Love With Benefits (2021)

Short but Very Sweet

I'm a little surprised at the lower ratings for this series. It makes me wonder if they watched the entire thing. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. I didn't much like the character of First due to the way he was treating Play, but once he stopped being a jerk, the chemistry between the two flared. I wish this had been a longer story. The love triangle was unexpected but I suppose needed to drive the plot forward and get First to see what he was feeling. I really loved the cute and sweet addition of Play's Usagi and his bad dreams. The only part I wasn't particularly fond of was Penelope's. She was meant to be comic relief, but that fell short for me.
The love scenes were surprisingly steamy. The moment Play gave into First's dominating kiss was exceptional, as well as the love scene in bed. The two leads definitely have chemistry. I think writing a shorter piece that's entertaining and whole is much more challenging than writing a longer one, so kudos to everyone involved. This was an entertaining, sweet, and sexy evening's watch with two new-to-me actors that lit up the screen. I would definitely rewatch and recommend.

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Not the best but worth it

I have to say I've loved Gameplay since He She It and then into Ingredients. And this is mildly unsatisfying because I feel like the story could have gone on and there was what I feel as undeniable chemistry with Folk but the story was just too short and slilted at times. While I loved watchind it, you could feel like the wnd was rushed. What happened with Pluto? Why did they decide to go with neither lead? Were they really so worried about possible breakup to not choose 'actors' who were in a realationship that hadn't actually been vetted at that point? So many questions.

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Worth it!

First of all, I am 100% in love with Folk's character (First.)

I was truly surprised to find that these characters had depth. I am kind of upset that this drama isn't getting better reviews. I think that if it had been longer and more able to flesh out the characters, the story would have required less interpretation on the part of the viewer. I suppose that for those who haven't experienced real life situations in which there were few words but lots of chemistry/emotion, these characters might be hard to understand, but in my opinion, the actors did a fabulous job in portraying the love/hate/attraction/disgust/confusion/guilt that can occur all at once. I saw one review that said they went from 0 to 100, then back to 0, but I disagree. If this were a novel with inner monologue, it would be much more understandable for those with no experience in this type of relationship, or those who have to have everything spelled out for them.

I am very upset that the characters of Namfah and (especially) Praew weren't better acted. I felt like I was watching a high school play when those characters were on screen.

Gameplay's and Folk's chemistry was everything. I'm going to go back and rewatch it now.....

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Wasted Potential

I'm gonna be honest. I like the general plotline of the story. I think it's a pretty neat idea for the plot to revolve around these actors trying to build chemistry in order to be cast into a series. It's not a plot you'd see often in the industry, so it was refreshing to see something like this for a change.

But it's a shame that it was executed so poorly.

There were glaring editing mistakes up in the first few episodes such as sound not coming out when the actors are talking and overly long, drawn-out scenes that didn't add anything substantial to the plot. I get that some of these dramas need product sponsors, but the promos in this were just painfully blatant. I didn't really care much for the side characters and their story. Mainly, their plot was unneeded filler.

My biggest issue is the script. Play and First never really genuinely talk with each other from making some snarky comments at the other. Their relationship in general is convoluted. It's hard to see that it developed into something more romantic. They put a whole lot of focus into plenty of fanservice just to neglect the actual development between the First and Play. Like sure, there's clearly tension between the two, but suddenly it rushes into these intimate scenes. And after these scenes take place, it's like nothing ever happened. They never bring it up with each other or with anyone else. It seems so out of place and so rushed. I'm disappointed that Pluto was pretty much used as a plot device just to further First and Play's relationship. First and Play would've developed fine had production chosen to focus on them rather than bring in a love rival. I think things this series would have been a lot better had they originally stuck to shooting 10 episodes instead of cramming everything into 5.

On a lighter note, Folk, Gameplay, and Best were great. I would love to see them in another series. The main leads handled the intimate scenes flawlessly and genuinely have chemistry with each other. I think Folk really did his character justice for his first time acting. Some scenes were hard to sit through because of how awkward it was, but they did pretty well despite the horrible script they were given. The OSTs were decent, and it was a plesant surprise to find out that Gameplay sung the opening.

All in all, it was a half decent series, and I hope that things will improve in its sequel, Work From Heart.

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Gameplay!

Honestly, I'm only here for my little cupcake Gameplay. lol I wish this series would've been longer to bring out the obvious loss of story that would leave a few questions. I'd like a S2 but I'm fine with the ending I got. This series is more a 'behind the scenes' of the BL industry actors so I enjoyed it wasn't too basic/cliché. It kinda went down the typical 'it has to be this way' road but it didn't negatively impact much. Gameplay and fellow main characters did pretty well but I think a bit of the side characters and their stories were unnecessary and the constant aimless babel caused me to skip those random bits and pieces. As an experienced BL fan, I'd recommend to a BL newbie or someone who wants a bit of a different story. Not my favourite series by any stretch but it wasn't too bad.
I think I'm just used to seeing Gameplay with Jeff so I think he belongs with him before any other coupling.
Enjoy...

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Mostly stay because of the cute actors and their fanservice..

WHICH I HAVE NO COMPLAIN ON!
I quite enjoy their fanservice ^^
Their stories cant be said as something unpredictable, but I really like this kind of story! Where its easy, soft and fluffy with not much problem.

This got an interesting premise and a lot of possible plot.
They do a nice job! And sadly this is a 5 episode drama and they probably need to cut off many (possibly) interesting problem.

The cute actors and fanservice makes me stay want to stay here the most tbh! >< They are so cute. Although I haven't see that many character development on First. But I really like Play's character! And actually the acting coach's character is also a nice surprise! I really like that haha

Sadly, The music/sound is one of the part I don't like about this drama. The mixer of this drama is quite messy. Especially in 3rd episode. the change of the BGM feels a bit rough and sometimes slap me away from the drama, but I can still enjoy it after I got used to it! ^^

But I still enjoy this series! I really like easy and soft plot like this! I'll keep watching this to see the character and their relationship development! ^^

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This really wasn't for me

Here's tthe thing. I got the gist of the synopsis. But I felt like it just wasn't portrayed or brought across to the audience properly. I honestly couldn't get into it. Also, the BL market is getting saturated with series that a series have to be really, REALLY good and I felt this one just didn't.

Story-3.5/10
They had a good idea of a premises, but...I personally felt it wasn't developed properly. And, that's unfortunate. CausevI believe that this series could have been incredible if they did. I'm giving it a 3.5 just because of the synopsis.

Acting/Cast-4/10
I can say this- I personally found the acting to be sub par for some of the main actors to just atrocious to the supporting actors. Gonna give it a 4.

Music-5/10
It wasn't that memorable to me. So as I am neither here nor there, I will give it a 5.

Rewatch Valu-1/10
God no! And since the lowest I can go is 1, I'll give it a 1.

Overall-3.5/10
Overall, I give this series a 3.5. No amount of kissing or making out can save this series for me. I don't see myself in any good faith recommending this series to another person.

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THEY KILLED IT !!!

Oh my god it was so good damn im fully satisfied with this series. the chemistry is so good between the actors.the last episode killed it . awesome so good.


i loved it so much oh my god im gigling like crazy aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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If you have nothing better to do i guess sure

I don't feel like making a lengthy review on my thoughts on this cause honestly i just watched it on a spur of a moment feeling but i'll do a summary without spoiling anything.
-its not well made to say the least, the acting isn't horrible but i wouldn't consider it that good either, the cast is cute but the story is lacking which makes it hard to catch any feels (i did follow the main actors on insta tho because i'm weak).
-The music just doesn't fit the mood most of the time and feels out of place.
-I get that you need ad things but this was to much, i don't usually pay it any mind but they were everywhere and not built in to
the story properly that it just felt like they were thrown in.
-The camera angles were not great. Not bad enough that most would care but it did get a bit annoying for me. and let's not talk about the mics they used that were picking up the sound from clothes moving etc.

Last but not least i understand that there is an ungoing pandemic and it seems the budget for this series was low so i won't give it a horrible final judgement but it is a shame cause the actors do have potential and it's sad to see a ship not fulfill it's destiny properly XD

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Its strange as hell, but still captivating

I didn't even know if I was going to make it through the first 5 minutes, and I ended up staying up for 5 hours to binge watch the show. Irony.

The only reason why this show isn't a 10 for me is because I felt the last episode dragged in certain spots, and I thought the forced relationships of the side characters was really odd. Especially because nothing came from them.

Also, telling two boys they're going to be kicked off a show for not getting along and not sharing enough "chemistry" is wild, but putting them in forced proximity for 10 days, watching them fall in love, and then kicking them off the show anyways should be considered a sick social experiment, but it gave a surprisingly deep message that made the last 10 minutes really powerful.

4 stars though. Let this be a sign to give it a shot.

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