Naughty Babe (2023)

Give that Dog an Oscar

I want to try to be kind. But it's nearly impossible. As a victim of cutie pie the series the year before, I have to say that I knew better and blame myself fully for watching this. I take full accountability for my bad decisions. I'd read both novels so I had a general idea of the plot and back story of each. And yes. The novel of naughty babe is just as bad as this. In fact I'd reckon the series is better in some aspects.

Story
There is none. They had good comedic timing in the beginning but while watching i came to the realization that i was using what I'd read in the books to fill gaps and explain away my confusion. Or maybe my brain is foggy from my old age. I still feel like I'm missing hours of my time from watching this. The cast was very attractive. The filter was a bit brighter. The product placements were a thing of beauty. Tell me a word for shameless in your language. Bills must be paid.

Acting/Cast
We need to retire this ship. Come for me, disagree if you want but since the whyru days of maxnat. I have always had a problem with an underage boy being paired with a twenty nine year old adult. I never liked it but seeing them in cutie pie I learned to stomach it. At least in my mind, nat was old enough to consensually do...those things he did. But let's be honest. NAT IS A TERRIBLE ACTOR. He has two default modes of expression; opening his mouth and widening his eyes. His enunciation sucks. He can't cry. He looks juvenile when being sexy. It's been almost five years and he's still this bad? At least Kuea Keerati gave us range. Max was okay. He looks mean naturally so he didn't have to work too hard. zeenunew were zeenunewing as usual with the cringe.
The Dog was the real star. He was obedient, he was cute, he looked great in his outfits. I mean...he was a better actor than the main leads. Carried the show on those four spindly legs.

Rewatch Value
If you want to lose your mind. Go right ahead.

Edit: Finale
It was definitely a ride. Even with all the complaints it had a lot of good moments. Dont take it too seriously and you'll be fine. Well done khun diao and hia yi. Enjoy your success

Read More

enjoyed the second half more

Overall: I'd really like to see these actors with better writing. If I were to start this at episode 4 and think they had just started dating, then the terrible communication and reluctance would make sense. But their characters' ages were 25 and 32, they were dating for 5? years (engaged for 3), they had known each other for 18 years (age 7 and 14). Their relationship dynamic didn't make sense to me even with a traumatic past event. This is based on a book which I didn't read and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on YouTube and iQIYI (uncut). Mandee also produced: Bed Friend, Cutie Pie 2, Cutie Pie and Why R U

Content Warnings: past death/gore, attempted murder, maybe held against will, dub/non con kiss, manipulation, manhandling, trauma/mental health struggles, stalking

What I Liked
- Kuea & Diao's friendship (and Diao and his friend group)
- Lian & Kuea's scenes
- Lian & Yi dream sequences/their dynamic
- cameos from characters in Cutie Pie
- couple funny parts like that dog's costume in ep 3
- sweet moments
- mystery aspect
- good kissing/intimacy (note, this is cut down in the YouTube version)
- Diao's evasive skills in ep 8
- Max's real mom played Yi's mom
- the ending of episode 8 was absolutely adorable
- production value (everything looks beautiful except too much blur filter, the actors, the sets, the cars, etc)

Room For Improvement
- I struggled with the characters and the relationship dynamic, we had an attractive, taller, stern, controlling character paired with a cute, shorter, avoiding physical affection character. The relationship felt more parent/child than equal partners, though thankfully this did start to change a bit. However, Yi said that Diao couldn't go to his own sister's party in episode 4 which was not cool. Also in episode 1 it appeared that there were security guards in their home to keep tabs on Diao/prevent him from leaving and security cameras inside the house for the same reason. And then the writers could have had Diao (an expert in martial arts) fight off those dudes but he got like 1 hit/punch in and then was a damsel in distress. Also him getting around on his bicycle further infantilized him.
- the manipulation/lying to Diao starting in episode 2
- poor communication, they didn't have sex in over a year? they've known each other for over 18 years and can't say what is bothering them, what they need from a relationship, problem solve together how to fix their problems? (I did like that one scene when asking about their honeymoon and future family plans), in later episodes they both say the importance of better communication but then don't communicate well
- the writers didn't make it clear that they had collaborated on their plan
- should have cut out the whole love rival side plot and explained character motivations more
- how Diao frequently avoided physical affection from his boyfriend
- too many time jumps in the first episode
- fart joke humor (and they've known each other for 18 years so what Yi said never happens in front of people was a total lie)
- comedy noises including the goat bleating
- cliche plot point at the end of episode 1
- maybe it was supposed to be funny how the dad prefers Diao because I found it really sad, Yi's dad was awesome in some ways but he was overly harsh to Yi at times
- terrible tiger cgi
- nonsense plot things: in 18 years, Diao didn't know that Yi has sisters (even if the marriage was recent that is something you would know about), Diao had never met Yi's mother in the 18 years that he knew him?, assuming someone is cheating because they smile/hug the opposite sex

Read More