about the OST, istg it's sooo good, super easy listening! Their voice matched the music. All I wanna say is, thank u GMMTV for making this series. It'll be my favorite till forever. I hope u guys watch it and make some review about this lovly series. Hope u guys like it.

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