it had potential and can't deliver until too late
i was so stoked when i heard about the premise and saw some teaser or trailer for the show. i am 5 episodes in at the writing of this review.waste of time. i have started scrubbing through the episodes so the 50 minute ordeal takes maybe 10. after all time is the most precious resource any of us have. why am i even still watching? i wanna be kind and give it a chance. a generous one cause some GL are just cursed and can't find their footing until later. here's the list of problems: wooden acting, no chemistry, no story progression, no cohesion, the mother traumas so far don't add anything but slow things down, the main characters have no compelling motivation. shouldn't halfway through be any love established between the leads?
UPDATE: somehow for some reason i watched more episodes. overall not much better but there were a total of 3 out 10 episodes where i didn't fast forward most of it. so i increased the rating. the main character actress has good acting moments later in the show
Was this review helpful to you?
As soon as I've read the synopsis this drama piqued my attention because the premise sounds...well, dreamy. Like some oneiric fairytale. And you can do so much with dreams as the recurring motif of the romance story. After all, dreams are messages from the unconscious, they are signaling things that are hidden deep withing ourselves, feelings that are not fully realized. Unfortunately, this drama turns this concept into some gimmick that is shown a couple of times and doesn't really mean anything. Allegedly, the main characters have been meeting each other in their dreams since they were little kids but we never see any of that. Later they meet in real life and there is absolutely no reaction from both of them. I mean, you met this person who you thought was just a product of your imagination and you don't have any kind of emotional response to that? Then they fall in love but cannot be together, yet they still meet in their dreams, which seems important plot-wise, as enhancement of yearning and angst. We see this maybe twice, as most of the time the girls have petty fight due to pent up frustration because they are stuck in the most brain rotting cycle of misunderstandings that could have been easily resolved with one honest reaction between the friends that they are suposedly are.
What's the point?
And then we have a huge pacing issue because for some reason the director decided that jumping straight into angst without any build up is a good idea. The thing is, you can't make me care about emotional turmoil these girls are going through without giving any context for the character's feelings or motivations. For the good 5 episodes (of 12 episodes long drama!) it was just a constant rehash of the same vague confilct. It wasn't until halfway through the show when the characters finally started to make sense. However, the reasoning for their behaviour was often rather weak or rather not satisfying. Mental health issues are used as an explanation for some character's actions and attitude and while I appreciate unprejudiced approach to this topic, it is still very simplified. The severity of depression that one of the characters was going throught was never talked about in more depth, while in fact it affected literally everyone in this drama. Once that character stopped being emotionally stunted, most issues disappeared. As everything, it needed a little more build up to make it more believeable.
One thing I actually found good was the chemistry. Not like the main couple had a lot of chances to show it off because most of the time they were separated or put into dumbass conflict, but in more relaxed or intimate scenes they shined. The highschool flashback was easilly good, my favourite episode. Fay and May deserved a better show.
Overall, I'm not recommending it to anyone. It's a prime example of wasted potential, bizarre direction and awful writing. 12 hours of boredom mixed with exhausting frustration. It doesn't make sense, right? Exactly.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Not the best in what I call the "Planoy's Verse" but not as bad as the ratings might make seem
I just finished the drama and whan can I say....In terms of story, and I mean just the premise of the drama, is better that GAP or Blank (at least for me), the two mains romance only truly starts on episdoe starts on the 1st part of the 9th episode. Now compare it with the other two Planoy works we watched...
I know we shoulodn't compare on this but, being a part of the "Planoy's Verse" and with two other works already adapted is normal that we do...
This drama has it's flaws, of course, the acting of the two mains is a bit shaky at times, some plot points would have benefited from a better and calmer resolution and they should have had a clearer way to differentiate between the dreams and reallity, a a blurred halo around the scene or something like that as it gets confusing at times for us, the watcher, to know which is which.
Other than that is a pretty decent drama with some rewatchable value, mostly for when you are in a drama draught, have nothing to watch and want to pass some time...
Was this review helpful to you?
Not that really dreamish
Well.. This is really rare that I'm writing a rather negative review and I'm quite sad it's a GL one as there's no many and I support all the work related to LGBTQIA community but this one, sadly failed to deliver a great serie.I think I'm going to talk about what I disliked, the problem is the plot, it was quite messy and the slow-burn that I usually like becomes so frustrating. In addition, it was a bit hard to connect with the characters and when it comes to even main characters (Dawan), it's not that great! It's really a pity!
Honestly, they did have some interesting ideas but it was not that very engaging to me...And the acting has definitely a room for improvement although I'm not that harsh like others, I would say it was ok but the girls could do better, especially Fay who played Dawan and I was already prepared as her support role in The Sign was..Worse than this?
But the cinematography, the production and the OST were really nice. it's such a huge contrast.
I would also add that, despite the flaws, I low key liked it a bit and I was even entertaining and cute but it failed to be one of my favorite and I would not rewatch it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Dream took away the reality!
The novel was a difficult one to read and this drama adaption was no exception at all. Well IDF did some changes but that couldn’t save the drama from such a lower rating. Now, when the story itself is all about miscommunication and then some, drama would reflect it rightly, wouldn’t it? So, Wan and Kimhan's characters have been well portrayed. The background music and songs are amazing, no doubts at all. So, where did it break apart?1. Some characters' portrayal weren’t well showcased.
2. Some dialogues didn’t even make any sense.
3. Frung portrayed Jessie well but she wasn’t given enough screentime.
4. Flashback and dream scenes are too dramatic.
5. Fay's acting skill needs a lot more improvement.
6. Wan's mom's portrayal was too boring.
7. Wan is an actress but the way she was dressed up was less fashionable than Kimhan's. Doesn't make sense.
Likeable stuff:
Wan and Kim go through a lot of miscommunication and jealousy in the novel and this part was well conveyed by the leads.
May is an amazing actress, She will nail any character. And Looknam is such a cool actress even as a supporting character. Heng is a great actor too, although he never gets his partner in any IDF drama LOL, I hope he gets outta this slump.
The ending, I don't know if the wedding happened in dream or not, might be possible!And so many things from novel were not shown in the drama so it was really hard to sympathize with the leads when they were facing troubles. I'm glad this drama ended but 12 episodes seemed too lengthy.
Anyways, I hope Fay and May get a good script soon, better than this messy one.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Hard to watch but still ended up loving them
It started bad, I hated Dawan at first. Kim was nice, I felt bad for her. I was trying too hard to keep watching this and I remember starting to like it at the sixth episode, when they show us flashbacks and they were so much cuter in school times. But when it was back to the present I remembered I was dealing with a super weird and possessive relationship again. They were so bad for each other that I lowkey wanted them to be with the MEN who hit on them. They were nicer. (this is extreme for me, because I never want that)As time flew by, Dawan got a lot better and I started realizing she wasn't to blame for everything. Kim would be so passive waiting for Wan to do everything and confess her feelings as if she wasn't able to that herself. She would marry a guy she didn't love just because "Dawan didn't tell her not to". The whole time their friends were throwing all the relationship responsibility over Wan.
The whole thing with the moms were a bit weird 'cause like 10 years had passed and they still hadn't gotten over with the gay dads thing. Like, I know it was traumatic and shit, you may need a lot of time to recover but Wan's mom would literally spend 10 years of her life without even contacting her ex-husband and be drinking, crying and drowning in a tub almost everyday. Isn't that a bit too much? And it's crazy how they meet after a long time, he apologizes and she quickly forgives him and moves on. She only needed an apology, I guess... lol
At the end of the day I didn't quite like what they did to Marwin. He wasn't a bad guy, he really loved Kim and would never hurt her. They turned him into a villain, maybe because he was a man trying to "steal" a girl from another girl. But I don't think he or Pat were bad. They just were nice guys who were into girls who were lesbians. Marwin did a lot of terrible things at the end but I think it was very random in the script.
Was this review helpful to you?
an interesting story lost in the wreckage of terrible writing
I'm back from IdolFactory's ever-confusing two week break, trying to remember what the experience of this story was, and think my final answer is: it's fine. In comparison to GAP, I think Dream GL does a better job of crafting meaningful conflict and motivations... but that's about all the improvement I can give IdolFactory here. The actors are charming with good chemistry, but stilted by fumbled pacing that drags. The story is complex and mature, but the magic of the dream world is fairly scarce which diminishes the girls bond. Production quality is about equal to GAP, with perhaps some more interesting cinematography to match the dreamy setting (as opposed to an office romance). I didn't hate watching this, but IdolFactory will have to make some changes if they want to continue to stand out.-The Full Review-
STORY:
For the positives, I genuinely enjoyed the story of Kim and Wan and their families. I liked how their relationship to their father's complicated their way to falling in love without relying on (as egregious of) miscommunication tropes. Their bond with their school friends was quite cute and brought a very lively energy to an otherwise sad story. While I really could use a break from lesbian-bride Heng, I don't think the marriage plot was awful... though the resolution was fairly melodramatic and rushed.
Unfortunately, the rest of the story was all over the place. So much time is invested into the acting competition plot-line, only to dissolve without fanfare. Likewise the couple-pair plot creates a huge mess before melting away into nothing. The mother's illness overlapped oddly, denying each of them a true moment to shine and bogging down the second half of the show with too much trauma... and so on. It badly needed another edit to restructure the story for this episode count/timeline.
Additionally, I think IdolFactory has gotten a little carried away with their episode lengths. The extra runtime allowed for frequent slow-mo and dead air as well as so many scenes of people traveling places (with no real reason to include the trip). Cutting back to a true 45 or 1 hour runtime would vastly improve the drag on some of these episode and force the screenwriters to cut some of their darlings.
ACTING:
I've seen some pretty harsh commentary, but I didn't find the acting all that grating. Fay, rather held back by the poor pacing of her character arc, did quite well once Dawan was allowed to grow and show all the sides of her character. I enjoyed the stubborn ferocity of her character and the more playful side that only Kim gets to see. I think she did well navigating the realities of depression, especially for a character who has been navigating these struggles for quite some time.
May, likewise, delivered a very competent performance. Her character was quite subdued, held back by the frustrations of so many things in her life going wrong, and I think she portrayed that exhaustion quite well. While some of the crying scenes were not the most natural, she truly started to shine while navigating Marwin, her mother's illness, and Dawan's tempestuous nature. I really enjoy her as an actress and look forward to seeing her grow.
I wish the female ensemble would have... swapped. I loved Frung, Pear, and Ploy and would have loved to see more of them. They're characters were charming and brought out interesting new sides of the leads. I found Looknam and Songjet.... quite overwhelming. I enjoyed their characters, but wish the director would have pulled them back more often. The friendships were very, very sweet but rarely allowed to develop any kind of emotion.
PRODUCTION:
In general, I think Marvellous Dream was a pretty standard IdolFactory production. Competent production choices informing a quality product with very few technical glitches. Like most IdolFactory shows, the OST was pretty limited and repetitive (I really wish the would expand their music), but the lighting was quite beautiful. Unfortunately, with a fashion-plot show, I have to say the costumes kind of... fell apart. While the actual clothing was quite quirky and enjoyable, Kim's designs were completely heinous. I wish the costumes had taken more of an opportunity to be informed by the story, rather than feeling like a child's Lisa Frank Fashion Design game.
INTIMACY:
I genuinely applaud IdolFactory for continuing to insist on allowing women to be sexual in shows. That said, some of the choreography here was... pretty awkward. I don't quite think we're there yet. Obviously, as they post to YouTube, there is no intention of any upper nudity. But the shots over backs and strategic pillow/blanket placement was not always the most natural. I think this director needs to study some GL to get new ideas on how to keep everyone covered while still delivering a good performance. That said, Fay and May did a wonderful job bringing chemistry and believable passion to the scenes! I hope to see this pair again soon, hopefully with better writing!
In all, I don't think Chao Planoy is for me, nor adaptations of her work. While I enjoyed my time with Marvellous Dream... I started watching several better GLs in the two-week break. I could be convinced to watch it again, but I probably won't do so on my own. Baby steps... baby steps... we're getting there...
Was this review helpful to you?
Eu i mais três pessoas que gostam
Assim, é um Gl que não te dá muita emoção ou que te faz ter ansiedade pelo próximo episódio, mas se você olhar direito, ele aborda assuntos bem delicados e importantes para ambas as partes de um relacionamento sáfico. Eu gostei da produção de muitas das cenas, a história tem uma proposta bem legal, acho que o que o público queria era que fosse mais bem trabalhado, e nisso eu posso concordar, acabou ficando algo bem extenso, coisa que não precisava.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
First Time Finishing a Thai GL Series
I've watched little GLs in the past but this series is the only one I've finished until the end. These are my honest likes and dislikes on Idol Factory's 2nd GL.STORY (6.5/10)
Likes
The idea behind it is creative, Wan and Kim's relationship IRL is sucky so Wan lets her real feelings out to her in her dreams. This is the main idea at the beginning of the show. A growing actress whose stylist is her childhood friend, but Kim was blackmailed by another growing actress, forcing her to work under her (Jessie) instead as she's a talented stylist. WanKim has always had a not-so-platonic relationship ever since high school but they've always kept it a secret as they don't know how the other one feels. After their dads decided to run away together, it made them have something to relate to and connect with on a deeper level. But I love how it made the viewers feel confused about who to even support anymore when it started becoming more complicated with Kim's mom's illness, her 'dying' wish to see Kim getting taken care of by marrying Marwin, and seeing WanKim having a moment 30 minutes from her wedding with him. I also like how it made the viewers 'try' to understand their dads, by placing WanKim in a very similar situation. A lot of WanKim moments weren't 'reality' up until episode 9. It's either in their dreams, one of them's asleep, or drunk. This makes the viewers feel as confused as Wan, that none of those are 'real', but Wan experienced it, so we kind of get her behavior. A lot of the characters here except for the comedic duo (Mon, Mali, Pat) aren't 2D, it makes us think. Anyway, the overall concept of the show caught my interest at the beginning, and it became even more interesting around episode 9.
Dislikes
Wan is very toxic, I started becoming annoyed at her somewhere around the middle. When she went to Marwin to tell him not to accept Kim as his employee, that was it. Very possessive, and selfish, but it made us feel like we're supposed to somewhat...support her behavior because she's the main character? Honestly, she doesn't deserve Kim ever at all, I don't know how Kim still likes her. Wan wanted to be with her because it made her happy, but was Kim happy? Still hanging out with her even though it'd result in a loss for Kim too, being rude to Jessie knowing she can release that clip of both of them, being rude to Pam (Dokrak's GF) even though it's wasting Kim's effort to allow Pam to let Dokrak be Wan's stylist, and her ridiculously childish behavior with Kim's employer. Man, honestly Marwin is a good guy, just blind in love to insist on marrying someone he met recently, plus some unintentional pressure he made. I can see that they tried to make us dislike him by making him ruin Kim's business and making him less polite. But it doesn't work like that, I genuinely would be happy for Kim if she honestly liked Marwin. Also, let's not view kissing someone while sleeping in a positive manner, it's one of my biggest no-nos. Wan is a bad friend, how are Mali and Mon still keeping up with her annoying behavior?! It's a good thing at least that after Wan got what she wanted, she isn't insufferable anymore. But I've gotta give credit because this made me feel interested to want to know what will happen
DIRECTING
I think this director, A, is great at the comedic scenes. My favorite comedic scene was in episode 6, when Pat was trying to ask Wan out using the papers, but he showed her the wrong side so it's just a blank paper AHAHAHH that one was directed pretty funnily to me, my type. Not only the comedic scenes but the beautiful scenes too outdoors with the view. A good example would be right at the end of episode 9 when Kim told Wan she's getting married while they're outdoors, I like the pacing. If I were to express my dislikes, I'm not a huge fan of the concept of Wan's dreams sometimes from the camera concepts. At some moments, the vibe of the song doesn't match too much with the scene which bugged me a bit.
ACTING (6.5/10)
Most of them are up to the surface level, some notable good ones are May, Heng, and Looknam though which increased my rating by 0.5
Fay
Not great especially at the start of the show. For a character who's supposed to be b*tchy, she doesn't have that gaze in her eyes or the corners of her lips. A good example would be Frung (Jessie), but more toned down since Wan is more cold. I could see a clear imbalance when her face was near May, especially in emotional scenes. But I have to say, the end of episode 9 with her emotional facial expression made the whole show more engaging. It was when she shed tears I noticed for the first time in episode 10(?), she's improving while shooting the show it seems. Can't forget about my favorite scene in episode 11, I didn't think she'd cry like that 30 minutes before Kim's wedding. Her lips shaking, her voice too, it made the scene even better. I'm glad her acting got better as the series went on, looking forward to FayMay's new series in 2024 Somewhere Somehow. But a bit salty that she hasn't done it since episode 1, could've made everything better as the main character.
May
I absolutely have no complaints about her. Every time there's a crying scene, it just feels so real, she makes every sad scene even better. She also portrays her slightly tired/annoyed expression when with Wan well. There wasn't a single time I thought 'hmm this was a bit awkward' with her acting. awesome since the start. Of course, FayMay has decent chemistry with each other here, especially in the cute scenes.
Frung
Ever since the start, I knew what her character was supposed to be like from her intonation and gaze. Even though she doesn't have sharp and angular facial features like a lot of villains do, her acting itself can get the job done well.
PearPloy
Not sure if it's because they were introduced as an established couple already or what, but I didn't see much chemistry in them that it felt a bit awkward when they called each other 'my love'. Pam (Pear) is always annoyed at something, and Dokrak (Ploy) is just happy to be there. GrumpyXsunshine dynamic, but nothing else. Except for when their kiss was shown at Mon's club. Their characters didn't give them a chance to showcase much, their characters were pretty simple.
Songjet
As the comedic character, her intonation, exaggerated expressions, and body movements were natural. It didn't seem awkward or anything. Since her character is mostly whining about something, it didn't give much of a chance to showcase her acting either. But she can play a funny overreacting character for sure, a little bit bland though.
Looknam
As a comedic character, she did amazing. Her playful expressions, annoyance, etc etc no complaints. great great actress who is able to switch up in an instant.
Heng
No matter if he's playing a good or evil character while standing still without any expressions, we'll know right away what he's trying to show. Before the wedding incident happened, his expression looked very kind. Then when WanKim talked with his character, you could see he had bitterness in his eyes very clearly that you feel scared if he'll do something. Excited to see him in PoomSaint's show in 2025 'My Sweetheart Jom '
Poom
Playing a comedic 2D character, we didn't see him doing much other than smiling and looking like a lost kid, except when he had a workshop with Wan and Jessie in a serious scene. His expressions didn't seem 'deep' enough, mostly his gaze.
Tack
Even though he just appeared as a guest, I already know he's great at comedic scenes, I actually paid attention to the thing he was sponsoring LOLL
MUSIC (9.5/10)
My favorite thing about this show is easily the amazing music, both BGM and OST. The vibe of the BGMs is very soothing when they need to be. The theme song is also cute, got me singing along. Let's not forget about one of the OSTs sung by boy sombop, the king of BL songs with the title 'Awake'. whenever that song plays, my focus instantly increases.
Rewatch Value (8/10)
Well, the reason why it's high is because of how frustratingly interesting the show is with Wan's behavior. Will probably rewatch for memories in the future
Was this review helpful to you?
This deserves to be watched and not just to be dropped so casually!
With a resounding 9.0 rating, the drama series "My Marvelous Dream is You" is a spellbinding exploration of the extraordinary bond between Dawan and Khimhan, two individuals whose lives become intertwined through a shared, intimate dream world.Despite the series featuring a relatively young and inexperienced cast, their performances are nothing short of exceptional. The lead actors effortlessly capture the nuanced emotional complexities of their characters, drawing the audience into the delicate tapestry of their story with raw authenticity. And of course, it is also thanks to the amazing performances and guidance of their senior co-stars that made this drama more exciting.
The original soundtrack, is a true revelation. The hauntingly beautiful melodies and soulful harmonies seamlessly weave through the narrative, amplifying the series' introspective nature and the characters' emotional journeys.
Visually, "My Marvelous Dream is You" is a triumph. The stunning cinematography and production design transport the viewer into a realm where the mundane and the fantastical coexist, creating a sense of immersive enchantment. The visual effects, when employed, are seamlessly integrated, elevating the series' sense of scale and the otherworldly nature of the shared dream world.
In every aspect, "My Marvelous Dream is You" is a captivating and emotionally resonant drama series that delves into the depths of the human experience. The series challenges the audience's perceptions, exploring the complexities of the human heart with nuance and sensitivity. This is a must-watch production that will linger in the minds of viewers long after the final credits have rolled.
Hi everyone, I am now on episode 7 and still can't wait for the release of the awaited episode 8. I hope that you can finish this drama and like it as much as I do. Thank you for reading my review.😊
Was this review helpful to you?
Skipped most of it cause it didn't make sense
If you delete 90% of the series, it's a good series.It's full of plot holes and most of the things happening don’t quite make rational sense. Half of the production cast is men who probably have no idea how to portray women except by using stereotypes or trying to break them in a questionable way.
Only people who like the miscommunication trope can possibly enjoy this series.
Was this review helpful to you?
Episode by episode (no spoilers). By the end, I hope to improve my grade.
>>> The actresses are soooo bad :( . Besides, the story hasn't grabbed me yet. Wan dreaming about Kim doesn't make the LEAST DIFFERENCE IN THE SERIES so far. I hope that you get better.>>> I'm finding the story very silly so far. And this story about the friends who fought is very boring so far, but I'll keep trying to watch it. Not to mention that when they enter the dream, the quality of the series is so bad that it seems to be from 2010. If it were a series from a small studio, which is just starting out, that would be fine, but it's from Idol Factory! Improve this, please! I'm trying hard here.
>>> The story hasn't caught up with me yet. I spent 4 days trying to finish episode 2. It's difficult, but I'll keep trying, as I hope it gets better, as we're still on episode 3. But what they are doing is wrong! They're playing very dirty, in many series it's normal to include "Easter eggs" from other series from the same studio to attract fans' attention, and I really like that, I'm in love when it happens, but the way they're doing it is shameful.
Clearly they are putting in elements from the "GAP" series just to appeal to the fans, they are playing with the fans, it's not possible.
***The fact that ALL the background music is the same as the "GAP" series I even understand, as it's from the same studio so let's say they are "taking advantage" of the songs they already have.
***The fact that the protagonist is a fan of the GAP series is also understandable, because who isn't?
***The fact that they used the "GAP" script in one of Wan's acting training scenes is super understanding too.
But make them sing the "GAP" song? Serious? I was ashamed of them, it was very forced.
In all the episodes there is some element of GAP, but they don't do it in a fun and relaxed way. They do this in an extremely FORCED way. Okay, that's enough! We already understand that you also did GAP, now take advantage of the fact that fans trust you and show that they don't need to depend on GAP to make a series shine, that you are very good at what you do! We want a good story, there's no point in filling it with GAP elements!
Was this review helpful to you?
