This review may contain spoilers
Great little BL rom com with sizzling chemistry - updated review after 2nd viewing
This series needs to be immediately followed up by Cutie Pie II (uncut) in order to gain full closure and I will comment on this second series as part of this review.
The plot centres around Kuea and Lian who first meet when Lian is 7 and Kuea is a brand new baby. Lian immediately falls in love and they develop a strong bond which Kuea’s grandfather recognises and asks that the two boys enter into an arranged marriage. The drama is about their similarities and differences and whether they can weather the storm created by the fact that they try to be what they think the other needs rather than are true to themselves. Underlying this main plot is a sub plot highlighting the fact that love is love regardless of gender and the unfairness that gay couples face by not being able to celebrate their love through marriage.
Once the drama moved past the initially odd relationship between Kuea and Lian and I begin to understand what they were and weren’t saying to each other I became very invested in both the developing plot and their real feelings for each other. The acting is fabulous not just between the 2 males leads whose chemistry was electric but the rest of the main supporting cast who are equally talented and believable and there are some stand out performances including Foei, Lian’s right hand man who is crazy eccentric. Two other couples emerge as the story progresses and again there are wonderfully powerful scenes from them too.
The music scenes were really enjoyable because each time Kuea performed as Kilin he sang complete songs (that lasted for more than four lines and a quick chorus) with lyrics that were relevant to the situation Kuea and Lian found themselves in at that moment. Also the actor who played Kuea has a fantastic voice and excellent stage presence (yes, I know he’s a singer in real life)
The penultimate scene (in part 2) is a beautiful, raw, powerful and tender homage to true love and is something I will cherish forever. You need to watch both dramas just for this scene alone.
What’s not to like? Until the blanks are filled in through flashbacks I wasn’t really sure where the story was going to take me. Kuea is a sort of weird performing puppy dog on their date nights (always on a Friday) and Lian tries to control everything about him both on these evenings and during every other interaction they have. I initially thought ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and I couldn’t get my head round the idea that all the parents seemed to think that a same sex arranged marriage was a safe and healthy place for Kuea. It probably took until about chapter 8 or 9 before I thought they should be together. I am not homophobic (IMO people should be allowed to love who they love and not be penalised for it in any way) but docked marks against the ‘Story’ category for how weird I found it that the parents assumed the boys would be happy to be in arranged marriage based on the assumptions made by the grandfather. What if the boys had not been gay?! Arranged marriages can be challenging enough at the best of times but in a country that did not recognise same sex marriage at the time this was filmed it’s doubly difficult to imagine that the parents would be comfortable for them to be together. IMHO the plot would have been so much more plausible if the grandfather had interviewed the boys (and the conversations interwoven into the story line) to give him grounds for recommending that they get married.
Would I watch this again? Despite the negatives mentioned, yes, yes I would
REVIEW UPDATE:
I watched this again as I came across the OST from when Kirin exposed his true identity at Gemini and unbeknownst to him Lian was in the audience and it made me keen to watch it again.
Not only did I find it much funnier (certainly in the first few episodes) but I fell in love with the giggles that emanated from Kuea and Lian in the NC scenes that reinforced the fact that s*x isn’t just about bodice ripping passion but that it can be playful too. It was refreshing to see this side of a relationship being portrayed in a drama.
Nunew was only 21 when he acted in this drama and he absolutely nailed the angst, fear and insecurity his character felt when he realised that nobody took him seriously as a grown up, capable of grown up thinking and decision making. He was also spot on in the more positive and heartwarming scenes. So kudos for his talent. The chemistry between him and Zee was so believable and they are a highly skilled, great pairing.
On watching this a second time I also realised much earlier that although the two main characters were groomed to become life partners by the elders, they probably would have fallen for each other anyway and what made it all more believable were some of the more subtle exchanges that I missed the first time round as I was too busy being judgy.
All in all I am glad I rewatched this as I got so much more enjoyment the second time around.
The plot centres around Kuea and Lian who first meet when Lian is 7 and Kuea is a brand new baby. Lian immediately falls in love and they develop a strong bond which Kuea’s grandfather recognises and asks that the two boys enter into an arranged marriage. The drama is about their similarities and differences and whether they can weather the storm created by the fact that they try to be what they think the other needs rather than are true to themselves. Underlying this main plot is a sub plot highlighting the fact that love is love regardless of gender and the unfairness that gay couples face by not being able to celebrate their love through marriage.
Once the drama moved past the initially odd relationship between Kuea and Lian and I begin to understand what they were and weren’t saying to each other I became very invested in both the developing plot and their real feelings for each other. The acting is fabulous not just between the 2 males leads whose chemistry was electric but the rest of the main supporting cast who are equally talented and believable and there are some stand out performances including Foei, Lian’s right hand man who is crazy eccentric. Two other couples emerge as the story progresses and again there are wonderfully powerful scenes from them too.
The music scenes were really enjoyable because each time Kuea performed as Kilin he sang complete songs (that lasted for more than four lines and a quick chorus) with lyrics that were relevant to the situation Kuea and Lian found themselves in at that moment. Also the actor who played Kuea has a fantastic voice and excellent stage presence (yes, I know he’s a singer in real life)
The penultimate scene (in part 2) is a beautiful, raw, powerful and tender homage to true love and is something I will cherish forever. You need to watch both dramas just for this scene alone.
What’s not to like? Until the blanks are filled in through flashbacks I wasn’t really sure where the story was going to take me. Kuea is a sort of weird performing puppy dog on their date nights (always on a Friday) and Lian tries to control everything about him both on these evenings and during every other interaction they have. I initially thought ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and I couldn’t get my head round the idea that all the parents seemed to think that a same sex arranged marriage was a safe and healthy place for Kuea. It probably took until about chapter 8 or 9 before I thought they should be together. I am not homophobic (IMO people should be allowed to love who they love and not be penalised for it in any way) but docked marks against the ‘Story’ category for how weird I found it that the parents assumed the boys would be happy to be in arranged marriage based on the assumptions made by the grandfather. What if the boys had not been gay?! Arranged marriages can be challenging enough at the best of times but in a country that did not recognise same sex marriage at the time this was filmed it’s doubly difficult to imagine that the parents would be comfortable for them to be together. IMHO the plot would have been so much more plausible if the grandfather had interviewed the boys (and the conversations interwoven into the story line) to give him grounds for recommending that they get married.
Would I watch this again? Despite the negatives mentioned, yes, yes I would
REVIEW UPDATE:
I watched this again as I came across the OST from when Kirin exposed his true identity at Gemini and unbeknownst to him Lian was in the audience and it made me keen to watch it again.
Not only did I find it much funnier (certainly in the first few episodes) but I fell in love with the giggles that emanated from Kuea and Lian in the NC scenes that reinforced the fact that s*x isn’t just about bodice ripping passion but that it can be playful too. It was refreshing to see this side of a relationship being portrayed in a drama.
Nunew was only 21 when he acted in this drama and he absolutely nailed the angst, fear and insecurity his character felt when he realised that nobody took him seriously as a grown up, capable of grown up thinking and decision making. He was also spot on in the more positive and heartwarming scenes. So kudos for his talent. The chemistry between him and Zee was so believable and they are a highly skilled, great pairing.
On watching this a second time I also realised much earlier that although the two main characters were groomed to become life partners by the elders, they probably would have fallen for each other anyway and what made it all more believable were some of the more subtle exchanges that I missed the first time round as I was too busy being judgy.
All in all I am glad I rewatched this as I got so much more enjoyment the second time around.
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