Pinoy BL Series
Thailand
This review may contain spoilers
Oh My Sexual (2020): An Attempt at Black Comedy
“Oh My Sexual” was an attempt to produce a black or dark comedic Filipino (Pinoy) boys’ love (BL) series. Given a documentary-experimental narrative treatment, it was a high brow art for art’s sake engrossed in its own world. Form over substance was evident on this series.
While innovation and promotion of social change in Pinoy BL series are much appreciated, these characteristics should be synchronized with the ability to generate audience comprehension and engagement. Unfortunately, “Oh My Sexual” wasn’t able to do that. It wasn’t palatable and relatable enough for the viewers primarily because it focused on form with little regard for substance. News about the worsening virus outbreak, clips from classic films, lines from Shakespeare’s best dramatic works, etc. interspersed with the characters’ stories were good but didn’t really develop the plot/storyline of this series. “Oh My Sexual” was reduced to a thoughtless tangled web of love and relationship that resulted to individual anxieties and distresses that were magnified during a zombie outbreak. Also, in the end, it wasn’t clear "who were the oppressed whose morale was strengthened and who were the oppressors whose morale was undermined" -- a characteristic of black comedy that was vaguely referenced on this series.
Being a black comedy, dialogues were supposed to make light of serious matters by presenting them in humorous ways in order to prompt reflections. The overdramatic lines from “Oh My Sexual” mostly failed to do that. Screenplay was also incoherent at times.
Given that “Oh My Sexual” was a black comedy, acting was over the top. But at some point, exaggerations in acting just became annoying and exhausting. While all the cast members can act, they were pulled down by all the exaggerations. I can’t help but feel that their talents were wasted on this series.
Audio-visual technicals weren’t that good. There were some unnecessary noises and grainy camera shots. There were times when the editing, particularly with regard to scene transitions and split-screen shots, was distracting. The soundtrack “Ayoko Na Sayo” (I Don't Want You Anymore) by Bry Aquino was ok but it didn’t really fit this series.
All things considered, I would only recommend “Oh My Sexual” to those who want to try an attempt at black comedy in Pinoy BL series, with a friendly reminder that most early attempts at doing something different aren't good.
While innovation and promotion of social change in Pinoy BL series are much appreciated, these characteristics should be synchronized with the ability to generate audience comprehension and engagement. Unfortunately, “Oh My Sexual” wasn’t able to do that. It wasn’t palatable and relatable enough for the viewers primarily because it focused on form with little regard for substance. News about the worsening virus outbreak, clips from classic films, lines from Shakespeare’s best dramatic works, etc. interspersed with the characters’ stories were good but didn’t really develop the plot/storyline of this series. “Oh My Sexual” was reduced to a thoughtless tangled web of love and relationship that resulted to individual anxieties and distresses that were magnified during a zombie outbreak. Also, in the end, it wasn’t clear "who were the oppressed whose morale was strengthened and who were the oppressors whose morale was undermined" -- a characteristic of black comedy that was vaguely referenced on this series.
Being a black comedy, dialogues were supposed to make light of serious matters by presenting them in humorous ways in order to prompt reflections. The overdramatic lines from “Oh My Sexual” mostly failed to do that. Screenplay was also incoherent at times.
Given that “Oh My Sexual” was a black comedy, acting was over the top. But at some point, exaggerations in acting just became annoying and exhausting. While all the cast members can act, they were pulled down by all the exaggerations. I can’t help but feel that their talents were wasted on this series.
Audio-visual technicals weren’t that good. There were some unnecessary noises and grainy camera shots. There were times when the editing, particularly with regard to scene transitions and split-screen shots, was distracting. The soundtrack “Ayoko Na Sayo” (I Don't Want You Anymore) by Bry Aquino was ok but it didn’t really fit this series.
All things considered, I would only recommend “Oh My Sexual” to those who want to try an attempt at black comedy in Pinoy BL series, with a friendly reminder that most early attempts at doing something different aren't good.
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