This review may contain spoilers
Get Your Crazy Here
A Case Study in Being Delusional and Other People Ignoring It
Thank your Ninjakkn for subbing this!
Things I liked:
1. The most beautiful waterfall area I've seen so far in any Thai lakorn. Not sure where it was filmed, but would love to visit that spot.
2. Even though some of the characters were irritating because I would not personally react to the situations like they do, it still drew me in to see how it would all play out. What direction would the writers take next? And how would it compare to the 2006 version. (I think I liked the 2006 version just a bit more overall.)
3. With the mental health issues raised here, and not just for the main crazy girl, it gives one pause to see how similar lakorns can be to someone we may know.
4. Some of the ending moral messages.
5. I think the cast did a good job at expressing who their character was supposed to be even when I didn't really agree with or like that character. (I think the lead actress here did a better job than the one in 2006)
6. Interesting how Dr. Anon's character was quite different in this version.
7. Seeing the differences in the story line between the 2006 and 2019 versions.
8. The sweet looks (would have liked more) between the main couple.
Things I have come to expect from Thai lakorns that check the box:
1. Crazy evil witch sister
2. Crazy evil witch step mom
3. Passive doormat female lead
4. Male lead that lost his capacity to reason
5. Unnecessary misunderstandings
6. Karma
Things I didn't like:
1. A female lead that acts like a doormat 98% of the time.
2. A family that allows a child to grow up being a spoiled brat.
3. A family that doesn't admit there is a mental health issue and get that person help.
4. A family that allows another child in the family to be abused.
5. It made my frustration levels a bit too high. Well, that may be unfair as I generally like lakorns to make me feel a wide range of emotions. Depending on my mood at the time, lol.
6. The main thing I really didn't like is listed in the spoiler below.
Spoilers ahead:
The major thing I never really liked about either version is the fact that Pim slept with Kim (or Ae from 2006). Not only once, but twice. Then wants him to marry her sister, Khem. Ok, I can understand being human and wanting to express that because she's human as well. Pim has always had to control so much of how she feels. That she loves and wants him. That she's been trained/conditioned to give up everything to Khem. That she feels guilty for loving the guy her sister “loves”. But really, she doesn't want to hurt her sister by taking Kim away, but she slept with him? The ick factor on that is really high for me. Plus, neither version really sold me on how they ended up sleeping together. Especially this version where it just seemed too sudden. Yes, you're touching my face and kiss me a bit, so yeah, let's fall on the bed, lol!
Well, since I like to compare different versions, I am glad I finished this one.
Thai lakorns may drive me to drink, but I still love them.
Story:8
Cast/Acting:9
Music:6
Rewatch value: 1
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This review may contain spoilers
--- Warning: SPOILERS---There’s a genre in Thai lakorn called slap & kiss. Like the name suggests, it is highly problematic and full of slapping, screaming, fighting and all kinds of violent and toxic behavior. I think the reason why people watch it is because it’s like watching a car wreck. It’s not something you see everyday. The characters are so over the top that they make cartoon characters realistic. They can make the viewer angry and yes, in some cases, they can also make the viewer laugh. I do not recommend this genre unless one already likes ‘makjang’ to begin with. In fact, slap & kiss is like a crack genre that is even more extreme than makjang. Only watch this if you can’t take it seriously.
I do not usually watch slap kiss but I was actually introduced to watching asian dramas though it, when someone made recommendations in the romance novel board I used to visit.
When done well (ex: Kluen Cheewit) though, they remind me of the romance novels I used to read. I think Long Ngao Jan 2019 is one of the ‘better ones.' I don’t recommend the older version but this later version is able to do something which I rarely see in this genre.
It’s able to point out that all the characters are dysfunctional and that it is problematic.
This is one of those rare lakorns where I did not hate the antagonist. Khem was horrible but the plot did a good job of explaining why she turned out that way. From the very beginning when she was young, she was already brainwashed by her mother to believe that her older sister would take everything from her. Her upbringing lead her to become a resentful person. I felt that every time she did something bad, she was also hurting. When she finally turned into a total mess I felt sorry for her because she was both an antagonist and a victim.
The FL (the older sister) was the main victim of the drama. She was a doormat who was abused since childhood by her stepmother and stepsister and was used to always giving in. She had a father and grandparents who loved her but they couldn’t protect her enough. This is the type of weak FL that many would despise but I could’t help but admire her love for her sister. Also, the actress playing this role usually plays bitchy, antagonistic roles, so her being able to play this pitiful character was actually impressive for me.
The lead hero is what I call ‘a jerk with a heart of gold.’ Acts like an ass but can actually be nice if he weren’t so deluded about the FL. He straightens out later and I don’t know if it’s a little too late or too much; it depends on one’s personal level of tolerance. I think he’s written to be much nicer here than in the older version (psycho) who I can hardly watch. In here, all the characters in the family were so messed up that the ML just gets swallowed up by them, even if he was the one who started causing trouble in the first place.
I like how, instead of focusing on his revenge scheme, the story focuses on how the dysfunctional family caused mental issues and destroyed the relationship between the sisters. I don’t know if it showed an accurate representation- especially of the antagonist’s condition but at the very least, it points out that yes, this character is problematic and yes, this is what happens if things aren’t sorted out.
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