Sweet, Sexy, Smart & Sincere - a Rare Male Lead in Thai Lakorns
This was truly a light and entertaining show. Yes, it was full of cliches - family melodrama due to a stereotypical patriarch with multiple wives and children, with lots of backstabbing and battling for control of the company and wealth, contract marriage, and revenge-crazed villains.Yet, Wiwa Fah Laep was surprisingly well-balanced, with a good mix of comedy, romance and some suspense. The show was filled with slapstick, clowning, and low-brow and at times risqué dialogue, which time and again hit my funny bone.
The best part of the show was how good I felt watching it. In most lakorns, the villains always seem to be winning until the very last couple of episodes. Not in this show! Pokpong, the male lead was always a few steps ahead of the bad guys, able to anticipate and sidestep their traps and schemes. It was absolutely gratifying to see the lead couple triumph over the bad guys repeatedly. It was also enjoyable to see the villains unravel as they got closer to being caught, and ultimately punished.
Not only that, there was no annoying second female or male lead. The audience never had to stress about love triangles and what was more refreshing is that the drama did not drag the plot out with misunderstandings. Even potential melodrama between the main couple was resolved quickly and funnily.
Pokpong and Lin, our couple's romance was overall a slow-burn one. It started quickly with them drunkenly sleeping with each other, to being together in a contract marriage, and then finally culminating in a way that I found satisfying. Even though their coupledom was fake, there was mutual attraction and lots of fun-to-watch flirting. Both characters were likable as individuals, and as a couple, they inspired relationship goals. Those two were sensible and matured enough to come to the right conclusions about each other's actions and words.
Pokpong was one of the best MLs I have seen in a Thai lakorn and Tono played him well! Pokpong was sexy, suave, and charming. Always the gentleman but assertive too, Pokpong never hesitated to express his feelings for Lin and I enjoyed watching her reactions whenever he flirted with her. He was really quite smooth with his bedroom eyes - haha! Pokpong can also fight! Best of all, he was level-headed and patient, allowing the progression of his and Lin’s relationship to happen realistically despite being in a fake marriage. Our amazing ML was also savvy, knowing when to manipulate the situation to his advantage, and I like that he was able to handle Lin’s terrible family without really bending to their unreasonable demands.
Rational, reasonable and resourceful, Lalin was the perfect counterpart to Pokpong. She was no damsel in distress, and did pretty well when fighting the bad guys. She and Pokpong protected each other, and they also understood each other. Pooklook was beautiful and her outfits were fierce!
The cast in general did fine but the acting was so-so. I did like Ak Nimitchai in his role as a villain - he deserved kudos for adding the layers of manipulation and scheming that kept things fresh. He was also the bad guy in “My Lovely Bodyguard” and I wondered if he would be typecasted going forward. Also deserving a shout-out is Nutt Atirutt Singhaaumpol who played Tat, Pokpong’s best friend. I found that character endearing and the interactions between him and Pokpong were hilarious.
Music-wise, there was only the opening song that was memorable for me. The song was fun to listen to and lent the same tone of positivity that was infused throughout the show. For posterity, I listed it here:
รักในวันฝนมา - CINCIN IRADA X DIAMOND LAZ1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04wuYj-UVPs
https://open.spotify.com/track/34HpfHhOP7iajSuZHlexDa
Overall, it is a drama that I think most will enjoy. Now that it is fully subbed, do give it a try!
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1romantic, sweet, lovely
This world, nor main couple were dumbed-down, to fit some tortured romantic scenerio. It has, no joyless revenge, or destruction of love. What it has; is a story you can follow; action twists, comedy relief; with characters you can hate, and some that will grow over time. There's enough angst and lakorn tropes for the vocal watcher - But, not enough to kill the joy in a burgeoning love story, that started out in the most cliche way possible. I highly recommend it for a light watch; a slow burn; with no regrets.Was this review helpful to you?
Once a watch
One night stand followed by marriage is the plot which ain't getting older. And if the drama is of the rom-com genre it gives a perfect drama when you want something light.The story developed nicely in the beginning but it went on dragging the sibling rivalry until the very end. The actual story should have been based more on flash marriage but it wasn’t.
It had typical Thai drama cliches but the amount of humor it has makes it bearable. The drama story revolves around how the FL has lacked her father's affection and is kicked out of his company. And how ML comes as an unexpected supporter in her life to make life better and give her all the love she lacked. The family members of FL are some antiques who deserve to be in the museum, how can you be so stupid, even after constantly getting hints of betrayal they remain stupid.
ML's side of the story was so superficial and just a glimpse of his family. But he remained as one winner to all the FL family through his quick wits.
The acting was mediocre by everyone. I expected a lot from PookLook, as I have seen her before, but the cheesy script didn’t give a way to show their acting skills.
ML Tono paying Pokpong was too monotonous. He was written like badly like use him when needed then throw away. But Tono made sure he was likeable despite such a bad script.
The friends of leads Tat, Korn, and Fang were so loyal friends that I wanted to give a hug to them onscreen.
The music is ok but I don’t remember anything even after watching 17 episodes, except the opening tack. so the opening song is quite sweet and good.
Rewatch is a NO from me, as I lost interest halfway through and just wanted to complete it until the end.
Watch this if you want something light and like one nightstand genre.
Do not watch if you want a deep story, it just has a sibling rivalry as a core story.
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Mr. Walking Green Flag with amazing chemistry with FL - BUT draggy, illogical and repetitive plots.
Subjective Gut Rating 7.75 (all because I love the leads chemistry)There are elements of “Flash Marriage” that I love to pieces and then there are others that bored me to death. I was initially attracted to this because I am a fan of contract marriages. But mid-way through the drama, I realized the contract marriage parts that I love are not the main focus of “Flash Marriage”. The focus is on revenge and siblings/family rivalry.
What I Love:
1. Mr. Walking Green Flag/Pokpong - I am so surprised to find a Lakorn male lead who is funny, sweet, considerate, smart, quick-thinking with good comebacks, patient, kind, makes good decisions, can fight and acts like just a regular guy. Where do you find a guy like that in dramaland, and not just Thai dramas? I am not physically attractive to the actor, Tono, but I am in love with his character as Pokpong. The best part is that his personality remains consistent throughout the drama. He does not lose himself when he’s in love. Is he too perfect? Probably but I don’t care. LOL
2. Leads Chemistry - The chemistry and romantic journey between Pokpong (ML) and Lalin (FL) are what keep me going. Otherwise, I might have dropped the drama midway. They are so cute together. I bet the actors have a lot of fun shooting this drama. I can see them grinning, smirking and couldn’t hold their laughter in some of the scenes, e.g. exercising together to get ready for childbirth, or when they were both in the tub together. There are quite a few suggestive flirty sexy humor sprinkled here and there, and they are so funny. The only thing missing are good kisses. Argh…. I wish we got some passionate kisses but FL doesn’t seem to want to move her lips much. Oh well…
3. Smart characters - Aside from Pokpong, Lalin is a pretty smart woman as well. She’s feisty and is not afraid of a challenge or danger. Though the other family members couldn’t figure out who the other villain is, most of them are actually not too dumb. There are some dumb decisions made, but mainly due to the writing (more about that below) and not the intelligence of the characters per se.
4. Best Friends - Love the BFFs!! Tat (ML’s bff) is hilarious. He’s our go-to comic relief guy but he’s always there for Pokpong, no matter what crazy and last-minute requests Pokpong asks of him. Fang (Lalin’s bff) is the other comic relief, along with her husband, Korn. Though their screen time is limited, they are there for Lalin despite not knowing the full story and are asked to do something dangerous. It’s so nice to have great supportive friends.
5. ML’s parents - A set of amazing, funny and supportive parents in lakorns! No wonder ML is such a walking green flag, and that’s probably contributed to the upbringing by these wonderful parents.
6. Comedy - I have a love/hate relationship with Thai humor. Oftentimes, I find it too over-the-top and cringey. However, I love the comedic moments in “Flash Marriage”. They are a little crazy, but they are not prolonged, thus reducing the cheesy factor. You can somewhat expect when the funny moments will happen, e.g. with the two BFFs and their interaction with leads, and when the main leads are together. They hit you with the funny bits and then move on without dragging the second-hand embarrassing moments out. I kind of miss some of these moments when the plot becomes more serious and draggy.
7. Fashion - The women are all wearing sexy, skin tight dresses. They look beautiful, especially our female lead, but they don’t seem to be too work appropriate. FL has so many off-shoulder dresses. The guys look handsome in suits, and our male lead looks great in casual wear, a tank top, a leather jacket, a suit, or nothing. LOL.
What I Dislike:
1. Too Much, Too Repetitive - I think the drama tries to do too much. It started out as 1) romantic comedy about contract marriages and romance, then 2) it becomes sibling and family rivalry to see who would be the President of the company, then 3) it becomes how dysfunctional the family is the the weird way a father shows his love to his children, and 4) finally the plot of revenge (businesses and personal attacks). The writers cramp so much in 17 episodes, yet I still find everything to be draggy and repetitive. There is the same repetitive scheming to kick ML out the door, FL feeling unloved by everyone in her family, crazy family members saying crazy things to each other, and attempted murders with the most useless assassins hired. The drama can probably tell a much tighter and better story in 12-14 episodes.
2. Illogical writing - I am not sure if it’s the writing or it’s just part of the lakorn-viewing experience, it’s really hard for me to see these people being chased by the bad guys, and you stop and look back. Shouldn’t you run for your life? Why would you stop, pause and wait for them to come at you? Additionally, once you escape into your car, shouldn’t the first thing you do is to lock your door, turn on the engine and get the hell out of there as soon as possible? Why would you just sit there with doors unlocked and try to make a call? With all the chaos that’s going on with the revenge plot, I cannot fathom not bringing the cops in to help you. You are risking everyone’s life, and you still think you can do it all when the other parties are stalking you and hiring assassins (though they are useless). It seems like the weapon of choice is a piece of wood, much better than guns. Even the ladies could pick up a piece of wood and beat up men who are stronger and have guns in their hands. Killing people in broad daylight is no big deal. There is never anyone around and the cops are nowhere to be seen.
3. No work - The drama spends so much time talking about fighting to be the President, yet I hardly see Lalin or Nat (sister) work. I would have liked to see some business dealings and showcase their professional side. If they were to fight, show me they deserve the title. All I see are cat fights and jealousy.
The repetitive and draggy plots plus the illogical writing really affected my viewing pleasure. I was so close to giving up but I stayed because of the two main leads. I love their chemistry and fun interactions too much. I wish this is more of a contract-marriage romantic comedy and not all the other stuff. Do I recommend this? Mm… I can’t whole-heartedly say yes. Is it a horrible drama? Not, not really. It really depends on what you are looking for and know what to expect. For me, it didn’t meet my expectation of a fun contract-marriage drama, so I am slightly disappointed. I am rounding my rating UP to an 8.0 instead of down to a 7.5, because of Mr. Walking Green Flag. 🙂
Completed: 5/29/2023 - Review #312
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unexpectedly nice!
I started this lakorn with little to no expectations, quite frankly just because I try to watch every fake marriage trope drama out there. I was already familiar with both main leads, mainly with pooklook, but i have to say their performances did not disappoint! This drama was a nice change from aggressive male leads (often found in thai dramas) and silly female leads. I loved how the story developed, although it was quite predictable if you're familiar with fake marriage lakorn. Personally, more than the plot in itself i enjoyed this drama for the nice mood that it sets, it never gets too heavy, the main leads don't have weird and pointless misunderstandings used just to drag the story along, instead they communicate with each other well, they naturally form a bond and that i would say is personally my favorite thing about this lakorn. Their chemistry is great, there's many funny scenes as well, and the side characters are also memorable. If you like rom-coms that are not too heavy on the dramatic parts of it, and if you enjoy nice chemistry and a kind male lead who treats the female lead with care and respect this could be what you're looking for!Was this review helpful to you?
It's like eating vegetables without seasoning
Have you ever eaten vegetables without seasoning? There are salty, sweet, sour, but the taste bears it all. It can be eaten to simply relieve hunger. But I don't want to add.That's the impression of watching the Thai drama: Flash Marriage. Since the beginning, we have been treated to beautiful women with sexy bodies, so sexy that they even come to the office wearing mini and open clothes. The sexy dress that reminds me of the party dress shows Lady Diana Spencer's bare chest and shoulders.
The late Lady Diana? Far away? Hehehe besides him, I don't think I've ever seen a celebrity as elegant and perfect as Lady Diana in sexy clothes.
The idea of the story is also cliché. Contract marriage for the sake of getting the chair of company president. Strangely when Lalin (Pooklook) finally managed to get married, the president director chair was still not given.
The storyline is so messy. The only scene that stands out is the parade of sexy clothes by Lalin (Pooklook) and his two stepsisters: Nat (May Pitchanart Sakhakorn) and Phrao (Suzana Renaud) as well as the fight scenes that Pokpong (Tono Phakin Khamwilaisak) always wins.
But what annoyed me the most was the kiss scene between Lalin and Pokpong. It's just lip to lip. Meanwhile, it is said that the two of them were drunk so they did not realize they were doing a "one night stand".
If the bed scene isn't good, just pretend to be writhing behind the covers, hehehe …😭😭
A good ML scene without an audience feeling uncomfortable is played by Ji Jin-Hee as Kang Tae Wook and Kim Nam Joo as Go Hye-Ran in the Korean drama: Misty.
In the drama, Ji Jin Hee fondles Kim Nam Joo's neck so that the actress seems to shake. Even though it's possible that Ji Jin Hee just put her face on Kim Nam Jo's neck, but because it was done under a blanket, the audience's imagination was everywhere.
Another annoying scene in the Thai drama: Flash Marriage is the angry faces of the antagonists. It's like a soap opera scene where the actress glares angrily and takes too long, huhuhu.
So many negative values, why isn't there anything good? Yes, here! The music is not bad, but how come it is very similar to Zia's song “Only One” in the Korean drama ‘Cinderella with Four Knights’.
This is indeed a fatal error. I compare every drama I watch to a good Korean drama. Definitely lose.😀😀
Full review here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2023/01/flash-marriage-wiwa-fah-laep-drama-thailand.html
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Too Lakorn's flaws for me :(
Interestsing plot : A slightly adventurous ML accepts a fake marriage with an heiress in a war with her family (multiple wives and rivalries).Super actors (Tono = really handsome and cute) and FL OK.
BUT I watched this drama in (big) dotted lines because EVERYTHING is excessive: the evils, the repentances, the artificial action scenes, the "humour", the "frozen" frames (when characters stare at each other for half a minute...), the volume and the genre of the music, ...
In short, a drama far too "Lakorn" for me to really appreciate!
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1 ML un peu aventurier, accepte un faux mariage avec 1 héritière en guerre contre sa famille (multiple wifes and rivalties).
TB acteurs (Tono = handsome) et FL OK.
MAIS je l'ai regardé ce drama en (gros) pointillés car TOUT est excessif : les evils, les repentirs, les scènes d'action artificielles, les "comiques", les arrêts sur images, le volume et le genre de la musique, ...
Bref, un drama bcp trop "Lakorn" pour que j'apprécie vraiment !
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Both of male lead and female lead, Pokpong and Lin have a really good chemistry. Their acting somehow i feel unscripted because it seems natural. I can see their relationship slowly developing from fake to real one. It also include polygamy, Lin's dad has many wives which is make sense why they seize power. However, they don't really hate each other but it just because of the CEO's position.
I highly recommend this drama and has no doubt to rewatch. If you like the balance between romance and comedy, this is for you.
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The best Thai Romcom you will watch
I didn't know I haven't done a review for that lakorn. But frankly, if you are searching for a good Thai romcom you should definetely watch this one. Almost no flaws for the genre.The thing I like the most in this lakorn is how independent both (ML and FL are). Usually we have this troupe of Rich/Poor characters and it is annoying by how many stupid situations we get just because of it. Okay, we do have some unnecessarily cliches, but in fact the show itself always proved to us the cliches was just for gag and nothing else.
The couple is reasonable and we don't have stupid dramas. And even when we think we will get drama, the lakorn surprises us and make it bearable. So you end up liking it anyway.
Another thing is the ost, really good. I was very addicted to it.
Side note: ML is probably in the top 5 of the best ML in lakorn. He was so great and confident that I can't help but fell in love with him. And in turn FL wasn't bad at all. She was actually an independent woman who didn't need a man in her life. If she wanted, she could live without ML just fine. I love it!
Honestly, if you are looking for a lakorn that won't annoy you as much you should check this one.
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