Theory Of Love Review (TOL): Episode 2

TOL Ep 2 is an improvement on Ep 1, and for me, it's because Kai's clumsiness has given way to Off's considerable charms; and rather than the fleeting scenes, Off's characteristic appeal is given the emphasis it needs to give Third's longing for him meaning.

I'm surprised at how swiftly the producers have introduced the teasing foreshadowing that Kai would love Third back -- but I suppose that's really a blessing in a series of 13 episodes. And those doormat scenes of Third endlessly crying perfect, photogenic tears can become rather repetitive -- we get the drift, get going already!

This episode also develops the characters of Too and Bone giving the skeletal plot a bit of body, much-needed flesh and blood. As mentioned previously, White is a surprisingly sincere actor, and gives his "best friend" role a grounded warmth. Third confessing his three-year obsession with Kai to Too is so heartfelt, you feel the comfort a good friend can offer in the several scenes they have together in this episode. Of course, Too's efforts to set KaiThird up, and his enthusiastic support of Third's romantic feeling for a friend, is pure BL trope (in other words: wishful thinking). But yes, White is wonderfully watchable as Too, and I can watch that scene of White marching in the stadium endlessly -- it's pricelessly silly, and will cheer up your dullest day!

I'm also fixated on the blink-and-miss cameo of (Bom? Bomb?) OffGun's transgender minder playing the security officer chasing Third from the stands. Her thick bun of hair wobbles and her officer's cap just about falls off. It's Hilarious!

This scene is also notable for the dreamy Kai beaming away sunnily at the above-mentioned chase -- he's so cute you want to squeal -- a bookend scene for the slo-mo ping pong playing scene in terms of dreaminess and completely says it all about Kai's appeal.

Un (Earth), Kai's romantic rival, is introduced as the rival campus stud -- who has an attachment to Third. Poor Earth! He doesn't stand a chance, does he? The hair's all wrong and he's always rather a hit-and-miss for me -- he's all body, if you know what I mean. Earth with clothes has no meaning at all.

Kai starts to flirt meaninglessly with Third: Recording the sound of crickets in a moonlit park, to finally going on a movie date (Off in full boyfriend mode), to what will become a classic most-shared scene when Kai, with his face all sex and seduction, says to Third that everyone would fall in love with Third; to when Third is flash-carding his confession at Kai's door and Kai willfully misconstrues Third. Why is Kai doing this (and looking so meltingly beautiful while being cruel)? Why do straight men do things like that -- it's one of those mysteries that never would be solved (and then they lose all their power). You can feel Third capsize in the undertow of lust and confusion. He falls deeper.

Bone's (Mike Chinnarat of the ears) room is a mess, and is the only one who seems to live outside of an Ikea catelogue. I mean, Kai's apartment looks palatial in contrast, I suppose adding to his appeal. Third is like Elizabeth Bennet -- she's going to marry up! Bone is also the only one of the four friends who has to work (in a cafe) after school. Bone's love interest turns up -- I swear I see his ear wiggle -- in the manner of a scene from Notting Hill; Unfortunately, she's the unlikeliest of girls for Bone -- she's quite a matured actress, isn't she, and rather thin than pretty. This bit of casting is a bit of mystery -- never mind her looks: the chemistry is nil to negative.

So things are clipping along and I'm looking forward to Episode 3, aren't you?

Theory Of Love Review (TOL): Episode 1

Episode 1 begins on a good note: Charming and pretty to look at, the pace bounces pleasantly along. As BL productions go, TOL looks superior in production value -- everything is polished eye candy -- the sets are pretty, the hair is fluffy, the clothes are beyond trendy, so the stage is set for pure escapist fluff of the highest quality.

Its intentions are made clear too, with the tone of the direction sliding towards the great British RomComs of the 2000s, which it actually quotes rather literally. TOL is about four film-school students after all!

Except Off Jumpol (Tumcial) isn't actually the Hugh Grant of Thai TV and that's immediately apparent in a sketchy and uneven performance as Kai, the campus cad. It's an uneasy and self-conscious performance that makes Off an uncomfortable watch, and impossible to imagine as the homme fatale that Khai is meant to be.

Off's Kai is skittish and eccentric -- not qualities to make girls swoon as they must, and as they do in real life. Off is swoonsome as himself -- pure husband material, unexpectedly deserving of the worship he gets.

But his Kai feels strangely sexless, even though he wears most of Off's own clothes (sheep in wolf's clothing?) -- with the addition of the bike that is so at odds with his wardrobe of wafty pants and Goyard purses, that the character immediately feels untrue. Off would never skip and dance around a girl as Khai does, disconcertingly.

The real Off would fit this role perfectly -- but I suppose this rather camp portrayal is some sort of lame effort to separate Khai from Off, and also Khai from Pick (Off's role from Pubby Honey Secret Love) which is something that has to be done, since Off/Khai/Pick are hard to differentiate.

A few brief scenes make sense of Off's appeal -- he's that figure in the background of a movie review that catches the eye (how can one help it!) and the scene when Khai is playing ping pong in slo-mo -- you fall in love with him just as Third/Gun would. However these scenes are brief -- mostly you see Khai painfully obnoxious, without one redeeming feature.

Ears looking at you kid: Once you see Mike's ears, you can't unsee them.

Gun is a revelation as Third; He's a wonderfully transparent actor and one feels for him, with or without the plot. However, did they have to make Third such a doormat? He lost me when he was rooting around the bin for Khai's girlfriend's (Milk) things. No one can be so downtrodden, however besotted, and Third has loved Khai for three years! It's not a positive portrayal and furthers the uke stereotype, which isn't helpful nor interesting.

Which brings me back to the point that Third's obsession would feel empathetic had they made Khai more obviously lovable or even realistic -- not this insubstantial good-for-nothing. Give us a reason to love Khai as Third does -- make him an incredible sportsman, or a brilliant filmmaker or something -- not this tedious, childish impersonation of a stud. Give us Off, in other words.

White (of Love Sick fame) makes his mark as a surprisingly convincing actor as Too, so that's a hit of surprise right there in an episode that feels flat and predictable, pretty as the thing looks. (To round off mention of the main four of this series I have to say that Mike's ears are distractingly big!)

OffGun's celebrated chemistry is always watchable -- this deserves its own post for later so that's a positive to cling on to until the dust settles (hopefully) and they get the star vehicle that these two amazingly hardworking and dedicated actors justly deserve.

MIN THITIPAT POOKBOONCHERD (Part 2)

In which H shares a few choice TIDBITS ABOUT MIN

1. 

    Kimmon: Min unfollowed Kimmon on social media around May 2015, after their Sing For Nepal concert. There was a long text post on Twitter (I don’t understand Thai), which I’m guessing ended things, not in a pretty way.

I don’t know what happened between them, but after this “breakup”, Min never attended any event with Kim alone again. Just think how close they were back in those early Freshy Camp days.

2.   Min only agreed to go on the Lovesick On Tour gig to Udon (with Buff4) with Na’s company.

3.   Around November, Min also unfollowed Alone (on social media). Alone was this guy that took care of Min and Oat, and drove them to the set, took them home, basically a chaperone. I consider this surprising, since they pretty much went everywhere together for months.

4.   So after the MinOat fanmeet, after the end of Lovesick, the only person from that whole thing Min kept in touch with is Na. And Oat. Min still seemed OK with Oat, replying to each other’s Tweets, and they hung out together at Christmas eve. 

THE STRANGENESS OF MIN THITIPAT POOKBOONCHERD

MinOat, the ship that sunk, isn't going anywhere

Notes on MinOat, Namin, and the strange ongoing discussion with H on this mysterious boy actor.

Born June 19, 2000, Min is quite a strange young man. 

Unlike his peers in the world of Thai lakorn, he keeps his distance on social media. There are very few clues as to what he’s really like in real life.

D: I first fell in love with Mick, the character Min plays in Lovesick The Series Season 2. Three of four episodes in, Mick came to supersede every other character in the series for me. It made me want to see him in real life – and so I went to the fanmeet in Bangkok, my first ever. This was the MinOat fanmeet, where they gave out the MinOat 2016 calendar. 
Oat is another teen actor from the series.

I was very disappointed at seeing Min. He seemed aloof, cold and distant, so much so that his personal beauty, unaided by the terrible styling, couldn’t hold me in the too-cold theatrette, and I made off halfway through the strained performance.

In December, I went back to Bangkok for the Lovesick final concert Lovesick Love Actually. This time round, I found Min to be much improved. But he seems nice and cheerful only with Nanoob Napian Permsombat (November 14 1995), who plays Mick’s sweetheart (for lack of a better word) Ohm in the series. They seemed close, in body language and verbally, with fans after the concert ended.

Min is rather special in many ways; Sometimes he seems troubled even.

H: From what I saw online, Min looked more vibrant than Oat at MinOat, and he took the lead and was proactive throughout the concert and fanmeet.  Oat seemed sheepish, less confident.

To be honest, I’m glad to hear that Min is only cheerful around Na. I didn’t really ship NaMin until their “secret” date in October. That was way after Lovesick ended its run and after the MinOat Fanmeet, which by the way was a huge discouragement to OhmMick shippers.

Min hung around with Na more and more, and he’s changed quite a bit since then. Min and Na didn’t start out this close, not even when the series was airing. I don’t know what happened, but something must have happened right then, around October.

BIEBER THE BEAUTIFUL

Justin Bieber, 21, is not only talented, he's a great beauty. Bieber is also really, truly stylish - his fashion feels unforced, uncontrived and authentic, a complete antithesis of Kanye West for example, if you need a reference.

Flashback: Look Back At Men's Fashion In 2015 (Part 2)

WORLD WORE ‘15
Look back in wonder at the year in men’s fashion trends and themes in this flashback. By Daniel Goh

The Teenager Is King
Of course it all started out as Normcore last year, but what stuck, when people realized that Normcore just didn’t photograph very well and didn’t scream “I wore it there!” loudly enough, were the youth-centric tropes. Fashion is Youth: All hail the resurgence of all-white trainers, the skate-everything, the backpack, the ripped jeans, the shorts and the varsity blouson and the backwards-worn baseball cap. Try typing that litany without your eyes rolled back, why don’t you?

(Spring/Summer 2015 examples: CKC SS 6 10 12 18 21 34 36; Dolce SS 49 50 51 26; Hermes SS 27 29 36 42 7 10 20 24; Lanvin SS 19 32 21 27; JW Anderson 31 1 2 3; Gucci SS 17)

Part 2 of 4 - Part 3 will be posted up later

3 ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS STORIES

JF's Christmas at the Pool

"It's the eve of Christmas eve, 'round 1pm, one of those very quiet times at the pool, and so I was washing up with the shower door wide open, just so to keep an eye on my stuff which I'd left on the changing station ahead of me. You know me, I'm not shy like that. 

So I'm working up a treat with my new handmade geranium essential oil soap, I always use bar soap, I don't fancy gel. And I turn around and suddenly this tiny Chinese Hobbit, not very old, probably in his early thirties, was sitting right next to my stuff, so needless to say I had to keep an eye on him. 

The ACS Swimming Pool where so many things happened in my secondary school days.

Consciously nonchalant, acting oblivious, I continued soaping up and down my smooth flanks and sides, but became increasingly irked when I realised that I was putting on a Christmas show for that guy who kept gawking unabashedly. I really just couldn't hold it in any longer so I said very loudly, projecting across the room: "Excuse me, but what the flying fuck are you staring at?" 

"Ohhh... Ahhh, I wanted to ask you if I can borrow your soap?" he replied lamely.

So I said, "My soap isn't between my legs, you fuck!" 

Still relentless, he had the cheek to say, "Why do you shave down there? It's so ugly..." 

At this, I hurled my bar of soap in his face, hitting his right eye, and only then did he scurry off, Arena trunks, rubber sandals and drippy hair. 
I wasn't a marksman in the army for nothing."

Plaza Singapura in 1977

JZD's Christmas AT THE PLAZA MALL

Last night, amidst the plastic and tin foil-y Christmas decor at the Plaza Mall, JZD told me why he’s perpetually depressed. "It's not just Christmas," he said. As I suspected, it was about his family, a broken home and worse. His depression wasn’t about Nelson as I had thought, whom he had just met, and was all excited about; All anxious and nervous that it may all turn out to be naught. JZD isn’t quite as confident as he liked to present himself to be, but just as insecure as his good friend G, who no longer lives with him. They fought over rent, amongst other things, and G moved back to her parents' last Christmas.

KL model Haikal Hazman Hashim 

AY's Christmas Online

"So I met this dude online last Christmas, and he's a Chinese dude. We have been talking for a year now and indeed, he's very entertaining for a chat buddy. We would chat every day without fail, about this and that; However, when I asked him what race he preferred to date, I felt saddened to learn that he preferred to date a Chinese dude. I know it's his preference and what not, but I’m afraid he won't accept me as a potential date, because I'm not Chinese. I have yet to tell him that I’m Malay, so he doesn’t know this, even though we've been chatting for a year. He’s seen my photos though, but he doesn't seem to think that I'm Malay. 

Should tell him my race or just wait? I'm really confused..."

EDDIE REDMAYNE: MY NEW ENGLISH OBSESSION

This one is pretty self-explanatory, and if you watch the video interview below, you will see what I mean, English Charm operating at full power. Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor, singer and clotheshorse, born January 6, 1982. 
He's really the new Hugh Grant!

HOTTEST MALE MODEL OF THE MOMENT: JIN DACHUAN

My new obsession.

The Cod is Everywhere!

Grace Coddington is appearing everywhere and nowhere as charmingly as she does here, on the iD cover. Promoting her new book, Grace: A Memoir, The Cod dishes the dirt on Anna Wintour in a few revealing moments:
Every so often I have lunch with Anna at her request. These days, though, I get worked up beforehand, usually thinking, 'This is finally the time she'll say, "You're getting on a bit. You're looking tired. I think you should take it easy,"' as a prelude to gently asking me to step down. In fact, the last time we went out, I dared to say, 'I thought you were going to tell me to leave.' At which point Anna laughed and said, 'No, as long as I'm here, you will be, too.' 

"I think (the Ben Stiller shot by Annie Leibovitz for a couture story in Paris) was decided upon, really, because Anna had a crush on Ben. She gets these occasional crushes - Ben, Puff Daddy, Roger Federer."

"In the end I think Anna gave up on my styling covers since I'm not good with famous people. We used to use the occasional model, but the sales difference was so marked between them and celebrities that it's now 100 per cent pop and movie stars. Fashion is just a part of what the magazine stands for today, which may be hard on old-timers like myself but is definitely the modern way. I'm grateful to have lived through the 10 years or so I did at American Vogue when fashion was the most important element."

Super Mario

Mario Maurer, who awhile ago seemed to have gotten quite fat (German genes X Thai food - you do the math!) seems to have hit the gym big time and come back... older and slim again!In the latest Volume, he models Jean Paul Gaultier in a sailor-inspired story. Volume seems to be a legit fashion title, if a little heavy handed with the photoshop!I like that his new broad shoulders make his head look even smaller than ever - so cute!

Pretty Baby

Doutzen Kroes is sooo pretty I super heart (yes, complete lezzie crush)!

Nils Butler, Born 1989

Half French (dad) and half Norwegian, Mr Butler holds citizenships in both countries, and lives between Paris and New York."I'm really enjoying this job, at my age it's a good way to travel, see the world and get to know what's out there."
"About my favourite model assignments, if I had to choose between editorials or shows I would choose the editorial shoots."

Benoni/ Velazquez

Model Benoni Loos (Belgian, born 1987) is like a living, breathing Diego Velazquez (1599 – 1660) painting, is he not? The full lower lip, the troubled, heavy eyes, the hanging nose, and the neck that's just begging to wear a ruff!

Volume

I must say Super Mario (Maurer) is all grown up... into a bit of a chubby. Maybe that's the volume of the title?

Three Cuties + Two Movies = Horri-blah!

I was at R's and flipping through a stack of DVDs a foot high (R's a movie enthusiast) and finally swooped on Leap Year. It has Matthew Goode (love at first sight from Brideshead Revisited - how many bad movies can he survive?). I finally watched it after lunch yesterday (instead of writing a fashion feature for the papers). It's terrible. The Irish backdrop is enticingly filmed, and Matthew Goode is meltingly cute, and Amy Adams tried her best but it's still a horrible movie. I would rather be writing my feature (I couldn't get up from my stupor, alas, so didn't). Leap Year is so witless it failed to wring one happy thought from me, never mind a laugh. Perhaps the screenwriters were lazy (like me) and wrote it lying down burping from lunch? Or perhaps director Anand Tucker phoned it in from his sofa? It doesn't work because every scene is a flabby, unfelt cliche. And quite incoherent: Why is Amy Adams so desperate to marry her cardiologist boyfriend? Why doesn't she fall in love with the agreeably unshaven Matthew Goode at once (very unreasonable!)? What's the matter with her? I suspect this is because Mr Goode is far superior to the film, and was actually shot seperately from Ms Adams - his lanky beautiful person, and his charisma seemed to be standing just outside the film, having strayed accidentally in from a Jane Austen novel. Do not watch, even if someone passes you the disc.I also had the misfortune the stranger-than-fiction I Love You Phillip Morris. I j'adore Ewan McGregor as well as Rodrigo Santoro, you see. But really, this is another horribly incoherent movie, and seems to be more about the always reliably madcap Jim Carrey than either McGregor or Santoro. I'm at a loss to say what the movie is about other than how repellant Mr Carrey can be. I've never seen a film with him in it, and this one seems to make up for it big time as he's in every scene acting for all he's worth. Which is confusing because his slaptick take on everything make sit hard to fathom what the intention of the movie is. It is not at all clear what the movie's central theme is, or even its genre. It's not exactly a biopic because there are too many missing chunks, and the way the characters are portrayed seemed like the broadest camp. It's not about identity crisis or gay romance, nor is it properly a heist caper. Prison drama? It almost became a musical, I swear, because at many points McGregor seemed about to open his mouth and torchsong flute forth. Do Not Watch. And, no, I don't have a type!

Patrick Kafka (Born 1989)

Patrick Kafka is from Vienna, just like those enamel Hermes bangles. J'adore.