“The Tuxedo” has an interesting premise, one of the best OST’s to come out of the Thai BL genre, and the appealing Green Phongsathorn Padungktiwong who plays the lead character. The director is Mike Phontharis Chotkijsadarsopon, whose previous stint at the helm of a BL was the mafia crim series “Golden Blood”. All up, “The Tuxedo” looks like a stylish movie but feels like a romantic soap.

For all its good aspects, it has a long list of bad ones, most notable of which is its co-lead Chap Suppacheep Chanapai, who, despite his extensive list of acting credits, turns in quite a mediocre performance as the illegitimate scion of a wealthy industrialist and who suffers from a chronic syndrome stemming from childhood trauma (I”m guessing agoraphobia, although no doctor or therapist appears in the show to confirm this). Chap plays Nawee, an arrogant young man who somehow manages for three years to be the CEO of production in his father’s business while maintaining a reclusive existence in a sumptuous modern architect designed house & enclave in an obscure part of the country. Chap plays his scenes of panic attacks as if he were drugged; perhaps Director Mike & Chap preferred that Narwee appear to act more like he had a chemically-induced condition than a psychologically disturbed one. In any event, he is ultimately saved from his predicament by the love of Aioun, a fastidious high-end tailor, who runs an exclusive bespoke business from idiosyncratically designed premises in another obscure location.

The developing love story of these two men from different backgrounds who meet by strange circumstance is told with engaging sincerity; and the chemistry between the two leads is warm and convincing. The problem with the series is that instead of the plot concentrating on this, it meanders to include characters who are of little interest and omits other characters and situations that could have added to the drama. In this respect, unfortunately, the series shows the inexperience of newbie screenwriter Pacharawan Chaipuwarat.

Elsewhere, the writer has written of her script writing that she creates “the story based on public or client interests and conduct(s) research to obtain accurate factual background information authentic details.” This admirable work formula reveals itself in the detailed scenes of Aioun’s design work and pattern-cutting and suit-making (similar scenes to “Behind cut”). But attention to client (aka producer and/or director) interests can mean an inexperienced writer who is either not confident in how to put together a cohesive plot or who is reluctant to stand up for it in the often combative pre-production meetings. Whichever is the case, “The Tuxedo” includes Aioun’s two younger “brothers”, two elderly staff, Aioun’s fiancee, Narwee’s father & step-mother and step-brother, who all play minor roles in a very haphazard flow of sequences. The only additional character who is melded well into the story is Sichol, played by Tape Worrachai Sirikongsuwan. Tape has been acting for almost ten years and, though his character is largely comic in nature, he has enough scenes to show his capabilities and to draw Sichol as equally bumbling and caring.

Sichol is the character who connects the two leads together when he goes to the rescue of Aioun’s young brother, Oab, mugged at night by three ruffians. By way of thanks for helping Oab, Aioun offers Sichol a new suit to replace the one damaged in the brawl so that Sichol can still look presentable at his job interview the next day with Narwee. At that interview, the curt & dismissive Narwee likes nothing about Sichol but is attracted to the quality of the suit and offers Sichol the job if he can fulfil the task of getting the tailor who made that suit to make one for Narwee also.

Unbeknownst to both Sichol and Narwee, Aioun’s father had had his business ruined by the sharp business practices of Narwee’s father; not surprisingly therefore, Aioun turns down the suit request. We learn the reason Narwee is insistent on the best suit to be found hereabouts is because he is relying on it to impress his father at an upcoming birthday lunch Narwee is planning. We find out later that Narwee is his father’s bastard son who has been raised and elevated to a senior position in the father’s business but is now to be replaced by Narwee’s younger half-brother.

Given how important Dad is to both of the leads, it is a question worth asking why he appears in only episodes 5 & 6 (there are only 8 episodes). Unlike their Korean counterparts, a repeating habit of Thai BL creators is to put minor characters into set scenes in block fashion. I suspect this is for scheduling & budgeting reasons. What this means is that, unlike in real life where the people around us feature in many incidental ways, characters in Thai BL series appear to play a major scene and then disappear.

And this does not only apply to the Dad in “The Tuxedo”. (Aioun turns out to have a GF - we don’t learn of her existence till episode 6.) The show itself begins with neither Aioun or Narwee but with two minor characters, an elderly lady, one of Aioun’s employees, and Oab, Aioun’s young brother. Oab is an annoying fellow, whose main dramatic purpose is to so annoy his brother Art that Art revenges himself by concealing from Oab the client measurement book on which Aioun’s business depends. This irresponsible act is forgiven by Aioun (showing us his sympathetic considerate nature), even though it compels Aioun to make the trek to Narwee’s house to remeasure for the suit, hence another interaction in the developing love story.

The measurement book appears more often than some of the minor characters; it is a substantial soft leather cover journal; it is believable as a work item. But when Art conceals it in a pile of discarded fabric cut-offs, we are asked to believe that the elderly lady who cleans out the cut-offs, can’t feel the odd shape and weight of the journal concealed within the fabrics. Anyone who’s worked in the rag trade would know what a pile of fabric cut-offs weighs; cutting fabric is a skill - the less fabric cut from the roll, the lower the cost; and as another poster has pointed out, the wool fabrics suited to the Thai climate would be lightweight.

This “now you see them/now you don’t” approach to character appearances is at its worst in relation to Aioun’s GF, Chanjoa. She appears in only episodes 6, 7 & 8. She turns up at Aioun’s Birthday dinner celebration where she is aggressively spoken to by Narwee, angry at the discovery his love interest has a woman in his life. Aioun pacifies Narwee later by declaring his love, although Narwee will - after several more panic attacks - break off the relationship in childish jilted-lover fashion. Before this, however, Chanjoa is dispensed as a character in a remarkable scene where Aioun, tongue-tied, can’t find the words to explain why he is breaking off their relationship. Chanjoa departs the series (just in time for the final reconciliation of our lovers), walking out the door more of an adult than either of the two male leads.

As if Director Mike realises this disjointed story line has not created sufficient romantic atmosphere & tension, the scene at the end of the two lovers firmly committed into each others’ arms is played out against a five minute recap of their main scenes together from earlier in the series. Most avid BL fans know by now from the increasing flow of quality BL series out of Korea that the final scene is critical to the credibility of the love story and how well, for the most part, Korean creatives handle this aspect. “The Tuxedo” scores low in this regard.

Rewatch value is low. But on the plus side, Jeff Satur’s compositions on the music track are very good; the theme from his song “Because of you” is of sufficient quality that it works as a stand-alone orchestral piece.

A final word about Green’s performance. He succeeded in making Aioun the emotional centre of this show with his sympathetic performance. Aioun is both a creative artisan and a firm and successful businessman, but he is also the central axis of love and leadership around which his brothers and employees revolve and to whom Narwee gravitates. Green achieves this combination balancing act in a nicely sustained performance; hopefully we will see more of his talents in future series.