Just Spoil You (2023)

“like a softcore porno but without the porn.” – Love movies, drama reviewer

Love lost and found again is the foundation of this drama. A cute boy with mysterious origin ties the many threads together. It has a good-looking cast of young actors and the lead’s do have some chemistry, but it is not very convincing. It was shot in Xi’an but it has a Taiwanese feel to it. This review is pretty trippy to match the ambience of this short drama.

This show is like a game of pin the tail on the donkey. It lurches all over the place but never stays long enough so that you can pin a label on it. For instance, it is quite racy at time, but you won't see anything explicit. It tests the boundaries but never crosses them. Some of the dialogs are very awkward but you can’t say that they are nonsensical or offensive, just cringey, stilted and non-PC.

The dubbing swings between functional to embarrassing. The acting go from reasonable to super cheesy. Every scene can bring its own surprises, and most don’t even involve the script. Ditto the production value. It can be decent one scene and amateurish the next. So much of this show is vexing. Consider how simple and tropey the A-plot is, this is no mean feat.

Some of that can be attributed to its short run time. Officially, it is only 20 x 10 mins long but once you top and tail them, they clock in closer to 8 mins per ep. Thus, the show moves at a cracking pace. I can imagine the editing room floor being littered with scenes they had to cut out. Editing and flow do suffer because of that. It does settle down a bit towards mid run and we can catch our breath but the home run is back to breakneck speed.

The script is humming a tune that sounds familiar but there are many dissonant chords. Cliches are everywhere. Like single use plastic items after a picnic. You might as well get used to plot holes because they are part of this gurgling witches’ brew. I can foretell much toils and troubles.

With a score this low, my modus operandi would be to cut my losses and drop the show but I couldn't. It is like watching a train wreck. You are mesmerised by the impending doom. You are shocked but also awed. As expected, a HEA ending was airdropped into place in the dying minutes of the show. All’s well that ends well.

This show is dire, but not so awful that it becomes a cult classic. It can even be unintentionally funny. In the end, it is a curio that will soon be forgotten. It did pique my interest and it might do the same for you. Heed my warning, gentlefolks. It is hard to stop once it hooks you. I binged it in morbid fascination with barely a pause. But I can never watched it again.

Maybe this is art. Maybe I’m a bowl of petunias. Peace out.

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Short and binge-able web drama about rekindling love.

"Just Spoil You" is a short web drama with 10 minutes per episode with 20 episodes in total. I binged watch it in one sitting.

Synopsis: A Young and beautiful manhua artist Zhong Ling, to treat her son Kele's congenital diabetes, returns to the city she left six years ago due to her breakup with her ex-boyfriend Han Donglai. Unexpectedly, when Kele gets lost, he coincidentally encounters a man who resembles Han Donglai. This character consistently appears in his mother's manhua. Mistaking him for his father, Kele is taken to Han Donglai's office, leading to their reunion and the beginning of a tumultuous love-hate relationship. The intertwined destinies of the two unfold once again as they confront Kele's origin and health condition.

On the one hand, Zhong Ling's departure over the past six years has turned her friend Chu Mo into a popular superstar. The opportunity to adapt her manga into a film recommended by Han Donglai stirs jealousy in his heart, leading him to investigate secretly. On the other hand, Zhong Ling's return drives Lin Xiaxi, who has always deeply loved Han Donglai, to madness, resulting in repeated acts of secret revenge. Who is Kele's biological father? Will there be a chance for a reunion in the former lovers' relationship?

Review: It was a short and decent drama to binge-watch. No new good dramas were recently announced, and this one pop-up on iQiyi, so I watched it.

Mediocre acting and the script is decent, so I give it a 7.0 rating.

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