Cutie Pie (2022)

Such a cute story!

I’m not sure why so many people gave this drama low reviews but it really doesn’t make sense to me -if you go and look on the Viki site everybody rated it high because it is really a good drama. The actor that sings almost all the songs is really really good I think he might have a YouTube channel but he is an excellent singer and that was one of my favorite parts of the drama and the primary male lead also sang a song and was also excellent. All the actors were very handsome and their chemistry how they acted off of each other‘s energy was amazing. When I watch the behind the scenes episode you could tell if this was not anything fake this is how they really felt about each other they seem to be very good friends. Also I really like the fact that the overall message was very pro LBGQT positive.

Read More

MY FIRST EVER BL SERIES & IT'S THE BEST

This series is my first BL drama. I first saw its clip on YouTube and started watching it yesterday. And today, I completed it. After continuously watching seven episodes, I went to mdl. I went through the review page that the other viewers wrote. so the reviews that were on the first page that was not good enough; like all the reviews are all about the cliche story; the storyline is not that good; it's pretty much dull and all that stuff like that. Then I post if it's a happy ending or sad. I was worried a bit that after watching seven episodes, will it be so bad in the last five episodes that I had to drop it down. So after reading all the reviews, it was the first thing in my head, but then I gave it a thought, and I made up my mind to complete this series, and yes, that's the right decision to make. Because this story is perfect and they are saying that they remain the same in the end, their behavior doesn't change much, but it is not valid. I think I have watched very few Dramas to have such an understanding and perfect ending.
So whoever is thinking of dropping it after reading the reviews will miss such a cute and lovely drama.

Read More

Disappointment and Back Steps in Character Development

I wanted to like this series, considering that the cinematography, angles, sounds, and overall many technical aspects, as well as the acting, were good.
It started confusingly. However, as the story continued to progress quickly, I thought I would witness an interesting character development story.

Kuea should have learned not to embrace and hide her true self from her excessively seeking approval and dependent personality.
Lian, on the other hand, should have realized that he needed to be more relaxed and that love was actually what he needed most.

But what happened? Kuea was making progress, but when Lian showed interest in her, her progress stopped and she continued with the same personality. Clingy, boring, approval-seeking.
Lian suddenly metamorphoses into a personality that she is not and says that she loves Kuea, bla bla bla and then returns to that controlling personality again.
I liked Lian's acting, but her character is particularly badly written. Obviously the author doesn't know how to develop such a character because he doesn't know such a character.

The side pair Yi and the khondion started well, but then it became very empty, didn't move forward, didn't progress and in the end didn't give any feeling at all.
The third side pair was definitely better. I felt something and I liked it.


There seems to be more of a father problem in the story than a love relationship.
Lian and Yi are responsible fathers who take care of their children, control them, try to make them conform to the rules and do not care about their personalities, are callous and unloving.
Kuea and khondion, on the other hand, are approval-seeking, resentful sons who are afraid of their fathers, do things they secretly like, are rebellious and lie to keep their fathers from getting angry.
It's funny because
Yi and khondion live together, but they've never even been close.
Lian and Kuea are engaged, but they've never been close.
I thought we came to watch BL.


Anyway, the series was still fluent despite everything. There were not as many filler scenes as I expected. I watched until the 8th episode without interruption (each episode is 1 hour), which means really successful for me.

The character development could have made this series unforgettable. I'm crying.,,,,

Read More

I WANT to LOVE Cutie Pie

So to start, I'm going to give a review without spoilers (this will be short): Decent story, interesting characters and wonderful actors who literally make the series ADORABLE. The music is delicious and nearly every song is amazing. The plot has some problems, but overall, the story is still worthwhile. The message at the end is enough to negate a lot of stupidity. Character arc for Kuea and Lian is limited and as far as relationships go, this one is not a keeper. The two side relationships are okay. Yi and Diao's relationship is controlling but their character's seem to try to work through it, though it isn't given as much screen time as it deserves. The Nuea and Syn relationship is the only one that doesn't appear to start out in a negative way, although up until Kuea definitely decides to stay with Lian, it is unclear if Nuea will choose him or is falling for Syn. It's funny that they only relationship in the tv series that was not in the book is also the only one that doesn't have toxic control issues and an imbalance of power. BUT if you can ignore the toxicity and focus on how incredible the actors are and how much screen chemistry they have as well as the wonderful soundtrack, you'll be okay. Bottom line, I really did want to love this series. The actors are great, the soundtrack is amazing, and the story is so cute, but is problematic.

So now with spoilers (if you don't want them, stop reading now): Everything I said above was true, and here is the WHY to the negative side of this story. The love story between Lian and Kuea is toxic and has a huge imbalance of power. Lian is controlling to the point of insanity. Examples: Lian supposedly loves Kuea but calls him Annabelle for no other reason than to hurt him. Some people will say this was to force Kuea to admit openly about his true feelings, but telling someone that you don't love them and don't want to marry them, and saying they are like a doll from a horror movie, is not exactly a great way to help Kuea feel loved and accepted enough to open up about himself. Lian forces Kuea to move in with him, knowing that it will make him sad and with the intent of taking away his freedom. They both are hiding secrets from each other, but neither one of them is willing to tell the truth, even after they have both confessed their supposed love. There is no reason for Lian to keep information regarding the Keerati family finances to himself, especially since he knows it could negatively affect his relationship with Kuea if he does, and yet he continues to stall telling Kuea until Kuea finds out for himself. Kuea's family also lies and doesn't tell their son the truth, leaving it for Lian to decide what is best, when Lian's attitude is to do what he wants and beg for forgiveness later, hoping that Kuea will TRUST him. Trust, however, is earned and when exactly did Lian earn that trust from Kuea? Cause two sexy bedroom scenes do not a trusting relationship make. Also, Kuea is certain that if Lian knows all his secrets that Lian will not love him anymore. Could this be because Lian ignored him and hurt his feelings on purpose, telling him that he didn't want to marry him because he is an Annabelle doll? I don't know, but I'm guessing that was a contributing factor. If you want someone to trust you with their secrets, denying them a sense of security is not the way to go. Lian proposes to Kuea at his big family celebration which puts a lot of pressure on Kuea to accept even if he didn't want to. I've heard other people say Kuea should have handled that better, but Lian shouldn't have put him in that situation, especially after his only response to the problem they had earlier was to say, I know I lied to you but trust me. How could Lian have not guessed that Kuea had doubts at that point? The power is entirely on Lian's side and Kuea is left with so many doubts. Even his own parents do nothing to help him realize that he is a person who can learn to take care of himself and doesn't need Lian to take care of him. They go so far as to let Lian make huge decisions for him without even informing him. That to me, seems like they don't trust or have any faith in their own son. Lian seems to agree with this and treats Kuea as though he's just supposed to do what Lian says and be adorable (which seems like that was what he said he didn't want in the beginning of the story, but his behavior encourages this later). No relationship can survive such a huge power imbalance. Also, their characters never changed.. Lian wanted control, he took control. Even when he could have told Kuea the whole truth, he didn't. When the end came, all he did was apologize and then go right back to taking control (which is evident in how he refused to allow Kuea to propose to him, he dodged it until he could propose to Kuea again). He couldn't even give up a tiny bit of the control in this relationship, but we're supposed to believe it was a happy ending. Kuea wanted someone to love him for who he was, yet he was afraid to show the real him, that never changed. He never learned to rely on himself or trust in himself, he simply learned that Lian loved him and was content with that. They never actually dealt with any of the relationship problems.

With Yi and Diao, there was so much more in the books, but I'm going to say that they resolved most of their problems in the series because they were both able to talk it out and learn to give and take. Nuea and Syn just started, so there isn't much to say, but at least it seems that Nuea settled down to choosing Syn rather than crushing on Kuea and going out with Syn because Kuea was taken. Overall, I wished that the main couple (Lian and Kuea) could learn to love and respect and be equal partners, but instead, the show just ended with them going right back to being who they started as and we are expected to believe it will be happily ever after. I was disappointed, however, there were so many things to love. The message at the end, about supporting marriage equality, was beautiful and loving. That made me want to support the series. Also, the actors were so adorable and did so well at playing their parts (I do mean all of them), that I want to like the series, even if it has a lot of faults. Overall, I would definitely watch it again. I'm gonna watch all the kissing scenes and the end scene and the funny scenes (like Lian dancing in the locker room) and I'm gonna listen to the soundtrack over and over again. I will turn off my better sense and just enjoy the lighthearted and sexy parts. If you can't do that, maybe this series isn't for you.

Read More

A sweet bit of fluff with some powerful messages

Listen, there's a lot of shit being spewed in these reviews, and honestly I kind of get it. The way this show was being hyped, I think expectations were way too high and people were bound to be disappointed when it mostly turned out to be a stock-standard BL.

I even agree with some of the issues people had with the show. It's not the most action-packed or thrilling series, sometimes they seem to throw in a misunderstanding or have a character wring their hands about a decision for a little too long just to fill in the plot where needed. It's definitely problematic that the main couple's first kiss falls prey to one of my least favorite BL tropes: one partner is very drunk but the other is sober and the drunk one doesn't remember clearly what happened the next day. Now, I will say that the situation is played as consensually as you can under the circumstances in the scene itself, and it does play a significant role in the character development later on as Lian eventually acknowledges what a dick move it was to hide that he was the one Kuea kissed, but there were plenty of other ways they could have made their first kiss cause drama without one of them being unable to properly consent. There's also the whole issues of Lian basically forcing Kuea to live with him even though Kuea clearly doens't want to. There's an element of control there that's pretty icky, though again to be fair to the show once Kuea's secrets are all no longer secret Lian makes it very clear that Kuea can live whatever life he wants and that he actually values Kuea's ability to look after himself in his own way. Also Yi and Diao's whole thing is just a mess and feels really off to me, their dynamic never really shifts much from dominant to subordinate and while there's definitely affection between them by the end there's also still some control from Yi.

Now, all that being said, this show is a friggin delight to watch despite all the problems. The production value is super high, it's beautifully shot and lit throughout. There's a good balance of drama and romance and comedy. The supporting characters are all hilarious and fun and actually supportive of the main couples (Perth makes a damn sexy club owner, lemme tell ya). I actually think the writing is pretty good, it's just not that exciting and a lot of it relies on characters learning to communicate with each other.

Most obviously for high points, the performances are just stellar. Zee and NuNew are absolutely electric together. Even when they're standing still a foot apart, you can practically see the sparks crackling between them. NuNew's inexperience does come through in a few places, but overall I was blown away by him. The comedy bits he does I think are particularly underrated and brilliant; he plays a frickin hilarious drunk, and I giggled so hard when he was blackmailing/charming the housekeeper at his family home to not tell his parents that he was out all night.

And everyone's talking about the bed and kissing scenes for a reason, trust me. They're often a bit slow and drawn out, but man does the heat never die despite the slow progress. I think shipping the real actors together is pretty invasive and gross for the most part, I just want them to be professionals and friends, but even I have to admit that there's really something special between these two and it certainly translates to screen. Aside from the drunken first kiss, every other intimate scene has clear and enthusiastic consent. Lian even stops everything when he and Kuea are about to have sex for the first time to ask Kuea if he's drunk and if he knows/wants what they're about to do, and as things heat up he stops again to tell Kuea that if at any point he's not ok and wants to stop he can say so immediately, which is just so damn refreshing for a BL. And the bed scenes themselves aren't actually all that graphic; we don't actually see pants go down, no grunting or thrusting or anything, once shirts come off we pretty much just get closeups of their faces and hands, it's kept mostly to the realm of heavy pettting and eluding to more (the episodes are on youtube and I don't think they're even age restricted). I think what really took people by surprise was how intensely the actors seemed to commit to the scenes and how believable the emotional connection feels between the characters as they're about to get down.

In the end, this show is a sugar coated ball of sugar, packaged up with catchy original songs and a healthy dose of social commentary that I think really took people by surprise. From the very first episode, they make a statement against colorism and trans stereotypes in the entertainment industry, which is something I don't think any other BL has even attempted to tackle. Now, it should also be pointed out that they're in a board room discussing advertising when this scene comes up, in the actual show there are no openly trans characters and the cast is all very fair skinned, so they fall a little short on walking the walk along with talking the talk, but in the context of that scene the still made some pretty dang progressive statements. And as Lian and Kuea start to become a proper couple they repeatedly discuss how their future marriage won't be legally recognized and whether even a ceremonial marriage is important to them if they already feel committed to each other. Their eventual conclusion is that it does matter, that they don't need to a legal document for their love to be valid but they want the world to validate their love as just as worthy of protection as any other love. The series even ends on them looking at billboards declaring their relationship and support for marriage equality. It's bold as hell, and I hope it paves the way for future shows to take such a firm stance for justice.

Read More

half-baked pie!

There was a plot I think? It was mainly a demonstration of how not to communicate with your partner.
The most enjoyable parts were the music by Nunew and the side couple Nuer & Syn and the comedic reliefs. I remember that I was skipping through some episodes to watch the scenes between Nuer & Syn because it was just more interesting to me and the main couples were just so stagnant in their stories with no development or chemistry whatsoever.
I hated max and nat's storyline wtf was up with that??? and tbh. nat's acting really needs to improve bc no.
I did think Zee and Nunew had some moments of good chemistry and good acting together but these were kind of scarce for a 12 episodes series.
The cinematography was good especially the lighting in the clubs that kuea worked in.
But it did not take away from the fact that the story line was so weird and the characters were messed up. It was a bit boring and repetitive at the end with kuea being like 'oh i'm not good enough for you because i'm a rockstar :(((' which like. we did this before.
also, why does it feel like i don't know anything about lian even though he's supposed to have been dating kuea for like +10 years.
in short, the series fell flat because of the flat characters, repetitive plotpoints and bad processing of an ok-ish premise.

Read More

A fun and joyful series of childhood love

I really enjoyed the series a lot. Love the chemistry with all the cast and the two leading couples are the best. I am a big fan of the actors and they all have such great chemistry and time together. The storyline is fun and touching and takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and shows you to be who you are. The end was the best with both of them trying to outdo the other with proposing lol. The cast did a great job of showing the turmoil of hiding one's true self in order to fit what society wants to see. I love that they touched on marriage and showed that it's past the time for all to have equity and freedom to marry each other. Both couples were able to shine, I do wish the second couple got more screen time Yi and Diao are so darn cute, but that's what we get "Naughty Babe" for ;-). This is a great series to enjoy and laugh at. the friends were a fun touch and the 3rd couple coming in to play was sweet. Love the guests at the end as well.

Read More

Kuea wanted love and now he’s tired of it

This series is seriously way beyond my expectations. They are pushing out song after song for the OST, and I love that it’s not your typical BL or Thai series style. It’s like a Korean drama where it picks up from when the last episode ended, and I am just loving the story and chemistry between the actors. There’s just something about it that gives me butterflies!

At first, I was dubious about this series. I thought CutiePie would be that cliché romance drama about arranged marriage, but I was wrong. Yes, the major plot on arranged marriage is typical. But CutiePie is way more than that! I loved how it centered more on loving yourself, being the true one self, and showing this version to the person you love. And Kuea's character showed that, with their character development throughout the story. CutiePie teaches us that love should not be defined by our society, and should not be defined by what others expect of us. Love should be defined by the two people who trust and care for each other, that love is both loving the true self while loving the person who is dear to you. And... Kuea and Kilen's story showed this love to us.

The series also taught us that married life is about trusting and supporting each other because love is shared between two people who trusts one another. It's not one-sided; one should not face a problem alone but together, and this is realized through Hia Lian's character. This series really taught us that COMMUNICATION and HONESTY is very important in every relationship for it to prosper and last a long time, a lot of people (including me) found the make up scene too quick/easy... but after thinking about it, maybe it's really that easy sometimes? especially if you both communicate well, which i think they did. they both shared their faults, thoughts, feelings that's what made the scene seem so smooth!! communication is truly the key to a good relationship. And no nobody can blame Kuea if he thinks that Hia Lian has a bad intention, like he suddenly started showering him with love and professed his undying love for him out of blue, so if I were in his shoes I will have doubt him too.

Thank You to the incredible cast and crews for this wonderful series that imparted a lot to me, thank you for letting Zee and NuNew to take these roles and bring the characters to life! Thank you to all other actors, who brought so much sentiment and depth to this series. This show has a great team behind it, nothing seems cringy or forced and the characters feel like real people with insecurities and fears but also wants and needs. It's well written, edited and directed. The soundtrack is superb and the actors are beyond committed. They make you care for every story, even the ones with less airtime. Genuinely didn't think I would be this invested in the show before its premiere. Expectations can be a drag sometimes. While some really anticipated shows are already disappointing, this unexpected gem is stealing the show. And also let this be a lesson to everyone DO NOT DO A PUBLIC WEDDING PROPOSAL UNLESS THE OTHER PERSON WANTS IT, I know this is created drama for TV series, but in real life please do not do this. It places too much pressure to say yes on the person being proposed to, unless they have expressed wanting a public one and you should probably make sure you’re on the same page before proposing marriage.

And also I feel the scene with Nuchy is quite important, I have been having the feeling that girl characters in many BL's are portrayed as immature, some even as jealous psychos bitches and some as a pathetic characters. I feel the ladies deserve way more respect from the genre so this is important, Well done to Cutie Pie for sort of subtly but sort of directly and strongly address this issue. And also EXCUSE ME, but every time i’m watching the intimate scene made me feel like I’m invading their privacy. That whole kissing scene is so pure and the emotions are overflowing. Now, I’m convinced that I don’t have any single qualification to be an actor, I’ll immediately fall in love in an instant right after a scene like that. Lol. I do appreciate them showing real life kissing, as opposed to the static (uncomfortable) kisses we sometimes see. I depicts the love and passion they feel towards each other which I find beautiful to watch. And please tell me how both Hia Lian and Hia Yi managed to hire comedians as their personal secretaries Lol, and where can i sign petition for TutorYim's separate series cuz I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THEM!!

Read More

I had some issues in the beginning but the ending was magnificent.

Plot:
I had some issues with the beginning right off the bat. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Lian as he seemed really indifferent to Kuea and he acted a bit like an ass. The dates he took him on were more like scripted outings than dates. I also didn’t care for how Kuea hid his true self for so long. I understand his fear of showing his true self only to get rejected, but he still shouldn’t have played a caricature of himself. A couple episodes deep into the show and you start to see the characters dynamics. I started to enjoy and like Lian and Kuea’s relationship.

Do I think Lian and Kuea could have gone about things a lot differently? Oh, my definitely. But every show needs its drama. I don’t like how many secrets they keep from each other though. I loved the friendships between Kuea and his school friends and his relationship with Kondiao. Plus Yi and Lian's friendship. The side relationship were some of my favorites I absolutely adore Syn and Nuer and their first kiss was PERFECT, no matter how cheesy and cliché it might have been. I also really liked watching Hia Yi catch feelings for Kondiao and seeing their relationship and dynamic change and shift as the show went on. Dear God, that proposal scene gave me the WORST case of second hand embarrassment I’ve ever had. The fact it was at his dad’s birthday party and in front of a ton of people is.. it’s a no for me. It was made even worse when Kuea said no! Now, do I think Kuea was wrong for rejecting Lian’s proposal? No, I don’t. I think he did the right thing at the right time. Was it extremely embarrassing? Absolutely, but it was also a little stupid on Lian’s part as well. Who proposes at an important event right after a fight where all of Lian’s secrets about Kuea’s family and his properties come out? I absolutely adored the last episode, it was equal parts sweet, cute, funny and just plan adorable. The fact that Lian was sabotaging Kuea’s proposals just so he could propose again was hilarious and really sweet. Although I think Kuea’s proposal won.

Music:
I thin the songs sung by NuNew were amazing and fit the story and the scene they were in but they were a bit overused i my opinion.

Acting:
The acting is some of the best things about this show. NuNew and Zee did a fantastic job. Their acting really showed in the second to last episode. They both deserved awards for that performance. The background/side actors did a great job as well. You can really tell everyone had amazing chemistry with each other, especially NuNew and Zee, Nat and Max, and Yim and Tutor.

Random notes:
I think Foei and Yi's secretary are the funniest characters in the show.
Not Yi immediately regretting getting Nong for 4 episodes straight.
I love Lian's parents (especially in the last episode) and Kuea's mom.

Read More

BL arranged marriage story : kind of an insane premise makes for an enjoyable ride despite its flaws

This drama is for sure entertaining with a kind of bonkers premise with the two male heroes being engaged in their childhood and bound by a familial promise done to the family patriarch (grandfather of one of them). Now that there are both adults, they are therefore heading more or less voluntarily into an arranged marriage.

This plot might sound quite insane but it is pretty enjoyable with a mix of several tropes working pretty well together... Age gap, rich and cold male lead, cohabitation: there is a lot going on regarding the relationship between the two main leads as well as also regarding the relationships between the secondary characters. Do some of the relationships contains toxic and unhealthy aspects? Yep...Does everything make a lot of sense ? Not at all... But is it fun? For sure! Maybe the pacing and the writing could have been tighter, nevertheless it was a really easy watch.

I found the range in acting skills kind of unbalanced. It is a bit of a hit or miss in terms of performance (even for a same actors depending on the scene). For example, some of the younger actors felt quite inexperienced but still managed to be good for the fun and cute scenes, and were less successful in being totally convincing in the more emotional moments. Some of the more seasoned cast members oscillated a bit more between great moments and feeling oddly rigid at some other time.

Despite some flaws, I found overall the ensemble cast quite endearing and would be looking forward to see them in other series. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Nunew and Zee, they felt really comfortable acting together and the pairing worked especially well in the context set up by the show.

The OST was good, principally for the songs sang by Nunew. He is clearly talented and made the soundtrack much better by his presence. As the music was pretty important for his storyline, it was a relief seeing him so suited for that part of the role. What missed the mark the most in terms of soundtrack was relating to the way some instrumental music were used. Saxophone tunes during sexy time is not always a success and can honestly feel like a cheap trick to convey the feelings...which was the case here.

Regarding the making, I did find it a bit "soap-opera like" for some scenes with a lot of dramatic moments that felt more funny than gut-wrenching. I do not think that it was done on purpose, but once I got used to it I found it cute. I also think that this kind of "in-your-face" directing might explain why sometimes some of the acting work done felt a bit strange and "posey". You can feel that the actors are really directed to be loveable or cool but it can lack nuance and feel a bit too much at times. I still find it globally pretty charming.

I would recommend this to people looking for a BL with an age-gap and that like cold CEO vibe vs. cheeky and spunky guy. It is a simple and fun watch, do not expect a lot deepness or even angst from it. The drama content is very much matching with its title.

Read More

loved it

I was so invested in this series, i binged the whole thing, started on new years eve, finished new years day.
I hope my new year can be filled with just a drop of the love the two main characters were able to portray here.
I don't even understand the negative remarks about this show.
Yes, it has a few triggers, but I'm not sensitive myself. I just enjoyed the budding romances, growing into passion. And the kissing scenes, yess, this is why I love BL drama's, the passionate kisses, totally made me want to reinstall tinder. However, posting 'BL drama' as an interest on my tinder profile might not be the smartest idea :-D

Read More