Xika93
Wisconsin, United States
It deserves a chance
So, I just finished watching this and I know several other people have reviewed this already, but I think this show deserves some acknowledgement for what it tried to do even if certain aspects flopped. I won't sugar-coat this series...it needed a LOT of work and I'm not sure who gave it the green-light to air with so many blaring issues. That being said, with the Filipino BL industry as up-and-coming as it is, this show actually did a lot of things right.
I'll start with the things I didn't like because, with any luck, I can leave people with some hope for this series with it's positives. The acting is horrendous! Scenes are awkward and, more often than not, the actors seemed to have a hard time remembering their lines once they were in front of the camera. As my husband commented at one point "it's like the scene was done in one take and they called it good." However, I think a lot of the awkward acting has a lot to do with the directing. I think a lot of the actors and actresses had potential, but at the end of the day, it's the director who decides if the take they got is good enough and the stitching together of those scenes into an episode is coherent. Clearly, there was something going on behind the scenes causing this lack of judiciousness. Honestly, this is where a lot of the negative rating lies.
Despite the acting and editing, Rainbow Prince has a lot of good things going for it. For starters the plot and concept is pretty good. I realize the idea of an undercover prince seems a bit absurd in 2022, but it's a fairly unique concept for a BL drama. Also, this series as a musical was also ambitious, but spot on for a gay series. Obviously, not every song is hit (cringe, the ChukChuck song) and at times it's weird when decide to break out into song and dance, but those power-ballads (be still my heart, Darwin Lomentigar) were actually pretty catchy and singing (even if it was clearly dubbed) was good. If Disney ever decides to put its money where its mouth is and give us a complete LGBTQ movie/series, they could take some pointers from RP.
Additionally, not everyone was bad at acting and there was a lot of potential. The adults....clearly they had some issues memorizing and delivering their lines. The younger actors, though, actually some pretty good and natural delivery; that's not to say they're great, but there was potential (especially the drag queens and the bellhops). The main couple, and this is important, had chemistry. This is the biggest thing in a BL is making sure the actors (who I never assume are part of the LGBTQ community, unless I know otherwise) are comfortable portraying gay characters. Yes, Adrian's body far outweighs his acting skill, but you know what, I think that gave him the confidence to play a gay character and he makes a convincing gay, playboy prince. Eurwin, too, seemed very comfortable portraying a gay character (and arguably he's probably the best actor in the whole series). Together, they make a believable couple, doing things that gay couples do in real life like blatant flirting, being romantic or handsy in public and lots of innuendoes. It's not a traditional romance as we see in a lot of BLs, but I was happy because I'm usually screaming at the tv as to why a couple has to be so shy about everything.
Ultimately, Rainbow Prince deserves a chance. At the very least, it will satisfy your BL fix for a more real-life portrayal of gay romance. You will cringe and you will be disappointed with many scenes, and, ok, the ending needed some work. However, there are definitely some scenes you can go back and watch that'll make you feel warm and fuzzy or make you laugh. So, give it a chance and appreciate its attempt even if it's not the high-point of Filipino BL.
I'll start with the things I didn't like because, with any luck, I can leave people with some hope for this series with it's positives. The acting is horrendous! Scenes are awkward and, more often than not, the actors seemed to have a hard time remembering their lines once they were in front of the camera. As my husband commented at one point "it's like the scene was done in one take and they called it good." However, I think a lot of the awkward acting has a lot to do with the directing. I think a lot of the actors and actresses had potential, but at the end of the day, it's the director who decides if the take they got is good enough and the stitching together of those scenes into an episode is coherent. Clearly, there was something going on behind the scenes causing this lack of judiciousness. Honestly, this is where a lot of the negative rating lies.
Despite the acting and editing, Rainbow Prince has a lot of good things going for it. For starters the plot and concept is pretty good. I realize the idea of an undercover prince seems a bit absurd in 2022, but it's a fairly unique concept for a BL drama. Also, this series as a musical was also ambitious, but spot on for a gay series. Obviously, not every song is hit (cringe, the ChukChuck song) and at times it's weird when decide to break out into song and dance, but those power-ballads (be still my heart, Darwin Lomentigar) were actually pretty catchy and singing (even if it was clearly dubbed) was good. If Disney ever decides to put its money where its mouth is and give us a complete LGBTQ movie/series, they could take some pointers from RP.
Additionally, not everyone was bad at acting and there was a lot of potential. The adults....clearly they had some issues memorizing and delivering their lines. The younger actors, though, actually some pretty good and natural delivery; that's not to say they're great, but there was potential (especially the drag queens and the bellhops). The main couple, and this is important, had chemistry. This is the biggest thing in a BL is making sure the actors (who I never assume are part of the LGBTQ community, unless I know otherwise) are comfortable portraying gay characters. Yes, Adrian's body far outweighs his acting skill, but you know what, I think that gave him the confidence to play a gay character and he makes a convincing gay, playboy prince. Eurwin, too, seemed very comfortable portraying a gay character (and arguably he's probably the best actor in the whole series). Together, they make a believable couple, doing things that gay couples do in real life like blatant flirting, being romantic or handsy in public and lots of innuendoes. It's not a traditional romance as we see in a lot of BLs, but I was happy because I'm usually screaming at the tv as to why a couple has to be so shy about everything.
Ultimately, Rainbow Prince deserves a chance. At the very least, it will satisfy your BL fix for a more real-life portrayal of gay romance. You will cringe and you will be disappointed with many scenes, and, ok, the ending needed some work. However, there are definitely some scenes you can go back and watch that'll make you feel warm and fuzzy or make you laugh. So, give it a chance and appreciate its attempt even if it's not the high-point of Filipino BL.
Was this review helpful to you?
