This review may contain spoilers
Unpopular opinion - I like it
I rarely have such a strong need to write the review. Today is that day. I will try to be brief and precise. Chemistry in this show is everything. I had that feeling in my gut all the time and the boys made me believe their acting. I loved how some of the issues were executed, some not so much, but it is like 70%-30%. I enjoyed the lack of intimate scenes (even though I am big fan of these), somehow every single scene had intense intimacy and I was fulfilled. I was surprised! I started looking Drake with totally different eyes. I believed him everything. Story overall was slow and then rushed and then slow....and I had a fear of really sad ending. I literally said to myself - I cannot handle sob story (again very huge fan of sexual and sad scenes) and somehow my wish was granted. It is not happy ending, but lets say a bittersweet one. One more thing, I would love in a year or two a remake of this story with a bit more depth and heavier issues that are only glimpsing in this story. But please keep Drake, I genuinely respect him so much!Was this review helpful to you?
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Though there are difficultes for them as a couple along the way, this series really does focus on the relationship between gay teenager, not the superficial aspects.
This series is a definite watch therefore, though I wish some of the other relationships could have been expanded on, and the ending could have been more impactful, but you'll have to make up your opinion concerning that side of things.
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This review may contain spoilers
Cause You're My Boy -- TAKE 2
I wrote a review for My Tee/Cause You're My Boy several months ago but eventually decided to delete it. Months after finishing this series and starting/finishing several other lakorns, I still couldn't get this one off my head. It was special, in a sense.What I appreciated most about My Tee was its RAWNESS. For months I kept thinking that My Tee was so different from the other series I've seen from Thailand. The term I was looking for lingered at the tip of my tongue and it was only today that I realized the perfect adjective to describe the experience -- RAW. My Tee served CRUEL REALITY. It does not go for the love/hate dilemma of SOTUS. It does not go for the fiery, burning passion of Dark Blue Kiss. It does not go for the fluffy cute shit of 2gether the Series. While the characters in My Tee are no different from those we've seen in other lakorns, they are shown under different light here. These are kids thrown in difficult situations that only adults are known to face. It was because of this that I found some scenes quite painful to watch. I thought at first it was pure cringe, but it wasn't. I just thought these kids didn't exactly deserve what they are going through.
So many people have already commented on FrankDrake, so I won't delve deep into their chemistry/relationship. All I can say is that Frank needs to attend more workshops because his performance here leaves so much to be desired. He was the weakest link in the entire cast, and in a sense it was a death sentence for the series because he is playing one of the leads. Thankfully though, we have Drake playing opposite Frank. Drake has shown so much versatility in the roles he's been taking, and by far, he gave his best performance in My Tee. He carried all of the drama on his shoulders yet he pulled off the role of Mork with so much ease. His acting chops at the second half of the series bested the rest of the cast: it was at this part where Mork was going head to head with Tee's mother, dealing with his separation from Tee, his expulsion from school, etc. This is a performance that you just have to see in order to appreciate. Drake outshone all of his co-actors by a mile, and it offset the film's big weakness that is Frank's performance. Unfortunately, Drake is yet to land another lead role in a film/series. I hope GMMTV invests more in him because he is one of the strongest actors they have in their roster.
Another strong point of My Tee was Gord-Morn sidecouple, which has accumulated a small fanbase of its own. GordMorn was the only thing that was constant in the series; while everything around them seemed to crumble down, these boys are still looking out for each other, except for that very brief episode of the two not talking to each other after one of them felt betrayed by the other. I would even dare say that GordMorn was better than TeeMork, and I really appreciate that they were given enough screen time here instead of being left in a corner until they are completely forgotten by the audiences (the ill fate of most sidecouples in the lakorns I've seen). Their relationship is too pure; it was puppy love at the truest sense of the word. I can't even complain about the lack of skinship between them (that would be disturbing considering their age!).
Muad, Au, Ton, and Tee's grandma were just as special as the four leads. Muad was the quiet father to Morn and Mork who just quietly accepted his sons' orientations without making a big scene out of things. Au and Ton's gestures of unwavering loyalty to Mork were so heartwarming to watch. Tee's grandma was basically a female version of Muad who was more expressive of her support to her grandson's life choices. Then there's Tee's mom whose purpose in the series was to represent the hypocrisy of the members of the Thai society --- or society in general --- in their acceptance of the LGBT+ community. She makes her first appearance in the series as a motivational speaker telling children to be accepting and tolerant of people who are "different," and then in the next few episodes, we listen to her tirades about why it is not okay to be gay. I am fully aware that audiences hated her inclusion in the story, but I think that without Tee's mom, the story of My Tee would just go nowhere and it will just be as typical as the other Thai BLs.
Now let me get to the "realness" of My Tee. First, My Tee is probably the only lakorn I've watched where the main characters are from the lowest class of society and touched upon the topic of struggling families. Mork was reduced to selling illegal pornography, while Morn desperately clung on the dream of becoming a 'net idol' and unwittingly buying fake followers on Instagram --- and they both did these things to support their father's struggling barbershop business. Second, My Tee was the only series I've seen where Thailand was not portrayed as completely modern or upper class. Each scene seemed to be painted in a darker, more natural hue, which starkly contrasts the other BLs where almost all scenes have been shot in full light. Interestingly, a lot of scenes in this series have been shot at night, where children are at their most vulnerable to crime and vice (and there are actually several scenes throughout the series where our young characters actually fell prey to this kind of stuff). It somehow sends a message that Bangkok is not the paradise that other series have portrayed it to be; it is no different from other notoriously dangerous cities in Asia, like Manila for instance. Third, GMMTV series rarely seemed to touch upon the topic of homophobia, yet My Tee shed full light on such topic and how members of the LGBT community, including the young ones, are struggling with it. This feature also completely contrasts the other series I've watched where it seemed that being gay is "completely OK" in Thailand.
Then there's the production issues. My Tee was apparently shot on a limited budget that they couldn't invest in better sound editing or at least in a continuity director. There are so many scenes in the film where you can barely hear the dialogue because the environmental noise was too loud (thank God for subtitles). One can also see "jumps" from one scene to another that do not make any sense at all.
There are also characters that have been grossly underused --- Bambi and Ching. I feel that we were supposed to have a third couple in My Tee, a lesbian couple at that. I don't know why the creators decided to drop it, but if they kept it in, My Tee would've become a landmark BL series for being the first to showcase a lesbian subplot (to the best of my knowledge). We only get two short scenes of the two throughout the entire series --- one near the beginning (where Bambi makes it clear that she does not feel the same way for Ching and the two never spoke to each other after that) and another near the end (where the two finally reconciled). Given that this potential GL subplot was eventually left on the cutting room floor, keeping the scenes of Bambi and Ching seemed pointless because they don't actually contribute anything to the story (besides Bambi being the sister of Au and Ching being that annoying friend of Mork).
And then there's the completely unnecessary sexualization of children. First off, we should keep in mind that almost everyone in this series were underage at the time of filming. With this in mind, I found several scenes in the show that were disturbing in so many levels:
1) Morn and Gord's encounter with an online sexual predator: I'd actually let this pass as it somehow sends a warning to children that these kinds of people actually exist and that anyone can be targeted
2) Mork groping Tee: This was a key part of the story that shows how Mork is struggling with his sexuality. But I'm sure there are lots of other ways to achieve the same purpose...
3) Mork and Tee buying condoms at a convenience store: This scene was so random and completely unnecessary.
4) Au 'subtly' attempting to rape Mork by intoxicating him: Now this is completely unforgiveable. What the hell is up with whoever decided to write this in? Did s/he also write Love by Chance, by any chance (pun intended)?
There are also a lot of scenes in the show that do not make any sense at all:
1) Mork and the gang chasing after robbers: This scene was so awkward, it was just so pointless.
2) Mork meets Tee's 'stepdad': There was this long scene in the series where Mork was speaking to Tee's stepdad yet it was never made clear how this person is related to Tee. However, I think that this is more of a subtitling problem than a case of lousy writing
3) Tee's gay father: Now THIS is a case of lousy writing. I am sure there are countless better reasons to explain why Tee's parents are no longer together. I seriously LMFAO'd at an otherwise dramatic scene near the end where it was revealed that Tee's homophobic mom divorced her husband because she merely 'suspected' him of being gay. I mean how psycho was this bitch?
4) Au and Bambi, Bambi and Ching, Bambi and Tee: Seriously, the character of Bambi should've been completely erased from the series if the writers couldn't use her right. It was never made clear what is up between her and Au, Ching and Tee
5) The school principal calling Mork a "cancer in society" IN FRONT OF HIS DAD: Are school principals in Thailand like this?
6) The transgender in Muad's barbershop: She only appeared at the beginning of the series and never showed up again. What's the deal with her, no one will ever know.
7) All Bambi+Ching cuts: Already mentioned above
But I am willing to let go of these limitations because overall, I was impressed with the series and how it lingered in my head for a longer time than, let's say, Love by Chance and 2gether, which are considered by mainstream audiences the "reigning BLs from Thailand." You've got to be kidding me.
Overall rating: 8 over 10
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A Diamond in the Rough
This series isn't anywhere close to as bad as people make it out to be. I was really putting off this one because of all the bad reviews but wow did I end up loving it. Drake and Frank delivered such an amazing performance as Mork and Tee and really captured what it's like to be young, dumb, and inexperienced in love. Neo and Phuwin also added such a sweet storyline to the overall plot.I will admit that this show has the potential to be confusing if you have not read the novel. I do not agree with important information that was omitted from the series and the non linear storytelling at the beginning that really worked against the series and not in it's favor. I took a tip I saw of reading the YouTube comments for more clarification at the end of the episodes and honestly they kept me on track so that I could fully enjoy the story.
Should you have to put so much work into figuring out a show? No not really, but with this one I'm glad I did because it was so worth it. I'm someone who enjoys a good story above all else so once I was able to understand the story, all other issues weren't such a problem for me.
Speaking of issues, I gave it a lower score because the production is anything but professional. If you are a very picky drama watcher do not be surprised if this series is not for you. There was a scene where there was literally a jumpcut, and a good handful of public scenes where the audio mixing was so terrible it sounded like someone was flushing a toilet near my ear and shuffling around items in the background. A real shame that this show's production suffered when the cast had so much to offer. The writing from time to time could also have been better as they adapted things from the novel.
All in all, if you know you're someone that values a good story and good characters above all else, and are able to put in a little bit more effort too understand it all, do not let yourself miss out on this show. It really warmed my heart and the rewatch value is also high.
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Will Be Rewatching!
When reading the comments I was put off by watching it, but decided to watch it anyways. Despite the repetitive “this series is boring”, “it was low quality”, “the acting was amateur”, or just simple complainants in the comments, the series was really great! I find the quality to be sort of comforting, each episode kept making me want to watch the next, the acting was good too! I was worried the negative comments would affect my viewing of the series, but surprisingly they didn’t. i kept them in mind and found that i had the opposite thoughts of most of them. I just recommend your go by your own thoughts and judgement before watching this, you don’t always have to listen to negative things.The only thing i really dislike was that parent trope where they don’t want their kid doing xyz and emotionally hurting their child.
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WHAT A REALISTIC SET TYPE OF SERIES!!
I agree that the storyline has many obvious plot holes, specially the chronic condition of Mork (Drake) when his nose bleeds which is left unanswered towards the end of the series. However, this series really pulled strings in my heart and I feel so nostalgic with its OST "In the Deepest Depths" along with the series. I was kinda, you know, rooting for Phuwin and Neo since they also served us pleasing chemistry. I wished this was maximized throughout the series further. This series is painting a realistic portrait of society about same sex love which is discriminated. This seemingly talks to me. I never got into snooze fest at all and it was just as entertaining as it is cute. That's all, I just wished that the plot could have been better to say the least but still great.Was this review helpful to you?
they had me at "crew cut gay"
listen, LISTEn. i understand why this series isn't getting as much love as other series, but i don't understand why it's not getting more attention and love too. this series DESERVES. trUST me and watch this. MAYBE it'll be a little difficult to get through but the lovey-dovey scenes really made it worth it for me.yes, the production was poor. the audio was wreckt and the camera work was shoddy (a lot of random super close ups lol) but it's not unwatchable. i watched the series on youtube so i watched the scenes with wreckt audio at 1.75x and it wasn't so bad. and it's not like watching it at higher speed took away anything. thai bl dramas tend to have long shots, the actors tend to take their time delivering their lines, so watching it at a higher speed can actually make viewing thai bl dramas more pleasant lol. the camera work was awkward, but it got the job done. the stuff that needs to be seen is captured on the screen, so im okay with it.
another big problem most people had with this series were the messy plotlines. it was apparently difficult to follow and plots were introduced randomly. on this, i disagree for the most part.
the writers could have weaved in one of the mysteries surrounding the character mork better, i agree. but i was actually okay with it not being hinted at at the beginning. i would have in fact dropped the series if they revealed mork's problem earlier. i'm glad they only told us at the end! but people like melodrama, so what the writers should have done was introduced it to us from the beginning i guess? (i actually find melodrama very hard to watch, so i watched all the angsty and "drama-mama" scenes at 1.75x speed or skipped it lol)
i think the story was actually pretty easy to follow! the significant stuff is clear to me, and i'm not left with any glaring questions or confusion. the only thing i'm confused about is why people are confused with the show.
the actors were as good as any thai bl drama actors, which is to say not very good. BUT the chemistry between the boys was palpable. drake, especially, catches my attention in every scene. he out-acts frank, unfortunately for frank. he's natural when he looks at frank, it really felt like mork was in love with tee. frank is not as good as drake, in my opinion, and he fails to keep up with drake, but he's not distractingly bad too. and like i said, their chemistry is great and i think all their scenes are super super cute.
the supporting characters aren't bad too, especially the actress who plays tee's mother. *chef's kiss* excellent.
but i think the aspect of the show that captured me, that made me keep watching was the amazingly cheesy script. the LINES, my dudes. the freaking RANGE this script has. they have stuff like
"all you do is write dvds and sleep"
"you weren't embarrassed when you ejaculated"
"porn now, eat later"
and then they also have stuff like
mork: "i think my world is so small. because there's only you in it."
tee: "even though the world is small, can you stay in it and keep me company?"
tee: "when you said the world is so small, there's not enough room for everyone, [maybe it's because] the world may not want you to be alone. the world may want us to be together."
and THEY ACTUALLY REFER BACK TO THIS LATER IN THE SERIES.
tee: "in this small world, when you can't see anyone, there's still hope, because i will always be with you. wherever you go, i go."
mork: "stop with your complicated talk. take 3 steps backwards. you can do it. can't you see? you do a simple thing and my world gets bigger."
DUDE THIS IS HEARTBREAKING my eyes were sWEating. anyway!! if you guys like cheesy lines as much as i do, and some of the cutest scenes ever to grace bl dramas, then you should definitely watch this drama... it'll be a waste if you miss out on not one but TWO of the cutest couples i've seen in thai bl. B-) at least watch MY TEE for drake. he's certified Baby^TM.
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Hope it was good , but it's definitely NOT.
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This review may contain spoilers
I really enjoyed this show and so did my boyfriend who i watched it with. It has a good story with resolutions that i like buttt i wish they delved more in the second couple i really feel they deserved more than what was given. sorry im trying to review without to much spoilers i like the parental characters as you can see they really only want the best for their children. I do wish that people just communicated better and like most of the conflict is from lack of communicationSPOILER COMING
i like that is contained a happy ending thats all ill say about that but yes happy ending
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Great Acting!
There are some plot holes in the series and the production quality isn't the highest but this is also one of the more realistic BL series I've seen in many ways. Plus has some amazing acting. The chemistry between the leads is so strong. It really builds in the series. Plus the rest of the cast puts out some amazing acting as well. The plot holes could have been fleshed out if the series had more time. If it was longer or split up into two seasons maybe. I think they just tried to fit a lot into 12 episodes. Still, I was usually able to stay up with what was going on for the most part. I was a real fan of this.Was this review helpful to you?
not as bad as you think
It's not a horrible show... the storyline can be confusing and has plot holes (something I can't stand but I digress) and I feel like gmmtv didn't really care much for this production, unfortunately but:It's mostly a cute story with some angst - but it can be hard to follow sometimes. I'll say I liked it, though.
Even though Frank and Drake weren't experiencd, I think they did a really good job.
Overall, I'd say just give it a chance.
And I feel like there's a lot they could do with a second season.
Also, is Ching(?) bi? Cause they didn't expand on her at all but hinted at it. :/// We really need more wlw relationships in these shows
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