e-lai-wa
This review may contain spoilers
An interesting yet emotionally unbalanced attempt at "real-life" BL
The indie Filipino BL scene has graced us with some choice series, and "Stuck On You" is a rather middle tier choice from the batch. While it attempts to showcase a more "real life" or "believable" character-based story between the "heart-first" Reb (played by Iyo Canlas) and closed-off JM (played by Yves Flores), the delivery is juxtaposed by two main characters that struggle to break free from the confines of their archetypes and plot. Despite the fact that I rather like the atypical direction that was taken with the COVID/homebound drama series, it left me feeling confused with its little emotional payoff.
A motif in the BL genre is "transgressing boundaries, "and it is often done as a means to further the plot or deepen/complicate character relations in sometimes not-so consensual ways. Putting it simply, "Stuck On You" took it and made it literally the plot and much of the character interactions. Given the context of the story, the character choices make sense in theory: they are emotionally and idealistically opposites in a less than ideal situation. However, on a fundamentally human level, this series was hard for me to watch. To make someone eat on the floor because you don't want them near you, or to lash out and degrade someone for using basic human essentials in a pandemic, to additionally witholding means of communication to the outside world to the point where one would be considered missing?? Perhaps this is purely because I lack an emotional degradation kink nor do I enjoy the rather icky attempt at "enemies to lovers(?)," but it just...wasn't cute? In other words, this show lacked the driving force of *kilig* I was hoping to receive from the studio that made a simple yet successful attempt of such with "Quaranthings," and it was not helped in any regard with the erratic pacing and clunky character moments.
That's not to say that clunky moments are not appealing in their own way (I like to think of Filipino BLs as strong examples of "clunky yet cute romance"), but I will say the moments of intimacy missed the mark. Nothing outright horrible, but rather a struggle to believe there is some, if any, chemistry between the characters. Is there love that looks like this? I'm sure this is, but I wouldn't call it "love" upon first glance (maybe "spiteful affection"?). Nevertheless, in the heart-wrenching sequence that is Beverly Cumla's show-stealing moment with Yves Flores in episode 7, I came to appreciate that this dramatic rollercoaster of a show through all its twists and turns.
Rant aside, I did enjoy the experience of watching it, and I would only rewatch it to attempt to sympathize with the characters more. Also, the opening is quite a banger and has been added to many of my playlists :) All in all, "Stuck on You" is not my first choice to recommend, but definitely I definitely encourage you to watch it if you're looking for something that is of a different flavor than you may be used to.
A motif in the BL genre is "transgressing boundaries, "and it is often done as a means to further the plot or deepen/complicate character relations in sometimes not-so consensual ways. Putting it simply, "Stuck On You" took it and made it literally the plot and much of the character interactions. Given the context of the story, the character choices make sense in theory: they are emotionally and idealistically opposites in a less than ideal situation. However, on a fundamentally human level, this series was hard for me to watch. To make someone eat on the floor because you don't want them near you, or to lash out and degrade someone for using basic human essentials in a pandemic, to additionally witholding means of communication to the outside world to the point where one would be considered missing?? Perhaps this is purely because I lack an emotional degradation kink nor do I enjoy the rather icky attempt at "enemies to lovers(?)," but it just...wasn't cute? In other words, this show lacked the driving force of *kilig* I was hoping to receive from the studio that made a simple yet successful attempt of such with "Quaranthings," and it was not helped in any regard with the erratic pacing and clunky character moments.
That's not to say that clunky moments are not appealing in their own way (I like to think of Filipino BLs as strong examples of "clunky yet cute romance"), but I will say the moments of intimacy missed the mark. Nothing outright horrible, but rather a struggle to believe there is some, if any, chemistry between the characters. Is there love that looks like this? I'm sure this is, but I wouldn't call it "love" upon first glance (maybe "spiteful affection"?). Nevertheless, in the heart-wrenching sequence that is Beverly Cumla's show-stealing moment with Yves Flores in episode 7, I came to appreciate that this dramatic rollercoaster of a show through all its twists and turns.
Rant aside, I did enjoy the experience of watching it, and I would only rewatch it to attempt to sympathize with the characters more. Also, the opening is quite a banger and has been added to many of my playlists :) All in all, "Stuck on You" is not my first choice to recommend, but definitely I definitely encourage you to watch it if you're looking for something that is of a different flavor than you may be used to.
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