Coffee Melody (2022)

Maybe patient is the key here then it was definitely good to be patient

I don't know if it's me or the series but after seeing a lot of bl drama this captivates me less I would say maybe because of the shy start of the boys in the two episodes?
Why I don't feel like the groups of girls in the first episode are not really fan of their imaginary couples?
The only character man who caught my attention is Mr. Nava who shows a somewhat imposing character and his cute side with his niece. I think this series is "déjà-vu" we already know who will be heartbroken ,I would have liked Duean to break Plengrak's heart because his lacking a lot of confidence and Duean still forgiven every time. in time Plengrak will be the one who is devastated but does not lower his arms to conquer it. Some characters are a little less actives, i want to stay a little patient and see how each character will develop during the serie. I need to feel the emotions of complicity's , passion, sadness, and joy.

Now i am waiting for their real relationship after Plengrak showing his love for Duean.

Read More

On Hold - Coffee Melody

Overall: the series is very slow and the cliche plot point at the start of ep 7 has made me put this on hold. I'll wait until it finishes airing and maybe pick it up again then. Watched on Viki.

Content Warnings: non con picture taking, gaslighting (from music boss)

What I Liked
- I appreciate an aggressive/obvious flirt
- cute moments like with the cake
- the rainbow poster in the background when the band is practicing
- Duean Yi's family
- (neutral) it has comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- wasn't hooked in the first scene
- the fangirling thing
- slow, I watched at 2-3x speed
- cliche plot point at the beginning of episode 7
- I didn't mind the cartoon flowers but I didn't like the cartoon music notes from the piano
- choppiness between some scenes
- random characters like those tween wannabe pop stars
- odd yellow/purple lighting in his room
- that jerk music boss

Read More

Misses More Than A Few Notes

I went into this drama excited. It had been a while since I'd watched a BL and the trailer made it look promising. Unfortunately, that was the only thing promising. What I found was a very predictable story, predictable misunderstandings with characters blowing things massively out of proportion, lackluster acting, and bad music. It wasn't the absolute worst BL I've ever seen, but it fell far short of what I had hoped for.

Again the story was predictable and slow. Two guys meet in a coffee shop and fall in love. Nothing new or original here. Plenty of the usual tropes, although the lack of a jealous woman in love with one of the male leads causing problems and homophobic/unsupportive parents was refreshing. The smaller cast helped things move along, although I think some of the other groups waiting to debut at the production company could have been cut to allow more screen time for the main cast. It is still on the slow side though. The conflicts are pretty tame all things considered and there just isn't much for sparks of any kind.

The conflicts between the main couple felt contrived for the most part aside from the first one. I could definitely see both sides of that issue with Plengrak seemingly leading Yi on when not really being ready to actually enter into a relationship and Yi being hurt. I did feel like it was resolved a bit too quickly and the second conflict brought in too quickly afterward. That second conflict was just ridiculous as was Yi's completely unreasonable reaction. He knew what Plengrak's ex had done in the past, knew he was a manipulative jerk and completely overreacted to him kissing Plengrak on the cheek and took off without giving him a chance to explain. Yi had a number of times where he acted pretty immature/overdramatically, but I think this instance takes the cake. And then again, they made up in about a second. Their third and final issue with Yi going abroad was never really much of an issue and was over in about a second since they did a time jump which I hated because it felt like that could have been a good opportunity to actually see them grow as a couple. Also, both their reactions to seeing each other again were very subdued. I'm assuming they visited each other over that year, but seriously, I'd be a little more excited about seeing my boyfriend after not seeing them for an indeterminate amount of time.

As with most Thai BL's, I think there were too many couples. Here part of the problem though was that they seemed to tease them and then forget about them. For example, they seemed to be hinting at Sekram and Tanwa as a possible couple and then suddenly Tanwa has feelings for Yi? And then at the end, they're hinting at Sekram and Tanwa again. Or how Janjao mentions that she and Nawa are finally going to go on a date, but then there's no resolution, no idea how it went or where they're at after the time jump. If you're going to have multiple supporting couples, make sure you have enough screen time to devote to their story or else don't bother. The lack of development is infuriating and this happens in a lot of Thai BL's. Even Thitnuea and Gene's story felt a bit cut off at times though theirs was definitely the best developed after the leads.

The acting was lacking. I wasn't familiar with any of the cast going into this drama so I didn't have any expectations. The only one who really stood out to me was Minty as Janjao. She just felt very present and nailed her character. I adored her. She did a fantastic job showcasing her character's development and she made Janjao real and relatable. I also appreciated how she seemed to really connect with the other actors and bring the best out of them. The rest of the cast wasn't horrible, they just weren't as strong. Benz and Pavel really lacked chemistry to me, I didn't believe in them as a couple and they left me feeling pretty emotionless. Of the two, I found Pavel more interesting to watch. I don't know if it was that he was more expressive or just that Benz's constant cutesiness got very wearing after while.

There's a fair amount I could get into in terms of characterization with each character, but I think I'll pass on that this time. The one thing I will comment on though, is that I think they could have done more with Plengrak's background. He's left as very much a mystery aside from his ex and being best friends with Thitnuea and I would have been interested in knowing more about him. His parents are mentioned but never seen, so are they alive? His ex stole all the money he had saved to open his coffee shop, so how was he able to open his current one considering he's so young? I'm aware these are nitpicky questions, but his family and past were left pretty blank and it left me curious.

I was really excited for the music going into this considering melody is literally in the title, but I found it all very basic and forgettable. The love song that Yi writes get overplayed there towards the end, just over and over again. And it's not a particularly good or catchy song so that got old fast. And what was with "Angels We Have Heard On High" playing at one point? Just some very random song choices going on.

I'm going to mention two things that were very grating. First, Thitnuea's hair got to be very distracting. Throughout the series it was constantly changing from dark pink to light pink, sometime within the same scene. Obviously that's due to the filming schedule, but seriously, continuity is important and it makes the production look lazy and sloppy when they can't be bothered to keep it consistent. Second, for a drama called Coffee Melody, they spent a lot of effort getting the coffee aspect correct, obviously training Pavel and the others how to at least look the part, but Benz? He's supposed to be a famous songwriter, but the few times we hear him play the piano were just painful; it was so obvious he had no idea what he was doing. Again, just made the production look lazy and sloppy to not give him lessons or use one of many tricks to make it look like he's playing when he's not.

The one positive I will give this show is that they nailed the coffee house vibe. To be fair I know nothing about coffee or being a barista but it was believable, that I could go to Thailand and walk into this place and these characters would be there making coffee. I did appreciate that.

I'm sad this drama didn't turn out the way I had hoped. I didn't have incredibly high expectations for it, but I was hoping it would be significantly better than it was. Unfortunately, every part of it was so lackluster it was pretty much doomed to failure from the get go. I don't necessarily regret watching it, but I also have no plans to ever re-watch it and I can't recommend it to anyone either. There are far better BL's out there worthy of your time.

Read More

A Melody That Went Off Key

First off, this series aired around the same time as many others that shone a little brighter. Had this aired two or three years prior, the series would have had more of a fighting chance.

The script felt a little bipolar. The change from fluffy moment to angst gave me whiplash. Had there been more episodes, maybe the plot/story could have been a little more fleshed out, but the story lacked a little oomph..

Pavel (Pleng Rak) drew me to this series in the first place, and he did well with what he was given. Tar (Thit Nuea), as well, struck me as someone with acting potential (and it doesn't hurt that he has a lovely voice). But even good acting can only bring a story so far. What started with great potential ended up an overloaded tuktuk swerving into a guardrail and falling over in slow motion... I am a completionist by nature, but begrudgingly forced myself to see the series through to the end, just hoping for a little more, but was just let down.

If you ignore the random "Angels We Have Heard On High" the music was really good, and I found myself singing along with Winter by the end.

Overall, I do not regret watching, but it is not something I would watch again. However, I do look forward to seeing the actors in others roles more suited to them in the future.

Coffee Melody: Coffee? Yes. Melody? ... Not so much...

Read More

A little disappointing

First half of the series was pretty good. Nothing cringe, nothing boring nor unnecessary.
The second half was, I would say unnecessarily long. They made it look all important to the last two episodes
The last episode so useless. All i can think of is that they did not end it well. Thank God there are 2 special episodes which completed the whole story.
But this series is quite average, as for itself.
I would say that the actors played every emotion very well, even though sometimes I was annoyed how they split up every time something negative happened between them. Then they are offended at each other for a while and then, as if nothing happened, they are a happy couple again.

Read More

Great Screenplay; Not So Great Execution

If you are merely listening to this series, it is really good. The screenplay is good and the dialogue between the various couples is spot-on and relevant. Unfortunately, they added acting to this. I cannot say it was bad acting, as I do think they were told to be this laid back and have such a flat affect. With that in mind, there is zero chemistry between any of the major couples and I did not for one second believe they were in love. Also, the music is absolutely atrocious. It is painful to listen to it. Off key, drumming too loud, not in sync with the singing and the singing felt unrehearsed.

Read More

Honestly, I have never been so bored with a show before. I don't know how I managed to finish it.

* The storyline was dragging on and on, and I had the feeling that nothing much happened at all. I even drifted off during later episodes. The thing is, I do not mind slower paced series, if -- IF -- it fits the storyline. Also, twelve episodes of basically the same over and over again gets boring whatever the content might be. The plot could have been tightened to maybe four episodes or so.
* The writer seems to have only a passing idea of how the music industry, cafés or workplaces in general work. Examples that annoyed me most: Sentences like "Now that you are debuting, you are a real artist!" (or something like that), an employee mopping the floor during opening hours without reason, taking breaks just ecause you want to, "trainees" that practice unsupervised and are something like eleven years old(?), a freelance composer who then has to got to Shanghai (?). Overall, it feels as if the writer was one of those "trainee" children.
* The camera work was uninspired and kind of static.
* The acting was stiff, which was most apparent in group scenes, where those actors who did not have something to say just stood around like mannequins.
* The sets showed the tight budget, and putting a rainbow flag doesn't improve things. Although I did like the colour scheme they chose.
* Other people have already commented on the band's musical abilities, which I cannot remark upon, since I myself have no abilities in this field whatsoever. I don't think the pink-haired guy's singing was very good though.
* If the story is about tasty coffee, then I want to see tasty coffee! We haven't even seen how Plengrak brews it -- show us how the grounds look like when the water is poured into the filter, at least. The director responsible should maybe look at some Japanese shows who excel in showing food and drinks and make the audience crave them.

All in all, I'd say to give this series a miss.

Read More

Thitnuea's Ever Changing Hair Color

I really like this series. I thought that Pavel did a great job playing a character that is very different from his real personality. I liked seeing him as Plengrak, a kind and gentle man who has been hurt in the past. Benz is great as the sweet, yet bold Duen Yi. I like both actors, so I did watch the series with this bias. The second couple, Jean and Thitnuea were great. Jean was a tsudere who finally allowed himself to be caught by Thitnuea. Their storyline was sweet. The hetero couple was the standard boy and girl have had mutual crushes forever, but then the girl rejects the guy, who will not give up in chasing her.

This was not the most original story and this may be an annoyance for some viewers. That's understandable. This series is on the lighter side, and maybe COVID and budget had something to do with this. This series was cast long before it aired, so COVID may have played a part. Also, they didn't plug in the instruments, so for most of the series, the viewer didn't get to hear what the band sounds like. This was very annoying. Also, Thitnuea's hair was very annoying. The color of his hair would change within a scene. They would cut away from Thitnuea, then when it turned back to him, his hair color would be different. Thitnuea's hair color was very vivid, and they should have done a better job with continuity, since it was very distracting.

Overall, this was a simple, series, nothing new, but was made enjoyable by the cast.

Read More

Unpopular Opinon

I like this one, I think it was very cute and enjoyable. I like a simple "fall in love at first sight" type of series. I read a few reviews saying that this series was boring and I mean, it had a few slow moments but I don't think I would classify it as boring. Then again, I like the slower-paced series and fast, quick-action-packed ones. I think it just takes a certain taste to enjoy the more calmer series. I enjoyed seeing the "Call Me By Your Name" posters around both the coffee shop and Yi's home. Maybe that was a major selling point for me because that is my favorite movie of all time and it has 3 characters from "Tin Tem Jai" and that's another one of my favorite BLs. This series had a charm to it, it reminded me of "Light On Me" from Korea, which is one of my favorite BLs, it almost gave me that innocent feel except with a little more spice.

All the characters were just adorable, I loved Jean, Chan Chao, and Pavel's character. I did like Benz and Pavel together in this series, some said that they didn't have chemistry together but I think they were sweet together. Though, after watching "Pit Babe' I can't imagine Pavel with anyone other than Pooh but for the time being, Benz and Pavel were cute. I like seeing Pavel in a cutesy role, I love him in Pit Babe but there's something about him being in a series where he's always smiling is just so good to me. I don't know why but the whole Yi & Pleng scene where they "broke up" with each other, made me all teary-eyed, I love that Tanwa was there to comfort Yi. I like Jean and Thitnuea together.

Read More