Ocean Likes Me (Movie) (2022)

Too Many Questions

As usual I dud prefer the movie version over the serial version. To be honest I watched this show originally because of Holland. I loved the actors and the chemistry was good.

I don't really have a problem with with the story except I feel like they lost a couple of sections (or episodes in the series). Here come the spoilers....
1. Why does Tommy just leave? No explanation, no note, no nothing? Ha Da said he would support him with his music and then Tommy just poofs anyway!
2. Tommy comes back after 1-1/2 years or so and they both act like it's only been a couples of months?! Still no explanation but no anger either!

Those two points are what keep me from giving it a higher rating. I just cant get past them! If those gaps had been filled in it would have been a 9.5 easily. Otherwise it is a sweet little Korean love story. It is what I would expect from the 8 episode stories come from Korea.

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Well, It Was Something

I placed a spoiler alert at the end of this review.

The series/movie: The story idea(s?) seemed cute. However, there really is no clear story concept. The script is greatly under developed and goes in many different directions for no reason. It also had many elements that made no sense. See potential spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more info. There is also very little character development with both leads. The acting from most of the cast was good.

The movie: They did a great job editing the episodes together to make a very cohesive movie version. They also added a nice introduction scene at the beginning of the movie to explain why Han Ba Da is moving to the town. There was one major editing problem towards the beginning of the movie.

Random Notes:
Watch if you have some time to kill and have nothing else on your must watch list.



******Spoiler Alert******
Another Korean BL series that has a 1-year time jump for no reason. There really is no explanation why Tommy left Han Ba Da. Yes, he wanted to continue with his music career but that didn’t mean he had to completely cut ties with Han Ba Da.

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I find it cute but I'm puzzled

I actually enjoyed 80% of the show, until towards the ending, because it's so abrupt and puzzling

Why did Tommy suddenly leave just because he wants to pursue music? I mean, did they break up or what is it? There's a one year gap left unexplained and then, suddenly they met and kiss like nothing has happened?

This really bugs me, and honestly, ending of a show is important. It's like the last 20% ruined the good moments of the other 80%, ugh...

Otherwise, I actually really enjoyed the front part, especially love the ML that plays chef! It's also fresh to see a new face in BL, Holland. I've heard about him but cool to see him act too

I love their chemistry and all. It's slow paced, healing, and just cute moments, except the ending

It's probably not as bad as MLD rating make it out to be, but I'd say it's the disappointment in the plothole that makes the rating drop. At least, we got a happy ending, otherwise, I'd be throwing my laptop LOL

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Give it a chance. Healing journey

Yes, it's a BL, but really the story is about healing onself after being hurt, growing up, and putting yourself first. I guess some things you can only understand when you have experienced enough things, but it's a really nice movie.
You have to guess some things, but it's all given the through the subtext. You understand why Ba Da is there, and also Tommy's choice. Sometimes we have to put ourselves first, even if in doing so we hurt other people.
I also enjoyed the Ba Da maturing and not depending on others, also being able to say no when it was needed despite being hard. He found himself.
You might say it was not necessary for Tommy to leave for a while, but some things can only be pursued alone because it's our own personal journey.

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I watched this and the series version side-by-side. Apart from a few scenes that were switched around, both versions are identical; the movie feels more like a cohesive whole since it isn't interrupted every few minutes. If you want to watch this, you should choose the movie if you can.

What I liked:
* the beautiful scenery at the ocean
* the simplicity of the story
* Han Gi Chan's acting
* Also, stories that are not set in highschool or college are always welcome.
* The Ex-boyfriend. It was a nice touch, not to know at the beginnning what to expect from him, and to discover in his third scene what he is actually like.
* The story didn't make use of the typical BL tropes, only standard romance tropes. The gender of the two protagonists actually did not matter much, which is always nice, if you want a light romance.

The story though has some qusetionable parts:
* I have so many questions: Where does Tommy come from? What is his motivation in staying with Ba Da? -- Why is Tommy there, right behind the car, at the beginning? Was it an accident, did he get in the way intentionally, did he just lie down there? -- Why does a chef buy at the grocery store?
* The gap year -- Why should two adults not know to try a long-distance relationship? What did Ba Da do while he was not at his small establishment and why did he decide to come back? What was the motivation for Tommy to return, and why at this point of time?

Holland's acting is, unfortunately, not suited for his role. I'm sure he did his best, but it seemed stiff to me, and even after rewatching I'm not always sure how his character feels. Especially since we only get Ba Da's POV, and Tommy doesn't really talk about his life, we have to rely on body language. I didn't, for example, notice that Tommy actually comes on to Ba Da until I watched the story for the third time.

Overall impression:
This is a nice and simple story, that focuses on few characters, sets and a single storyline. It didn't waste time on too many flashbacks or scenic shots, just enough to set the mood. The makers obviously used what they had wisely and tried to make a good story within the short time of an average movie.

I still would have wanted more info, be it explicitely stated or implicitely shown, to understand the motives of both main leads. Things are often too subtle to see them during a casual watching, or did you notice that Ba Da says in minute 33 of the movie "I didn't come here to do this?" and probably means that he notices a certain kind of attraction to Tommy? I didn't, and there are some other points where I'm really not sure if we get the intended message.
That subtlety doesn't mix particulary well with Holland's acting style.

Still, it's a nice movie to spend a lazy afternoon or evening on, even worth a rewatch or two, if yu need to shut off your brain. It's not an outstanding masterpiece but certainly better or at least not worse than some het romances.

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Pretty ocean and then ...

Well, I did not really want to watch this but it somehow popped up on my viki search so I decided to give it a go since it is so short!
I do not regret watching this though I would not go as far as recommending this either!

What I liked:
- beautiful shots of the winter sea and beaches covered in snow
- Han Gi Chan who plays Ba Da (ocean) a shy & innocent fool of a chef
- surprisingly good chemistry between the leads
- udon! I want some! Now!
- short episodes edited together into a movie (what's with Koreans and 10min episodes bls?)
- music; there are a couple of really nice songs
- the title

What I did not like:
- director who seemed to have high school level skills: it was all over the place!
- Holland who can't act (but sings beautifully)
- the annoying girl and the even more annoying kids (why do Koreans treat all the children as little emperors? Low natality issue?)
- unnecessary time skip
- ugly poster

Ba Da a skilled chef comes to a seaside town in order to recover from a bad breakup. He opens a udon restaurant on the beachfront but is unsuccessful until Tommy comes to his rescue. A month later BaDa's ex shows up creating a bit of drama.
Ocean Likes Me had a lot of potential which was not realized. The best is Han Gi Chan! He is handsome, talented and charismatic and I wish he would get bigger and better roles outside BL as well!

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