Was I curious to see thai version? Not really, LOL. But you can see I really am willing to give the chance to anything:)
This started with only a low expectations, as they've written everywhere that Ungsumalin had no-kissing clause in her contract, or smth. See, there are 2 options. Either the romance story can do without kiss scenes entirely and still be totally romantic (I know such ones:) Or it does have kiss scenes, and those can be powerful tool when used well or various ways. Now... Unfortunatelly some of asian countries came up with the 3rd option and that is to have something stiff and fake as a half-way. I say either stick with one or the other. Because even very good drama can become ridiculous if a passerby must knock or car must loudly pass or flowerpot must fall each time the characters are about to kiss. Repeated for the 20th time, it can change the piece's genre. Awkward, or plain scary looking stiff "kisses" can damage the intensity or purity of feelings the characters are supposed to portray. Attempts to use hands, objects or camera angles to hide the kiss "surprisingly" don't work either, as a kiss takes the audience's attention to the lips and nowhere else. Therefore if someone is against lip-kissing, either the script or the cast has to be changed.
Would I like Princess Hours without Ungsumalin? With someone who would dare to kiss Tao Sattaphong? That's a question. If this is a "meh" drama/lakorn, which even the hottest kiss cannot save, then I say it probably doesn't matter. I watched 7 episodes out of 20 and realized I don't care whether: she falls for him/ sleeps with him / falls for the cousin instead / dies. When it's like that I think it's pointless to count the series virtues or flaws. I'm not even that far in the story where the kisses could come and I could care whether they're true or fake. I need to get hooked, first.
And did I get hooked? See, I didn't drop this because of - for a lakorn - VERY short episode runtimes. While even THAT proved sneakily tricky: see the 3rd paragraph from the bottom, or if you care you can read as my further experience followed.
First. Tao Sattaphong is hot and can be quite expressive with his eyes, but what of it, if there's such a lukewarm atmosphere between him and Pattie. He kisses the other girl, but she is not the nang'ek.
Jab Benyakul and Sunsanee Wattananukul are great cast, they are doing a good job. It's just I am really not interested in whatever is happening. It's either my fault or the script's. .
At episode 11, pra'ek shares REAL kiss with the second female. Nang'ek is watching this kiss. She is deeply upset... maybe she knows that thanks to her character's actress, SHE would never kiss him? LOL. Now. I always say the marriage dramas do fascinate me as they span to so many episodes of dragging things the leading couple is still not capable to talk through, despite sharing the SAME ROOM the whole time, LOL. Here, the prince returns in the small bedroom and finds Pattie sulking on the bed. She refers to him being in love with someone else, she mentiones the kiss... there is no mistake of her being hurt (she is crying right in front of him). So there's obviously no way to drag this further as a misunderstanding. He does understand. As it was actually the old girlfriend who initiated the kiss, and as he is clearly stirred by his new wife crying about it, his reaction flashes right there. He goes to kiss her... er, wait. It's Pattie. He can't really kiss her. So he does something near to her ear. Now I don't know how we are supposed to feel as the audience. Should we imagine the kiss? Say to ourselves, that magnificent actress as Pattie is, is worth watching a thing like this? Then he goes to sleep with her on the tiny bed. There really is nothing else to watch in such scene. We don't have a light getting dim and cut to the scene of the next day. No, we're still there. That's why I mentioned if the actress can't kiss, then the SCRIPT has to be changed accordingly. It cannot leave us linger on the point where nobody shall deliver.
There's still half of the series ahead. It will be all about them living in very close proximity (as I remember, the Goong had hardly much else in the story), getting closer and closer... Not sure to what, in this remake's case. It's funny to see prince teasing nang'ek about the kiss and intimacy they DIDN'T share. We could clearly see it. We have camera! LOL. What was caustic in the korean version, is only mildly ridiculous in the thai one. Do I dwell too much? So what, there's no real kissing. But is there anything else to wach? The whole show is concentrating on this. There's no second couple, or side story. It's all about the main couple. And the stupid fictional kingdom stuff (I tune that out). There is the cousin... Jealous both in the love and title. That's about the most interesting thing this show has to offer. Or, is it the comedy? Scene of Pattie hiding under the Prince's bed was able to make me laugh. She's so clearly a comedy actress.
Next episode... The comedy continues. With combination of the jealous cousin/ex-girlfriend (he's cute, but she's got a face like a horse, hardly a competition for Pattie). As the childish playing with lipstick clown marks on a face is about as childish as jealous-games are, this definitely is immature show. Then, there comes slap/kiss scene. A big one. They use the fake kiss 3x in a row. Then they move onto bed. There's concentrated anticipation. There's like noo way they can complete this with another fake one. So in the last second, he doesn't do it and leaves. SORRY IF THIS IS A SPOILER but I think it's better you know what you've signed in for with this "romance" series:))
This then becomes just as draggy as Goong. EXCEPT you don't get the rare occasional meatballs in the loong string of sauce. The sauce got better, though. And it makes the whole thing WORSE. Because I kinda got hooked on Ungsumalin/Tao chemistry. They ARE cute together. They are supported by good production values (the palace, costumes... everything looks good) and side-cast. It's only sad I'm starting to see how sweet this lakorn COULD be. But in everything we're gonna see, no matter how funny/cute/romantic scene, there will be the scaredy-cat jumping around the "no kissing!" clause...
It's indeed getting serious since epi 14. There are finally some scenes with them sorting the feelings out. There are some hugs, at least there is no clause forbidding him to touch her. Yet another almost-kiss, repeated twice (it's like this in every episode that follows) LOL. Really, this needed to be re-shooted. Either with some time to grow-up for Unsgumalin, or with some other actress. OR the producers need to learn either shoot the proper thing, or not shoot at all.
Not only the romance line goes in circles, so does the "royalty" plot. There are no real problems between the couple besides them being prince & princess, targeted by the dethroned part of the family. Solution is plain simple. Let the cousin, raised in jealousy for the title, get the title. Let pra'ek get his private life back. Both sides happy. See? I think everyone watching can see. But we're going to tiptoe in circles around it for... how many episodes? Do we get to resolve this? I don't even remember how it got resolved in Goong, as EVEN GOONG bored me to death.
I lowered my rating even lower than at the beginning (the beginning that was NOT promising) as the number of episodes makes this MORE than overdragged. AT LEAST 5 last episodes could be, and SHOULD BE squeezed into ONE, tops. You like CONSTANTLY have the feeling that the show is NEARING the very end. Then it like, re-starts again... With completely the same stuff... It's like brain damage.
In conclusion, I won't even spoiler you how the ending was. As I also don't know. Because I did not CARE enough about it. Watching this show, I spaced out. I simply don't remember the ending. Same as with Goong. Only it's not because it was 2006 when I was watching it.
And I think THAT reveals more about this series than any spoiler.
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