Tonhon Chonlatee (2020)

Solid BL

I'm really confused while looking through all the reviews and seeing many are rating this so low. What's even funnier is I recognize some of the accounts on here and the reviews they leave on other series that are absolutely trash but rate them very high simply because they have a cast that is attractive. Of course they won't ever say that or probably won't ever recognize their bias, but the bias is there. Many will deem a series or film worthy of their attention only if the cast is hot enough for them, which is sad.

Anyway with all that aside I will say that Tonhon Chonlatee has its flaws but overall it's a solid series. Both male leads performed very well, and tbh their acting skills were a lot stronger than many of these other BL couples out here. The closeted gay boy that falls in love with his "straight" best friend plot has been done many times before but they did a good job at reworking this plot. The writers were able to create something that feels different and a little more unique even though fundamentally it isn't anything new. I also really enjoyed the comedy aspect of this show which gave it a very light-hearted feel good type of vibe all while tackling deeper topics like self acceptance, homophobia and coming out.

While this series did have it's corny moments and started to lose itself half way through, it still was a pleasant surprise that entertained me up until the end.

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Worth a watch

I was originally put off watching this series by the bad reviews but after seeing clips apear on youtube i thought id give it a go and im really glad i did.

Its an easy watch romance series with some extremely cringey moments at beginning, especially when they talk about girls and sex. It is confusing that the main lead doesnt seem to be jealous of the other lead when it comes to women, and goes over the top about it but becomes enraged when he talks to other men but after a few eposides the cringe parts are toned down.

It is easy to binge watch with a happy ending so id definitely rewatch when im not in the mood for anything to emotional.

Dont be put off by the bad reviews watch it and decide yourself 😀

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It’s so bad.

I went into this knowing a lot of people said it’s bad. I just wanted to see if it was really that bad and omg it’s so bad. From the very beginning Tonhon is a homophobic a**hole. I really couldn’t believe his roommates/ best friends kept their relationship a secret from him for years because of it. As time went on I couldn’t understand why Chonlatee liked Tonhon so much. I understand the childhood best friend trope, but Tonhon turing into this person and Chonlatee completely ignoring Tonhons faults was so weird. Chonlatee and the roommates hiding who they are so they don’t disappoint Tonhon was so uncomfortable to watch sometimes. Despite all the characters having faults, the hatred I had for Tonhon was immense. DONT WATCH IT.

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Gross. げろげろ. 역겨운. ปฏิกูล.

How many languages should I use to describe the disgusting plot of this show?
I feel like this show was written in 1950; homophobia 'solved' by finding a loophole around having a baby, pressuring a young gay man into sleeping with a woman because of homophobia, blatant misogyny never being fixed or even really called out., etc.
The man straight up brainwashed his son and never apologized or seemed to repent.
I legit am questioning if GMMTV are even truly allies after making the choice to pick up this novel and turn it into a show. Who greenlit this??
The only reason I can justify even giving it one star (other than the website making it necessary to leave one for the review) is that I love Khaotung with my whole entire heart. I feel genuinely bad that he was involved in this show.

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its honestly not as bad as what people say

*WARNING THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION PLS DONT COME AT ME ;-; *

i went into this show blind and i thought that overall the cast did a pretty good job - especially the side couple and their wifey hehehe i'm just gonna list down some points abt this show and whether anot you want to watch is up to you !

the good points :

- the story is relatively easy to follow ,, nothing new nothing spectacular but not terrible either

- the SIDE COUPLE OMIGOSH srsly gmmtv gotta put toptap and mike in their own drama,,, their chemistry is just really good in this show !!

- OUR QUEENS : chonlatee's mom , pang and my wifey miriam !!

the bad points :

-

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The plot is barely moving.

This review was given before I have finished watching the show, so this is subject to change.

Note: I do enjoy watching this but this doesn't mean it's even relatively good.

Rewatching the GMM releases from 2019, I just realized how disappointing this year was. The only show I would consider "amazing" from their lineup from this year would be 3 Will be Free and Friendzone 2 Dangerous Area, and the one I would consider as "good" would be The Gifted Graduation. I don't think it is because of the condensation since Theory of Love from last year was already unique by itself. This year we had the slowest-paced shows ever, like My Gear and Your Gown and Tonhon Chonlatee is no different. Each episode is not that important, in which you can skip an episode an still be able to catch up. I Told Sunset About You showed such respect to each episode that basically skipping 20 minutes of an episode will throw you off the storyline. I am quite disappointed with this one as much as how I am disappointed with the upcoming shows (basing off from their trailers) and the only ones I had shown interest in were Bad Buddy and 51:15.


Now, let's talk about the issues about the storyline.

1 and 2. Sickeningly Sweet and Poor Two-Dimensional Characters
I get it, it's fluffy, but it's trying too hard. I know that SERIES-Ys are usually fluffy, but isn't this too fluffy. Even 2gether wasn't this fluffy, and I wasn't even a big fan of that one (especially considering the ending). The characters are too two-dimensional. It needs depth. Is Chonlatee capable of thinking literally anything else except for Tonhon? Is Tonhon just that plainly stupid? Is Chonlatee's friend (Pang) nothing more than a supporter? Doesn't she have a life? Does Tonhon's ex-girlfriend have literally anything else to do except for trying to make Tonhon crawl back to her? Is Neo (Na) that uninteresting that all his scenes are basically him tailing Chonlatee? I don't get it. The character here with the most depth is probably Miriam and she isn't even that amazing of a character.

3. That Damn Pacing
I've said this earlier and I'm going to say it again. Give respect to each episode! Each episode must have some sort of mini-arcs just like I Told Sunset About You. Take notes from Director Boss!

Update: I just realized how we're already halfway through the series and no character development has arose. They basically abandoned story structure for this one.

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gmm stepped out of the ordinary with this show!

There are many who did not like the show so I would assume those people probably did also not like a very popular american movie with Ben Stiller and Robert deNiro which was in a way similar. Funny, exaggerated from beginning to the end and no endless moments of so to speak lovey dovey moments extended to a maximum so we get another 3 to 4 episodes. Toptap and Mike whom we know as an eventually to be couple from another show as a hillarious couple for full 10 episodes - what a thrill. Neo as the rich brat who turns out to be every mother-in-laws darling like you will probably never see it in real but so nice to wartch. Gunsmile as the connecting character between the opponents Amp and Chon also a perfect fit. And then the female parts. Kapook in a refreshing role as vilain and Jan and Giize as the perfect Y-Lover supporting girls. Not to forget Jennifer as Chons mother. I loved her especially when she was up for a surprise act. But that you can see when you watch the show so now spoiler here.
Pod and Khaotung had a great chemistry just the way things could be in real. The way some scenes were filmed with zooming in at those facial expressions - Just as if you were looked in the eye and get asked - Do you like what you see? For real, there was not one single episode I did not laugh wholeheartedly. With all thother BL Series we have seen until now, the audience may not be ready for this kind of Romantic Comedy but it is definitely worth to watch. So I am sorry to say that I did not pay much attention to the music but also never had the feeling it was inappropriate. I leave that to decide foryourself. - Watch it, like it or hate it, it is up to you but be fair for your rating. Just because it may not be what you expect does not mean it is as bad as most of the comments suggest. I liked it - appart from the end which even to me was a bit to much but still acceptable.

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Wish There Was More Foreshadowing

I really this show. Not as much as others I've seen though, for a good reason. While watching Tonhon Chonlatee, I liked all of it, the characters, the hidden relationship of best friends, familiar actors, cute guys, the relationship progressions, all of it. Or well, most of it. The storyline...It was good until Chonlantee's confession arc. When Tonhon confesses back, like, it felt so forced? This whole time he had not shown any interest in him, he actually showed MUCH disinterest. It was less of a plot twist rather than a just okay-this-is-what-were-doing-now? I wish they would have foreshadowed it more. It was a bit of a hot mess with some themes though too. Like, Chonlatee in the bathrooms? Rape or sexual assault is not something to be taken as lightly as it was. Overall, I liked it, but there are many ways it could have been improved.

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Much better than I thought it would be

The reviews for this series made me put it on the back burner for a long time which is unfortunate because this was a good series in my opinion.

While I understand and can appreciate that it's not everyone's cup of tea, I don't think it deserves such negativity. Is the story groundbreakingly original? No. Is the acting stellar? Not really. Is it entertaining? One-thousand percent yes.

Story-wise, we've seen this a million times before: childhood friends where one harbors a secret crush on the other and they part ways only to meet again as young adults. Through a series of obstacles, they finally reveal their deepest feelings for each other and overcome all adversaries together.

Acting-wise, while it wasn't the best, I did very much enjoy the main cast's performances, especially where the comedy was concerned. Mike, Toptap and Khao all had fantastic facial expressions, especially when reacting to something someone else had said or done. Ton's parents and Amp were a bit over the top though I guess that was mainly done to emphasize their role as a hurdle in the main couple's relationship. Thankfully, they didn't have all that much screentime overall. Also, while I absolutely LOVE Jan, I wasn't a huge fan of her character here as I found her a bit annoying at times though still lovable in that way you love a good friend but can only take them in small doses.

Na was probably my favorite character after Ai and Nai as a couple. When he's first introduced, it seems like he will be yet another scheming bad guy who tried to get Chon but he ends up being the most selfless and best of friends to Chon and the group. (Side note: I watched this after watching Only Friends and it was super weird to see Neo like this after playing such a character as Boston but it was also a reminder at how talented Neo actually is.)

Speaking of comparing to other series, I'd seen Mama Gogo which had a lot of these actors in it and found it to have a similar form of hilarity to the characters. Especially Mike, Toptap and Pod and their interactions with each other. I also found it hilarious that when they went to the bar in the second episode and there was a dance competition, 3 out of the 4 of them will go on to play strippers and yet the 4th one is the one who dances and wins the competition. Then at the end, Mike and Toptap do a body roll and I'm like "Aaaaand there it is!"

Anyway, getting off topic..

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable watch and I would encourage more people to watch it, especially for the many laughs that I got out of it.

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It's not a bad watch at all, it's just not a good show

So the thing is, the main problem is that they should have chosen between 2 plots : either Ton loved Chon from the beginning, his father made them move because he feared he couldn't get an heir and then they reuinite and deal with the heir problem ( basic and easy choice ). Or, Ton didn't love Chon before, he has internalised homophobia and has a hard time dealing with his new feelings for Chon; in which case the show could have focused on him reflecting on his behaviour and opinions as well as escaping from his father's expectations ( much more difficult to pull off). But by blending those 2, it was such a mess. What do you mean he's loved him since the beginning?? He dissed gay people so hard it was painful it doesn't make sense, that's a bad portrayal of denial.
Other bad thing in the show is the whole character of Amp, and the banalised rape !!! P'Neung has been abused and goes on to do the same to Chon, apart from the fact that I hate those plot, this shouldn't be brushed off like they did !
At last for the negative points, the surrogacy plot was indeed a solution for a happy ending and I'm glad it was introduced, I'm also glad they choose Miriam but it's just too big of a thing to fit it in the last 2mins. It should have been introduced sooner and explored much more. They also shouldn't have shown the 3 years gap cause ain't no way they are ready to be parents it's so unrealistic. Just showing a scene where they ( Ton and Chon not his dad ) ask Miriam would have been great.

On to the good things : the characters
There are some really good characters in this show, starting with Chon and his mom. They are coherent, they have values and they stick to their words and beliefs, I really enjoyed that.
Miriam and Pang : they are amazing friend and I'm really happy Gmmtv showed good written female characters.
Na : He's part was rushed but his character was really interesting, maybe with a 12ep show we would have seen more of him and his struggle.

Overall I definitely didn't watch it for the love story but I did laugh several times and really appreciated Chon and Pang's friendship as well as Aunt Nam.

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