Paint with Love (2021)

The main BL couple's story is the weakest link

Paint with Love started off with a funny first episode that sets things up for an enemies-to-lovers story. This worked for me though it may not work for everyone. Unfortunately, what makes it less likely to work for many is the inconsistency in tone for much of the rest of the series. The comedy isn't maintained, and there is something lacking in the BL story.

There is something inadequate about how the main couple became attracted to each other, and when they have sex for the first time, I was left wondering if it would simply turn out to be a one-sided fantasy or a dream: I wasn't sure if Maze was even sufficiently attracted to Phap at that point. Oddly enough, the story of the main couple is developed quite decently until the beach scene when Maze is drunk, and, after that, becomes rather messy.

I prefer the side couple, Tharn and Nueng. I think this is really thanks Yacht, who has portrayed the character of Tharn sensitively. Yoon, who plays Nueng, however, seems to be placed in the series solely for star appeal. Most of the time, he just seems to be going around looking good. This isn't really the actor's fault for there isn't much depth to the characterization of Nueng.

He does seem to be a genuinely nice person most of the time, especially in his interactions with Tharn. What I find perplexing is why he would sometimes go out of his way to irritate Phap, almost as though there is a dark side to Nueng that is waiting to be revealed. Another thing that isn't convincingly portrayed is the relationship between Nueng and Maze. They are more like brothers though Maze has done something in the past to cause a rift between them. Why, though, does Nueng behaves nonchalantly, neither speaking with Maze on particularly friendly terms nor acting in a particularly cold way. It doesn't seem to make sense given the close relationship that they have had.

Eventually, the tension between Maze and Nueng seems to have been written into the story just to give the other characters (and the audience) the impression that Maze and Nueng have been lovers in the past and to have a revelatory twist that shows otherwise. Even then, it is baffling is why Phap gets jealous of Nueng even though he has already found out that Maze and Nueng have a brotherly relationship. The turns in the BL plot for the main couple ultimately seem rather forced.

In fact, I find the other relationships in the series more interesting to watch. This includes the straight couple in the company run by Maze as well as the friendship between Maze, Tharn and Nae. Maybe less is more in this series--it tends to be the characters and relationships with less screen time that are more likable. Even for the Maze/Phap story, a different cut with scenes that serve hardly any purpose would have made it better even though the series would be a few episodes shorter.

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Compared to this year's (2024) crop of Thai BLs, this rom-com from 2021 would be somewhere in the upper middle -- it has some strong points and three major weaknesses. Overall, it's an enjoyable watch, even worth the occasional rewatch (hopefully it'll get licensed somewhere again after leaving GagaOOLala).

The premise is simple: Artist Phap (easy-going, living from day to day, a bit of a slob) meets entrepreneur Poramaze (money-loving, very controlled, a clean-freak, basically your tough shell, soft core type) and personalities clash.

And there's the first of the three major weak points:
For a story that has to be character-driven (there are very few external obstacles to overcome), the script doesn't give the actors much to work with. Maybe it's stronger in the novel, I don't know. But here, motivations for our main characters are very unclear. It's not so bad for the artist, whose character is stereotypically colourful enough we can fill in the blanks ourselves. But for the more complex Poramaze, who is both both a cold and strict type who "loves money" and still obviously likes his friends and his team, this is more of a problem. We never really know what exactly made him the way he is. Why does he feel the need to be always in control? Was it only that his step-brother left him? But then, why did this have so much impact for him? The few minutes of back-story does not explain things sufficiently. And that's a problem in a story where for several episode the main story arc is this character's inner struggle with his own emotions.

This is saved by the drama's best feature: its actors. Both Singto ("Poramaze") and Tae ("Phap") portray characteristics and emotions that are never explicitly stated and break their characters out of the confines of the strereotypes the script gave them. I love their scenes where they lash out against each other -- both actors show their hurt and their heartbreak very well, and my heart broke with theirs. I'm sure that with weaker actors this series would have been flat and boring.
The same goes for Maengmum ("Nae") and Soodyacht ("Tharn") who both don't get a lot to work with. But Nae, who should have been the stereotypical airheaded rich girl, becomes a steadfast and intelligent friend, and Tharn is being shown as a guy with a long-term secret crush from the very second we see him.

Yoon ("Nueng"), on the other hand, is the drama's second main weak point. He does absolutely nothing with his character -- I think Yoon has about 1.5 different facial expressions: "amused", "gently amused" and "gentle". It's most obvious when he directly faces Soodyacht, who is acting circles around him. And that's a problem. Nueng has had a huge influence in Poramaze's life, and he still is the major point of conflict for the relationship between Poramaze and Phap. But he doesn't have a character at all! Why does he act that antagonistic towards Phap, even until the end, and at the same time encourages Poramaze to voice his feelings? What is his motivation here? Is he not aware of how his words hurt Phap and disripts their already fragile relationship? We don't know. Neither the script nor Yoon give us any hint for us to fill in the gaps. I also don't believe that he was ever attracted to Tharn -- no longing glance, not secret smile, nothing -- until the confession, and even then he only shows expression number 3 ("gentle").


There are several aspects in this drama that I love:
The wardrobe choices are excellent -- Nae's outfits are gold (Does she even wear the same thing twice, except for her pyjamas?) and I love how both Poramaze's and Phap's clothing reflect their change and growth.
I'd love to live in Phap's house, it's messy and cozy at the same time (although the gleaming wooden floor is a bit unrealistic, especially in the area where Phap paints) and his little garden is a small oasis -- contrasting nicely with the modern look of Poramaze's office and condo. On that note: I do wonder about the plants in Poramaze's condo -- the first time we see their corner is in episode 9. Were they there the whole time or did he only add them after he started to like Phap and his little garden? Whether it's option 1 or 2, this shows that the people responsible for the set design put a lot of thought into it, but it was not used to its full potential by the director.
I love the opening credits. Painting-like animation is not something we see often, and it fits with the premise of the story, and I also like the almost chaotic orchestral music.
The background music choices are also well done -- I did not notice them most of the time, which is a good sign for me -- and I loved that there are some emotional heavy scenes that don't use any kind of music at all, which is a rare thing in Thai mass-market productions.
So, all in all, it's apparent for me that the production team put a lot of thought and effort in this. Which makes the third major weakness all the worse.
Phap is commissioned to paint an abstract work "The Love", which progresses along with his feelings and his relationship with Poramaze. It's a central point of the story, and we see him working on it. But then the set design team and those responsible for continuity dropped the ball -- after his second time working on it, we see the painting again several times -- in the form it had after the first but before the second time Phap painted it. And since its so huge, and right in frame more than once, this is a glaring error I could not ignore.

And a last thought, I love Phap's names: ภาพ /phap/ means "picture, image, vision" and his legal first name ศิลปิน /sin-la-pbin/ means literally "artist". Love that. (And not to spoil, but if you watch episode 12, pay attention when they talk about "the artists" emotions, the knowlegde that it's both his job title and his name makes this all the more enjoyable.)
And, another aside regarding names: The GagaOOLala subtitles sometimes transcribe คุณภาพ, which is clearly spoken as /khun Phap/, i.e. "Mr Phap" by the characters, as the word /khunnaphap/ "quality; value; worth" but used as a name "Kunnaphap". I wonder where that comes from, is Phap's name shortened from Kunnaphap? Or is it a genuine error on the subtitler's part?

So, all in all, this drama could have been a failure, if the actors and the team responsible for set design and props hadn't done an excellent job.
As it is, they managed to elevate a sub-par script to a perfectly watchable and even enjoyable drama.

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CEO Singto

I'll get directly to the points.
Things I liked about this series:
• CEO, hot headed, grumpy, sometimes blushy and shy Singto. Man my boy looked drop dead gorgeous.
• The plot is different from every BL now and then. There was no typical engineer and architecture college student thingy
• Yacht, the actor who played Than got a different role from playboy, playful p*rn addict college student what he always plays. He has got a lot of potential. They need to use him well. He can nail a couple role as well.
• The friendship between Maze, Than and Tae ( I think her name was not exactly Tae. Please excuse my forgetful mind. The female friend of them). Usually the female characters are portrait as immature delusional shippers but she was childish yet mature at the same time.
• The details they put regarding art.
• The bucket thing in the rain.
• The relationship between Maze and the rooster.

Things I didn't like:
• They dragged the jealousy thing more than it should have.
• Them not talking things among themselves like the adults they are.
• The relationship between Maze and Neung. It wasn't not that deep to begin with and shouldn't have dragged this much.
• The actors who played as a couple ending up as a couple irl might encourage the BL fangirls think that their ship is real.


Overall it was a good watch. I'd probably watch Singto being grumpy over and over again.

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Good story, but a few baffling things later in the series.

Overall this was easy to watch, and not too serious nor too silly. I liked it, but it wasn't as good as other recent series like Tale of a Thousand Stars, Bad Buddy, or 55:15. It was closer to Golden Blood or Call it What You Want, and much better than What the Duck2 or Ghost Runner. The first few episodes are terrific, but later it is just good, not great. I think it is worth watching.

The good:

No engineers or college students, nobody dies (no truck of death), and there aren't many of the usual tropes. The acting is great in general. Yacht does a good job and this is opposite most (all?) his previous roles. Tae's facial expressions are everything, and not something I am used to seeing in Thai dramas. And when did Tae get to be so hot? Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention to him in his other roles? The supporting cast was great, I liked seeing Gun Korawit, C'game, Mild and Bruce. Gun played a role quite different than in his (annoying but cute) 2gether role of Green.

The bad:

The story was great for the first 3/4 or more. And then the episode 9-10 curse hit. There was a misunderstanding about Nueng that ballooned out of control, and caused hurt feelings for both couples. And it is baffling because they established way back in an early episode that Nueng was Maze's stepbrother. Maybe I am assuming something here as I don't speak Thai, but maybe the way they use brother with ('P or Nong) with different meanings (sibling vs polite title for others your age) caused this confusion? In any case, this drug on for way too long, and took away from other content that could have been more positive and fluffy.

In a related item, why couldn't Nueng come clean with his feelings for Tharn instead of waiting for Tharn to confess first? Obviously Tharn wasn't ready to instigate, and Nueng didn't seem to be shy in general. That whole thing was a bit bizarre.

The neutral:

I have mixed feelings about Singto in this role. He is a great actor, and I love almost everything he has been in. I just am not sure he was the angry executive type. I could believe him to be fastidious or to be very rigid in his daily routines, maybe they should have played that aspect up more. But when he starts ordering people around and being nasty, it isn't quite as believable. Singto seems to do better with emotional roles, or more shy roles, and that is because it is probably closer to his real life personality. The pairing with Tae is good, I think Singto needs a strong personality to counteract his softer, quieter one which Tae provides.

They could have spent more time in the last couple episodes about the couple's relationships instead of some of the side plots and other filler material. Not sure if that is an editing decision, or just a shortcoming of the story?

The side plot of Kuea and Elle relationship was mostly filler in my opinion. It didn't add or detract from the story, and maybe that is the problem. Why have that romance if they didn't add anything to the outcome? The actors did a good job, but it didn't help advance the main plot much if at all.

They also could have left out or changed the Pookky getting beat up storyline. If they would have rewritten that to expose her greed and evil in a different way, I think it would have come across better. Like have all her clients fire her, and show how she was extorting everyone. Or let her "dig her own grave" so to speak, let karma take hold where she accidentally shows everyone how bad she really is.

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Had Potential

Overall, this was a disappointment, given its initial promise. It had many things going for it, but in the end the writing, or lack thereof, reduces this to a mediocrity.

Tae's Phap was a really original and different character, and he and Singto were a good odd couple. This doesn't follow the standard seme-uke formula - their personalities are what are opposites, not their appearances and sexual positions. Their appearances are of course opposites, but that's a reflection of their personalities, not the masculine-feminine polarity we usually get.

The story is actually funny at first, with a fairly clever cockroach cam in the first episode, but the humor is unforunately dumped later on for the usual unnecessary implausible miscommunication-based melodrama.

it feels like this was a 10-episode story that was dragged out to 12, forcing Maze to cease his development in Ep 9 and backtrack, which just made him seem like an asshole and ruined the audience's desire to see them together. At the beginning, Maze has real reason to be furious with Phap and frustrated with him. When he returns to that state in Ep 9, it's just depressing and made me not care anymore.

Even the ending, when Phap returns, there's apparently a plan, but what it was I have no idea - have Phap act like Maze for no apparent reason?

Phap isn't really given much backstory, which I suppose isn't critical as he's a care-free artist - but Maze really needed one. We do get his central motivation and the reason why in the very last part of the last episode, but as there was no build up to it, it was too late to have any meaning.

Also, the central conflict for both couples is the relationship between Maze an Nueng which is confusing. Maybe there's a subtitle problem, but their relationship seems pretty clear and it's incomprehensible how Phap and Tharn can misunderstand it - especially Phap, who had it explained to him.

One thing I will say - it's more or less revolutionary that all the characters are jealous over other men instead of the usual women thrown in for no apparent reason other than to add some unwelcome heteronormativity.

The time wasted on incomprehensible drama could have been invested in the secondary couple, which were so unfleshed-out that it was difficult to care about them, other than Yacht being so adorable. They are never really integrated into the story - they're more or less just nailed to it. And with no context, they're just two guys who show up and won't tell each other how they feel but like each other for reasons that aren't ever discussed.

It's not all bad - it tries a lot of new things, the characters are original and interesting (at least at first), and the first half of the series is very engaging and charming. Tae is the real standout, playing an impish and odd artist - we've really never seen anything like this before and it was very refreshing. It's a pity they derailed his character in Ep 9.

It's worth watching just for Tae, but I wouldn't go in with any great expectations.

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Paint With a Jerk

Overall: We have the enemies to lovers trope along with the fastidious/uptight guy and the messy/carefree guy. I watched the first 6 episodes and then reactions to the rest

Content Warnings: sexual harassment, non con touching/posing, a punch, throwing an item at another person

What I Liked:
- I did laugh out loud at a few parts, mainly Phab who is #bestboy
- fun flirting and also burns in return
- I thought the actors did a good job with a bad script
- overall production value was pretty good except a couple of camera shots that I didn't like

Room For Improvement:
- the main issue is that I can't empathize with a jerk character who is a jerk and the reason is not shown, there is slow or no character growth until right at the end and then they are happily ever after with their former tormentor. Episode 6 and the preview for episode 7 made me drop this for now. Calling someone "stupid" and saying "you f*cking suck" and then throwing and hitting them with an object, nope (and before that, wth were those alarms/dumb schedule)
- the relationship between Maze and Nueng was so bizarre, when there was a perfectly reasonable explanation (and they should have been clear at the beginning to show why Maze has closed himself off so much)
- the cliche 'I don't remember anything last night although I totally remember what happened'
- that hotel manager plot was bizarre and not needed, also he didn't really have any consequences
- the basically blackmailing him, totally not realistic contract, someone can't just say they are your manager and take 40%
- was not feeling the side couple, wish Green had played Nueng
- I think I was not really understanding some of the plot at the beginning, what exactly Maze was doing
- that firefighter carry inside the art studio was odd
- the punch was also odd, I think they could have choreographed it right before but then one of them messed up the choreo. I would have liked that reason more than the reason they gave.
- taking pictures and posting to social media without approval, nope
- I'm not into the stereotypical/cliche scheming trans woman character

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Gets more hate than it deserves

I read a few reviews, and a friend even told me not to watch this, but I love Singto so I tried it anyway. Overall, I enjoyed it. I've enjoyed shows with less depth than this one, and the actors really drew me in. Obviously Singto is great, but Yacht is also precious, and Tae is pretty good too (It's my first time seeing him). There is a scene where Maze gives over control to Phap for one surprisingly sensual moment and when I tell you my heart went doki doki and I had to pause to breathe after....

tl;dr at the bottom.

One of the main things I've seen people say is that Maze (Singto) isn't likeable, that he doesn't grow, and that he's an asshole. They also say they know nothing about him and he's one-dimensional. Let me add my 2 cents.

Maze is a no-nonsense businessman. He puts his company first and tries to do what is best for his business and friends. Besides that, however, Maze is easily flustered (although he tries to hide it) and gets nervous about physical touch. He's a workaholic who needs to be coerced into having fun sometimes and also he needs hugs. He's afraid of failure and being told he's not good enough. He's afraid of opening his heart because he thinks people will leave him eventually after he lost 3 parents and thought he lost his brother. And yes, he's a petty, jealous little sass master sometimes, and I love him. Some say he was mean until the end, but Maze was just too proud and too scared to admit that he liked Phap out loud. Singto gave him a lot of nuance and heart. Also the costume department needs a raise for all of his accessories and fancy clothes. At least once an episode, I sent my sister a message saying "God Bless the costume department."

Phap is awkward and makes me annoyed when he fails to be professional and follow directions. But he loves Maze a lot. I felt a lot less nuance from his character, but he was a good guy and he did do his best as an employee for Maze.

Where the show fell flat for me was the side couple. Yacht brings a lot of emotion to his role and cannot be faulted, but I cannot say the same for Yoon. Yoon was stereotypical and I felt no chemistry from him for anyone. Yacht was in love with no reciprocation, except apparently there was? Yeah, I didn't buy it. Also, Tharn's manager, Pookie, is a bitch and a scandal waiting to happen. While I didn't approve of them saying Pookie deserved to be beaten up, I doubt anyone would have jumped in to stop it in real life either. And then Pookie tried to throw Tharn under the bus for it as though he struck her, even though he helped her up and stayed with her after the fight.

A minor issue for me was the continuing misunderstanding that Maze was in love with Nueng. Sure, I also though he was at first, but as soon as we found out the real reason for the awkwardness, it would have been nice if everyone else in the show could have stopped acting like Maze wanted to sleep with his step-brother.

Another reviewer said Maze made up the video that took down Pookie, but that wasn't what I heard. Maze "wrote the script", but the story was real as far as I understood. They had to bribe the other actor to come out and admit he was nearly assaulted, but as far as I can tell, the whole story was true. We know Pookie is a liar and a drama magnet, so I'm not sure why other viewers are assuming Maze made that up. "Writing the script" is what Maze does. He knows how to present facts and persuade people.

tl;dr?
Basically, I think the show is getting a lot of hate for small things or misunderstandings. Sure I don't know the backstory of every character and all of their idiosyncrasies, but I don't get that from most shows. I enjoyed this show for what it was (and for Singto. Definitely for Singto. Singto is flawless).

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Underestimated series

The series has some flaws - yes... But I liked it a lot, it was beautiful. The chemistry between the mainleads are full of tenderness and underlying love, despite the naggy Maze. I particularly liked the psychological aspect of the series. The scars behind their behavior, the insecurity that causes so much misunderstanding and jealousy. The actors did a very good job. Unfortunately the editing wasn't good, the story of the second couple was a bit out of place and there are some flaws in the arrangement and some plotholes. I rewatched it because the emotions and feelings are so good shown by the actors.

I'd like to share my opinion about the injury of Phab after the incident with Nueng. A lot of people mentioned it in the comment section and review. They complain why was it even shown when nothing happened with it. This is how I see it:
Phab didn't say anything about it. That's his personality! He is not a show-off. He gives unconditionally (like the bananas, cotton candy or his love to Maze). His parents are dead, he doesn't have friends. He is an amazing painter, but he doesn't really show it. He only wants to be seen!He only wants to be seen. Especially from the one he is in love (there are a lot of scenes were you can feel his yearning to be seen). He couldn't tell anyone that he is injured. He wanted Maze to ask him how he was doing. But instead he found Maze with Nueng staying the whole night in the hospital and he was forgotten. Maybe it's because I can relate with his personality very well. To me this scence is there to explain the personality of Phab. His inner struggle, uncertainty and pain. But his love is clear as a lake and he is always true to his feelings.

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Not Singto's best

PWL is at best a trashy guilty pleasure, and at worst, a trope-filled series with somewhat cringey acting.

Singto is great when portraying nuanced emotions, as usual – sadness, disappointment, frustration and hurt, but I can’t help but feel that he was just not the best person for the role. As for Phab, played by Tae, he unfortunately does not have the same acting talents as Singto – his face is often frozen in strange, awkward expressions with his mouth slightly ajar. This really messes with the vibe during emotional or intimate scenes.

Story-wise, much of the writing didn't make sense to me, especially the central conflict of the show being Maze’s relationship with his step-brother and how it affected other relationships.

If anything, perhaps PWL is a cautionary tale on how workplace romances can get messy and infuriating. Every little petty squabble, unfortunately, gets amplified in work settings. Especially when you have two childish (and rather petty) people who tend to leap to conclusions at the slightest suggestion and let misunderstandings drag on without proper resolution.

But hey, if you go in with no expectations looking for something to kill time, why not? I certainly was entertained enough to finish the series.

Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/02/15/paint-with-love-2021-review/

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