Call It What You Want (2021)

It an amazing show, and I don't normally like show's like this!

All of the actors were amazing!
I really loved James and how he treated and listened to the cast and crew of the show. Also, LOVE his hair, it's so long and I really wanna French braid it...
I saw someone say that Ait reminded them of Pete from Love By Chance and I really see that, he ofc has his own personality but he has a little bit of Pete which I find very cute.
Ohhhhhh Bas, my god, I really wanna hug him, I REALLY REALLY want to give him a hug, and Michael did an amazing job of playing him, he really got the feeling through and made me wanna cry, I never wanna cry when watching dramas so that's how I know he did a really good job.
Marco was good, I loved when he spoke English, it was very cute and how he was to my boy Bas was great, I hope they become happy in season 2 and maybe even get together.
NOW THIS MAN TEE. I AM BOUT TO RIP THIS MAN'S WHOLE RIBCAGE OUT, THEN HIS NONEXISTENT HEART OUT! I can not believe him, I will never hate a man more (just wait till I start another show) more than I hate this man. The way he treated all the people that worked for him mainly Bas, but everyone was not treated well, and I... HATE HIM. I have no other words for him, that's it. PERIOD.
All around I thought they did a really good job, normally when a show has a big meaning they don't always make the show you know... like, happy, but they were able to keep the important stuff in, but keep it cute and funny. It really is an amazing show and I can't wait for season 2. 10/10 would watch again :)

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This series is so Under-rated

It needs more stars than it already has, I rarely give out complements y'all. I really love where the series have that indie-ish, sweet, dramatic and realistic plot blended all together. It's more of a "shounen ai(focuses on the sweet part of the relationship between 2 boys)" genre than a "yaoi(focuses on the explicit content in a relationship between 2 boys)". Personally I was kind of getting "Umay (getting sick of)" BL series that are in the University or School setting with their unrealistic effects. I just wish that season 2 goes well because most Thai BL series with S2 was kind of disappointing and failed to meet the expectations of most viewers. The ending was such a cliffhanger so I hope they do well and good in the second season cuz S1 is really good. The only thing that bothers me in is their car scene, wrong lighting and it was kind of obvious that they used green screen. That's why this question lingers inside my head the whole day "Are they not allowed to go outside, in thailand? That they use green screen as a last resort". Anyway, aside from their car scene the whole series was super good. I hope they produce more BL series like this in the future.

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Great starter series

So I'm a big Am Anusorn fan from Present Perfect/Still. I did get to exchange some emails with him (Am A.) during the beginning of the Pandemic and I can tell you he is an awesome human being. A great guy for sure.
Ok so BL series are still new for Am but he is catching on fast with his own style. So the above statement makes more sense thinking about the subject matter right! I know this all came from the heart. Though I was glad that Bas (Michael) got his due in the last episode but it seemed like we left James and Ait in bed together half way through the episode which not ok. Yes leaving them in bed together is ok but not half way thru the episode. Anyway, So it follows that Bas (Michael) is the unsung hero/best actor of the series with best actor/actor going to James (Time) of course he is actually playing Am right?

So who was this story really about. I think it's a combination of 3 BL series with parts of all in it. I'm right? Anyone dare to guess? Message me and I'll tell you what I think.

Definitely some new textures in this BL that I would love to see Am Anusorn do more. Wanting more is a good thing so let's have it!

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One of the Best for 21

This is an astonishingly good BL series that is way too quick for its own good. It simply moved to fast to process its complete story. I wanted more. This is one of the best acted series of 2021 and no doubt THE best BL series from Thailand so far this year. It is, frankly, outstanding. Its caption at the end says that “this series is a dramatization inspired by actual events.” While it is not shocking (since I live in the Los Angeles area and know people in Hollywood and have heard similar stories personally), it was surprising that such a production was made. Kudos and applause for doing this and for exposing the underbelly of what happens in the film industry no matter what county it is produced in.
You can read my full review of this series at BLBliss.com.

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Call It What You Want isn't high production by any means but what it does have is an important message, a great storyline, fantastic actors, as well as a good soundtrack.
The four boys are all very unique and distinct characters, each with their own loveable traits. I feel for Bas, poor thing is going through it and having to third wheel James and Ait as well? Ouch. I really wanted more of Kaprao but that's just because I love him a lot. Marco is a sweetheart.
I'm glad a second season is coming but honestly even though there's no resolution per say, I wouldn't say this is an unsatisfying ending, I liked it exactly as is.
One thing I didn't understand was the need for Ait's jealousy. It just seems unnecessary to me as it doesn't further the plot in any way.

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Based on True Events

This is a pretty good short series - look for Season 2 as well.

All of the actors were amazing!

I really loved James and how he treated and listened to the cast and crew of the show. Also, LOVE his hair. lol Romance was a bit rushed - too short of a series to really develop

I saw someone say that Ait reminded them of Pete from Love By Chance and I really see that, he has his own personality but he has a little bit of Pete which I find very cute. He pulled off being young enough to say thinks like "it's my first kiss" and being jealous - even tho he didn't need to be.

Bas I really want to hug him, and Michael did an amazing job of playing him, he really got the feelings through and made you want to cry for him, especially when he ate that sandwich.

Marco was good, I loved when he spoke English, it was very cute and how he was to Bas was great, made the last episode the mpst memorable.

Of course no one liked tee, myself included, but still have to give the actor credit for playing that part

Low rewatch value for me - too rushed

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Change has got to come

I am a very recent new viewer of the BL genre and from what I have read regarding certain things, situations, and incidents that are and have happened within this industry, I say that some changes need to take place, in the hopes that the genre can grow in an healthy, positive, entertaining way, while STILL being able to make a profit, without it being this huge mind-fuck to the actors that go into this industry, hoping to make it as an professional performer. Now, I don't think it was very smart to have the main couple, Ait (the replacement young actor) and James (the replacement new director), centered in the story, because there is the whole issue of power and position that will be focused on, regardless of the fact that their relationship is a consensual pairing. I do appreciate that the writing established the worries and fears James had in admitting and sharing his feelings for Ait, but I think that pairing shouldn't have been created. What I did like was that the relationship regarding the young actors was based on them establishing a mutual partnership wuth one another. A support system that is needed for them to create the feelings that are vital for them to be able to portray their in love onscreen characters. Now, what I don't get is the need for making these actors live together, being made to stay around each other ALL the time, and the frankly disturbing request of them sharing the same bed. Would this request even be acceptable if we were referring to a male actor and a female actress?!
This series has brought up way too many things that have to be addressed within this industry along with the things that we as viewers within the fanbase have to stop thinking is acceptable, because it's "fantasy"!

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FINALLY A DRAMA THAT TREATS SEXUAL ASSAULT AS A SERIOUS MATTER!!!!

I am going to review both seasons at once because it's a lot more convenient to put all my thoughts together in one review.

Mama, this entire series is a diamond in the rough, but very, *very* rough. So, if you can survive the cringe, you'll realize how good it is as a whole.

~Story:
She really came and said: "FUCK. YOUR. TROPES!" and, you know what? I wholeheartedly love her for that! I think most BL's being released recently are just tired versions of the same tropes repeating over and over again, so a drama that steps out of that box to try and create something new is very much appreciated. For me, at least.
The plot was cleverly written, making you believe it is going to be just a normal love story, but then giving you a huge slap on the face when it exposes what's actually been going on on the other side of the main story line. Everything about this plot is excellent material yet the execution ruins most of it. From the first couple of minutes you realize the show is running on low budget, which leads to hiring questionable actors and their questionable acting. I find this very unfortunate because series like this one are the ones that should get "more," in my opinion.
What I really enjoyed about this series is how raw it was. It did not waste time sugarcoating ANYTHING and allowed you to feel those raw moments and emotions that were important for the understanding of the situations the characters were involved in.

~Cast:
It was... it... you know? It could be better, WAY better than what we got. I'm sure of that.

~James/Ait: Who the hell cares about these two? I feel like they tried to used them as a cheap way to lighten the dark, serious mood in the story. It didn't work. It turned out petty and embarrassing, and they should've been removed. I do understand that they wanted to show different controversies in the industry, but you could tell their story line was fighting a losing battle, yet the writers kept forcing them to take center stage. Everything about them was repelling: the acting, the chemistry, the dialogues, and even the story line itself was out of place.

~Bas: First of all, I know him from Love Sick, so I was happy to see a good ol' familiar face. I have to admit that I was very, VERY impressed by how much his acting skill has grown. Not that he got a lot of screen time in Love Sick to know, but I wasn't really expecting him to be this natural. Despite the cringey over the top car scenes, everything else was pretty believable. You know, acting these kinds of roles is probably quite hard, but he did one hell of a job. Best actor in the series without a doubt.
Being a gay man and also a victim of mild sexual assault myself, I was sold on his role. I did not react in the same way as him, but I was able to understand his fears and despair. I really hope to see more of this actor in future works.

~Marco: He was in between good and bad. I didn't hate his role, but I did wish her was a little more confident. You can see the actor was a little shy and restrained, so his acting didn't come out as believable. I'm gonna give him a passing grade, though, because he did much better than the first two.

~Editing, Pacing, Direction:
If there's someone I gotta give credit to is the editing team. You could tell they did the best they could to put together, what it is, a messy low budget production. I love the transition shots and how cohesive the pacing looks. The show has a solid idea that, unfortunately, lacked money to bring out their full potential. If you ask me, I would LOVE and support a good quality remake of it in the future. This series deals with serious topics in a mature way that is very important for the target audience to understand and learn from.

Sis, this show has everything! Deceiving plot lines, toxic fandom, unspeakable traumas, petty people falling in love, volatile mental health, workplace drama, poor excuses, vomit kinks, and more. Really good plot within a questionable production, but I do recommend it. May not be for the sensitive ones, though. So watch carefully.

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Good Concept, Bad Execution

Clumsy & unrealistic writing, awkward acting, insta-love – overall this show felt very amateur (& low-budget). I like that they tackled some serious topics, but they were handled without any kind of nuance, as the producer or whatever was basically Satan. If this show was going for gritty and realistic, it missed the mark big time. They wasted all the screentime on a boring and cliché romance when they could’ve done so much more.

I did not care about James or Ait at all, I basically knew nothing about them anyway. Their romance was very rushed, I have no idea who these characters are and why I’m supposed to believe they like each other. Explaining to the audience what “love at first sight” is, felt like the writer was anticipating criticism of the fast development of the relationship between James and Ait, and wanted a scene he could point to say, “but look! we’re self-aware so it’s okay!”. I’m not even opposed to love at first sight stories, but in order to pull that off the writing needs to be good, and the actors need chemistry. This show was lacking in both departments unfortunately.

Bas’ character was the only one with any sort of interesting arc, but he gets sidelined in favor of... of what exactly? I feel like absolutely nothing happened in this show. It would have been so much better had they made Bas the main character and just went all in on the dark theme. Instead, we got 3 hours of fluff, a romance with no substance and a weird tonal shift between Bas’ & James/Ait’s storylines. Male sexual assault is a serious and largely unspoken issue that deserves more than 10 minutes of screentime. I just wish they had put a little more care into it. I assume they will talk about this more in the second season, so let’s hope they treat this topic with the respect it deserves.

Also, a couple notes on a more technical level: As many here have pointed out, the car scenes look absolutely awful. If you can’t do it right, just don’t do it at all. Have them talk somewhere else. If it has to be in a car, then do it in a parked car. The horrible greenscreen was very distracting. Background music was too loud at times I couldn’t hear the actors properly. These are easy mistakes to fix, it just made this whole production seem careless.

Overall, this whole show just felt kind of unnecessary. From the trailer it looked like an interesting premise that would have lots of interesting things to say, but it totally failed to deliver. Episode 6 was the only one that actually had some substance to it, but then it ends before it can go anywhere. The build-up to episode 6 could’ve been done so much better, but the producers don’t seem to know how to build dramatic tension or how to structure a narrative in a compelling way, with rising action, a climax, and a resolution. Hopefully the second season does a better job at this.

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BL industry inside

A wonderful surprise. I didn't know about the story and started to see it as one more BL series to be seen. But I was wrong: it is a sample of what the BL industry is, and based on real facts.
Very interesting plot with great performances from the cast (for a change). Highlight for Kiettisak Vatanavitsakul who give us all the repression and insecurity of his character (Bas).
The evolution of the BL plots is amazing.
A show that must be seen for sure!
Curiosity: pay attention on the book Ait reads and the posters at James house (Brokenback Mountain, Priscilla - I believe - and Hedwig).

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Finally an other BL calling out problematic stuff in the Industry

First of all, I'd like to mention bas's acting who was phenomenal. It was so realistic, makes me want to cry every time. It was so good that it kinda makes others acting not so memorable...
Marco : a lovely character, we can feel he has a crush on James, it is obvious. I like him ! However I would like to see a bit more but I think we are gonna have this in S2, given how S1 ended.
James : the main character, director, who fell in love with his actor. It was okay ; what I mean by that is his acting was not phenomenal but neither cringe or boring.
Ait : .... It's the kind of character who makes me go crazy and scream on my pillow and smash my bed because it's supposed to be "cute" and "lovely" but I found just this cringe as hell. I can't stand this "cuteness" in BLs, too much for me. Also I don't get why he becomes jealous when Marco is around. It's james' best friend and even if Marco had feelings, you can't prevent him from having feelings for his only best friend who took care of him for 4 years, thought him Thai ect... I found this very selfish of him.

Tee was an odious, execrable and hateful character whereas Jun was so funny ! I really liked her.


Story
For those who have watched Lovely Writer : Call it what you want has the same vibe (calling out the BL industry) but LW made it a bit lighter than this, focusing more on the relationship VS the fan.
CIWYW took this in an other direction, focusing more on the relationship VS the company and the restrictions applied in the contract only made to restraint actor's lives. It was way more serious and sad, especially with bas's story. I think there is even more shit going on under the surface that we don't know, but this kind of story is refreshing, dealing with important issues that need more attention.

Also don't get crazy over the car's scenes. I wanted to laugh so bad everytime. And unfortunately I didn't get use to it 😭

I would say it's a good BL, but it needs its season 2 ! For those who liked lovely writer you will like this (disregarding the car's scenes lmao)

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Important message, even if it's exaggerated.

At the beginning, the show gives the standardized message of "this is inspired by real events but is dramatized for television" spiel. Yes, it is a drama that brings forward a lot of questions and possible insight but it is so much more than that. It's not your typical "actors are humans too" and leaves it at that. This really dives into the effect certain demands can have and not just in a relationships POV but in personal trauma and self image. Sure, they talk about shipping culture but, for me, the most important character and situation was Bas. Seriously, watch this just for him and you won't be disappointed.

At the time I'm writing this, I have only seen season 1 so I have no idea what happens going forward but I hope to all that is good that we get more Bas and Marco. Their arc is so beautiful and stunning made 100x better by Michael and Daniel's acting. I don't think I've ever hurt so much as I did when they were on the way to Bas' home and made a pit stop. (When you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about.)

The series had an overall vibe of an "artistic piece" where there were a lot of breaks in dialogue. I didn't feel like it dragged, though, because the cast was really good at communicating with looks and expressions that a lot was being said without being verbalized. The episodes average out to about half an hour each and the season only had 6 episodes, which seems like a very short time but I feel like there was good development all the way through with semi-satisfying resolutions at the end. I only say semi-satisfying because I'm sure they knew they were making a season 2 so they had to leave some things open.. I get it.

Speaking of which, it's time to move onto the next one!

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