Hook Up (2020)

UNHOOKED

Preachy and inconsistent. It is a low budget series - and it was pretty obvious.

The bad:
1. The writer thinks he created intelligent characters and an intelligent banter but what we actually have are long, boring, unnatural and preachy conversations. The flow of thought from all the characters are way too similar that it feels like a single person talking to his split personality.
2. The story. You met up on a dating app, met and hooked up once and next thing you were already 'inlove'? Really?
2. Camera work and editing. Lets forgive them for poor camera quality, but the editing is just horrendous, you dont even feel like they are really talking to each other (but it can also attributed to the bad script).

If there is any good, it is the fact that they tried to cover a lot of current gay issues. Also, i would credit it as positive that the 2 leads didnt necessarily end up togehter.

I do appreciate companies still trying to produce content during the pandemic, however, the big question is, is it worth it? Did they succeed? I dont know how you'd feel about it but for me, for a series called Hook Up i am always unhooked, what i know is i hated myself for wasting my time watching this series.

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Hook Up (2020): A Daring Pinoy BL Series

In a lot of ways, “Hook Up” was an upgrade of its prequel “Truly Very Yours.” “Hook Up” had a more daring plot/storyline, improved acting performance, and better overall production value. But while there were improvements, “Hook Up” suffered from inconsistent quality all throughout its run.

“Hook Up” had a brave plot/storyline about finding romantic and sexual relationships through a fictional dating app called Findr. It covered bold topics such as gender identities and sexual orientations, one night stand, and even prostitution. It also discussed about relatable issues concerning family ties -- how we love them and how we also hate them at times. It also tackled how the youth especially students navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to these, “Hook Up” didn’t shy away from progressive themes. After the pardon of murderer Joseph Scott Pemberton, “Hook Up” even featured the message #TransLivesMatter #JusticeForJenniferLaude #NoToGenderRelatedViolence. Notwithstanding these commendable subject matters, the plot/storyline overall wasn’t fully developed. Maybe because there’s another related upcoming series from J.ACE (production company), some questions remained unanswered on “Hook Up.”

There were funny, sexy, and witty dialogues. I particularly liked when Mark self-identified as bisexual with no queerness denial and when Henry and Mark paid homage to the different Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series through title shout outs. But I didn’t like the screenplay whenever Mark and Henry argue. On such instances, script was long and preachy.

Acting was largely uneven but there was a marked improvement in Marky’s performance. He has gone a long way since his “Truly Very Yours” days. JC's acting needed improvement but for a newbie, he was alright. Niko was relatively good. Wex was ok but I was quite upset with how his character was treated on this series. The rest of the supporting cast members were either overacting or underwhelming (unfortunately, while I love Tita Cassie, Tita Baby belonged to this group).

Production design, camera work, and editing were up and down all throughout the series. But when these aspects were good, some of the better episodes were produced. A good example of this was the camera work on Henry and Mark’s shirtless scenes alluding to some sort of virtual sex. Another good example was the editing of scenes when the title of the series, “Hook Up,” was finally actualized. Mark and Henry’s kissing and love/sex scenes were sexy and steamy yet tastefully done. The song “I Think” by Jean Kent was better than his soundtrack “Summer Promises” for “Truly Very Yours.”

All in all, even with the inconsistencies in quality, I would still recommend rewatching “Hook Up.” If you’re looking for a daring Pinoy BL series with a fearless plot/storyline, “Hook Up” would be a nice series for you. You might also need to watch “Hook Up” and its prequel “Truly Very Yours” if you plan to watch J.ACE’s upcoming Pinoy BL series, “One Night Stand บางกอก (Bangkok).”

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Improving

Kudos to any production company for choosing to film a series in the middle of a pandemic. Not only do you have challenges of filming during a pandemic, where the director and crew have to be creative with interactions but choosing to film in a video chat style adds to the complexity of the filming. Couple that with young and green actors and what you end up with is a series with a lot of potential but a bit lacking.

Pandemic aside, Hook Up is a homemade series which doesn’t have the budget, equipment, or expertise that the exceptional Gameboys and Hello Strangers series have. Hook Up will be invariably be compared to those two as it shares the same video chat style, was filmed at the same time, and is one of the trailblazing Filipino series in this genre. However, it would be completely unfair to compare it solely against those two due to its inherent limitations beyond the pandemic.

The acting, directing, editing, and script of Hook Up looks to be geared as if it were a theatrical live play that you’d watch as a school drama production rather than a style based the limitations of a vid chat. The actors always seemed to be doing monologues instead of actually interacting with each other on a vid chat. At times it seemed like poor chemistry between two actors, as the conversations seemed so unnatural and scripted - one of those where I think I don’t talk to that way to other people on vid chat. However, if you look at it like a live drama production where your words have to convey so much more about what the character is thinking and feeling then you can kinda understand the way it was being portrayed and maybe why the chemistry seemed inconsistent. Imagine a dark stage with Mark Lee on one side and Henry on the other. As one talks, the spotlight would be focused on him while other one be in the dark.

The storyline of the relationship between Mark Lee (played by Mark Ersaga) and Henry (played by JC Lopez) was ok. It was decently developed but not clearly resolved - it felt as if they danced around the topical issues rather than creating a clear storyline and the twist and turns seem to be deliberate (segmented) rather than natural. I think this is due to the theatrical play style that the director chose to go with in this series. Much like a stage play, it’s hard to keep multiple storylines going. The biggest plus was the addition in the later half of the series of Lukas (played by Niko Badayos) as the call boy antagonist. He’s an unusual but an interesting character addition to the story.

The main actors are ok for nw actors. They need work but improving. Mark Erasaga is getting better since his first effort in Truly Very Yours. Both he and JC Lopez struggle with having to covey a lot in the monologue, theatre style. In the theatre you do that with deliberate movements and hand gestures, In the single frame, vid chat format you have to do it with your eyes, facial expressions, voice tones and subtle character actions which neither do an entirely consistent job at. The most successful character in this style was Tita Baby who plays Tita Cassie, the wise sage who always gives timely life/relationship advise to Mark and Henry. She’s so awesomely over the top and her character thrives in this format. As well as Niko Badayos as Lukas - his I know what I want monologue works really well in this format.

We all know that you can create an exceptional vid chat format series, even in this pandemic. Take the time to watch the greatness/master-class level series Gameboys and nearly as good Hello Strangers as excellent examples of how this style of filmmaking works. In this vain, Hook-up is ok. I think it has a lot of potential that’s held back a little by the theatrical style the director choses to film this series. I don’t know if that pandemic related or a style choice. This style makes it unique from the aforementioned two series. What it needs is for the main actors to develop further to pull it off.

Is it worth your time? Yes. There are other better series in the same genre from the Philippines and other countries now out there but it’s an ok way to kill time. To be fair to it, don’t compare against the best series out there. It doesn’t have the budget nor the experienced acting, directing, or screenwriting that those series have. It does however, have an interesting enough story, an interesting theatrical style, and the characters are endearing enough to make time to watch it.

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Daring and Different

To get it out of the way, the production values are not high. This is forgivable given an almost total lack of budget - with the exception of editing. There's a love scene that's expertly done, so someone involved has the ability, and this series could have been much better with proper editing. It's too obvious sometimes that the actors aren't talking to each other as there are unnatural pauses between lines.

The acting isn't bad - there's something oddly compelling and sexy about Mark. Maybe it's the very boyish looks combined with the solid body and languid smirk and the way he moves. The dialogue is more like a play than a film, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and there's more depth and realism in the conversation even if it's a bit stagey. It does need to be condensed and avoid repetition. I realize real conversations can be repetitive, especially relationship discussions, but extraneous dialogue can be tiresome if it's not driving the plot or characterization.

I have to commend the production for trying something different - BLs in general are getting frustrating as they're all loaded with the same old tropes. In Hook UP there are no accidental kisses, evil girlfriends, nobody says "I'm not gay, I just love X", there's no weird obsession with top & bottom (with the bottom always the less masculine and in a Victorian female role), and the antagonist is an interesting (and incidentally, smokin' hot) character - not your usual 2D villain.

If you're looking for cute boys being cute together with no real substance or story, then this is probably not for you - there is no fan service here - but if you want to see something ambitious and different, you won't feel you've wasted your time.

I'm looking forward to seeing more work from Jace. More shirtless Marky won't drive me away either.

Can anyone explain to me just how many roosters there are in the Philippines? Are the chained to every building or something? WHAT IS WITH THE ROOSTERS.

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Enjoyable at the Start But Quickly Gets Dull...

I first heard about this series from a BL Instagram account. I was surprised that JACE TV, the production company behind Truly Very Yours, had another BL coming out so soon. My hopes weren't high as I really disliked Truly Very Yours, which was my least favorite BL that I've seen thus far. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Hook Up's first episode. The first half of the episode was quite boring as Lee talked to his best friend who made some cringey, distasteful gay stereotype comments. Just because a guy like K-pop and knows the steps to a BLACKPINK song, they are automatically gay. Like what?! Shouldn't we, as a society, be past this point already? This would've been okay and made sense several years back, but now, it's awkward and offensive. Anyways, the second half of the episode when Lee went on Findr and talked to Henry was surprisingly good! Their conversation was quite entertaining and I loved their banter. Henry being all flirty and forthright while Lee being all innocent and bashful. I'm excited to see their relationship progress!

On a side note, It is surprising that it took this long for a BL to uses a Grindr-like app in its story since gay apps are essentially a part of gay dating.

Episode 2 was fine. It was really cool and surprising to see the best friend apologize to Lee for assuming that he was gay due to his music preferences. The conversations between Mark and Henry were cute but a bit over long and could use some trimming. I’m liking how this series mentions sex toy story and condoms, which other BL’s don’t. The split-screen scenes where it looks like Mark and Henry were having sex was a fun little touch too. I do feel like their relationship is a bit too rushed though. This series is 8 episodes and at the end of episode 2, Henry already wants to meet! Like, chill dude. Lol.

Episode 3 was decent. There wasn't any kilig moments though it was nice to see Mark begin to realize that he likes Henry and it was nice to see Henry's family life though his step mother's got nerve; asking Henry for more money to spend on her addiction when she isn't even his real mother. He owes nothing to her. Even if she was his real mother, he still won't owe anything to her. And she has the audacity to call him selfish and self-centered and tell him to mind his own business when she is literally asking him for money. I didn't like how Mark told Henry that he is obligated to take care of his step-mother and his family. That is not his obligation! I also didn't like that Henry apologized to his step-mother when he did nothing wrong! She is the one in the wrong! On a side note, I LOVE the acoustic rendition of the theme song that JC (who plays Henry) sang in this episode! It was quite beautiful! Anyways, hopefully the next episode will concentrate back on Henry and Mark's budding relationship, rather than irritating extra circumstantial matters...

I found Episode 4 quite boring even though Henry and Mark did finally 'hook up,' which was surprising for this seemingly G-rated show. Props for a character identifying as bisexual and the use of gender-neutral love names though.

After watching mid-way through Episode 5, where Henry gets so angry for no reason, I have decided to drop this series. It started off strong, but has gotten boring and melodramatic. Not good enough to continue watching (for me).

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