Lovely Writer (2021)

Sweet romantic comedy highlighting some of the serious issues in the BL industry

When I first saw the trailer, honestly I wasn't expecting much. Also, initially, I had this perception that the Lovely writer series might be similar to "WHY'R U? the series" which made me actually dismiss the idea of even watching it. But, THANK GOD, one day I was bored and thought to give this series a try, and my goodness, my whole belief of judging a book by its cover flushed out in the drain at that moment. The series is amazing and can be considered one of the "Rarest Gem" in the BL industry.

Below I'll breakdown the review for you all;

STORY (10/10)

The main plot is actually very simple and well scripted, but it was various themes and elements that actually made the series wholesome and yet different from any of the previous BL series. I love how they have highlighted how BL fandom is more into fan service rather than story and quality and they were pretty straightforward about it too. When it came to Gene's boss, she would always emphasize on H scenes rather than the story, and Gene as a writer would be rather distressed about it as it would hamper the quality of the story. I somehow felt bad for Gene as he couldn't publish the work which he actually wanted even though his BL novels have been trending in the Industry apparently. The actual story starts when Gene meet Nubsib in the audition which happens in the 1st episode. I found the story pacing to be perfect with each episode so well scripted and directed that you would be ready to invest your whole day in this series without even fast-forwarding it. I love how they have even brought up the family issue i.e when your parents find out that you are gay, I won't say that it applies to all but it is kind of realistic and shown in a positive light which will just make you emotional. The issue in the BL industry of demanding the cast members to offer fan service and prohibit dating other than your series partner had just enraged me. The showrunners had done an excellent job in delivering the message that such ideas can have a negative impact on just so many people, even aggravating mental health issues. I absolutely hated seeing my poor Gene depressed. Lovely writer has done an excellent job in touching some of the sensitive issues pertaining in the BL Industry.

CHARACTERS AND ACTING ( 9/10)

I absolutely loved Gene. I have never watched any previous work of Up so I had basically no clue about his acting. But I would just say that he did 100% justice to the character. I love how his character broke so many stereotypes, like for example is it really necessary to be a female to write a best-selling BL novel. You don't have to be gay to write gay romance. But yes, he does fall head over heels for a guy. I personally perceive his character to be an introvert who is stern and adamant when it comes to making decisions thus shown in having a cold exterior but is actually timid and kind. I absolutely loved his relationship with his father. You can say they are like any other typical father and son duo, with his father being the quiet and strict but is actually caring and the son being not so open about his stuff, likes to live alone with his privacy but inwardly seeks his father's approval. I think that is why it was important for Gene to come out to his father and seeks his acceptance. I love how he always gets spoiled by Nubsib, but at the end of the day, it is he who is more mature than him. I absolutely hated when Gene broke up with Nubsib, but it was a necessity given the circumstances. And acting on emotions would then make the situation worse. But I am glad the series ended on a happy note.

Throughout the series, I actually saw gradual evolution in Kao's acting as Nubsib. The reason I couldn't rate this series 10/10 in terms of acting is because of him. Initially, with Kao's acting, there was always something that just bothered me but as the series progressed his acting improved. He very well acted Nubsib as a character, I loved how he was 2 faced person when it came to others and Gene. He is always trying his best to show a better version of himself to Gene while just not caring about others including Tum.

The chemistry between Up and Kao was just off the charts, I could literally feel butterflies in my stomach when it came to both of them. And I would always have this smile on my face whenever I saw them together.

Hin is actually my favorite character in the series. After watching him, I was like, everyone deserves Hin as a friend and colleague in their lives. Kenji's acting just melted my heart. I love how he respects Gene as a mentor and as a friend. I loved how the director even showed his side of the story as he has been struggling with his career. Hin's smiling demeanor is sure to warm your heart but then thinking back about all his struggles just makes me cry. I loved how he chose his moral and loyalty towards Gene when given a choice. Thank God he wasn't fired from his job.

Gene's parents - I think everyone needs a parent like Gene's. They are so understanding, not only towards their children but also towards each other as a partner. When I came to the real reason why Gene's dad was so against Gene's relationship, I choked. I was genuinely shocked when I came to know that Gene's mother knew about his past and was very understanding about it. They totally showed the world that everything could be solved without unnecessary drama. After everything gets solved between Gene and his dad, they established a level of understanding and trust which just warmed my heart. Also kudos to Gene's mom for being so understanding and supportive towards her family member.

Tum and Tiffy - I dub them as an unconventional couple beating all kinds of stereotypes. Tum being good at sewing, having immense knowledge about the make-up products and so on. And Tiffy being a badass riding a motorbike and knowing how to fix a car.

Ae - I only feel pity for him, that's the first thing that came to my mind when I completed the whole series. For all the troubles he caused between Gene and Nubsib's relationship, I wanted to smack him at that point. He is a very lonely character having a bad relationship with his family which I guess to a certain extent had negatively affected his personality. Often during our difficult times, we are compelled to take wrong decisions and bound to hurt people who genuinely care for us. Ae is a perfect example of that. I believe despite his struggles and family issues if he had made the right decision then things would have turned out to be different for him. In spite of such issues, nothing gives a person the right to intervene in other people's business. For all the bad stuff he did karma did bite him in the end.

The rest of the cast members including the ones who played the younger versions of Gene and Nubsib did an excellent job in portraying their characters.

DIRECTION (10/10)

I have to create a separate paragraph for the main force who made the success of the series possible. Remember the name of the director guys, "Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee". Whenever you will be seeing his name in any of the series just blindly watch the series without going through the cast list or synopsis. He has the power in bringing about the best in the actors and the characters. He has a way of story telling which lets the audience know that no one is evil or bad, it is just the circumstances which compels a person to make the wrong decision. Speficially speaking of Ae, the direction along with the acting made it possible to show us several grey shades of the character.

REWATCH VALUE (10/10)

I have already watched it thrice and I am gonna keep on watching it again and again because it is that good to watch.

Leggi di Più

lovely writer...

so it was okay for me as i started with low expectation.

For the main lead i wanted more from nubsib (noppakao) as i had seen his work in UWMA so i wanted more mature acting as a top. Sometimes i feel irritate at some scenes. For his partner (poompat) i love his character although he is playing for bottom he is not like other who acts like somehow girlish i like way that he potrays his character. i love to see him in more projects.
I like the side actors as they potrayed their characters well.

For the storyline, first few episodes may get you bore but after it develops with characters also. the most i love was how their parents handle the facts that them sons are dating & gay. Ist shows maturity of the parents as well as writer.
There were lots of scenes where gene's senior wanted him to write bl novels with nc scenes so i was hoping for at least one passionate romance scene. well you can enjoy kissing scenes.
For the ending (ep 12) the snow white,cindrella part so funny and cringy..i dont know how they manage to do it.
Looking forward to more projects of both of them.

Leggi di Più

The Lovely Writer blew me away! In the BL genres, this was a breath of fresh air that brought me tears of joy, and sadness. Many tears of sadness!!! It brought me frustration, anger, and everything in between. Even in its simplicity, it was a beautiful piece of work. I have to say that the wonderful music added to the intensity and sincerity of each and every scene and situation. What a memorable series. To date, this is my all-time favorite BL Drama and top five of all Asian dramas. This series, by far, had the best Writer, Director, Production team, Actors, and everyone involved in the making of this underrated masterpiece. The use of lighting and space was also phenomenal and magical. The lead actors did a great job, at times with subtle expressions and at other times with adorably cute ones. Awww. I want to fall in love all over again.☺ This one will stay will me for a long time to come. Bravo, Bravo. ?❤? One complaint: I disliked Aoey's dry crying. ? I think I saw one tear. ?The fairytale section was a bit cheesy for my taste, though. ? Anyway, YAY, A Happy ending!!

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Cringy

I have nothing to say about the plot, because I couldn't focus enough on it due to the fact that most of the casts were so cringy and unnatural on camera. (Save for Gene (acted by Up Poompat Iam-samang - he was amazing, one of the best I 've seen from a Thai Drama actually) and then some of the supporting characters like the director etc)

I have watched a few Thai dramas actually, and it never failed to amuse me how awkward the casts can be on camera. One and two ocassions would be fine, but when it is thrown too often into the mix, even the most interesting of shows would turn bad. It made me wonder, was it a Thai Drama thing? (But, like I said, Up Poompat Iam-samang was amazing at his role, why can't others be too?)

I wish I could ignore the acting and just focus on the story, but I couldn't because they were super unconvincing.

End of rant.

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One time watch

I was a bit hesitant to watch the series because I felt like it would have a much darker tone as the series was supposed to explore the toxicity surrounding the BL industry. I was surprised to see it was much light hearted than I anticipated. I would say it is a good one time watch kinda series.

Postives-
1.The actors did a great job potraying their characters.

2. The cinematographers and costume designers did a very good job.

Negatives -

1. Tbh during the first few episodes , I was extremely annoyed by the exaggerated sound effects to the point I wanted stop watching it.

2. The series was trying to be serious and comical at the same time , thus the results seems to be a mush of both not in good way

Story telling and characters:

1.Despite liking the acting , I didnt relate to any character other than Gene and Aey at certain scenes

2. Gene was the most explored character in the series. We got to see Gene as a person outside of his relationship with Sib. I loved his relationship with his parents, collegues and friends.

3. On the other hand, Nubsib being the main lead wasn't explored at all. There was nothing about his character other than his love towards Gene.He was shown as this cold guy who is rude to his manager , coworker and everyone other than Gene. Thus we dont know anything about him as a person other than he loves Gene

4. Aey was a character I liked and disliked at the same time. I really felt bad for him for how he was treated by his family. Again , his character was given no development in this series. Since the creators went out of their way to give a backstory to him in the first half of the series , I hoped he will have a redemption arc somwhere towards the end. Yes ,he did an awful thing to the main couple.But it was kind of sad to watch everyone just leaving him in the end. Someone should have gotten him the help he needed since he seem to be going through a tough time even in the last episode.

5. Tum and Tiffy's relationship and even their individual backstory was rather nice. I feel like there should have been more scenes of them as they seems to have just disappeared for a few episodes only to come back randomly when necessary. Tum and his sister's relationship was not really explored . Tiffy and Aey barely had any scenes together , same goes for Sib and Tum. I couldnt figure out the work relationship dynamic between Tum and Sib at all. Sib seems to have no respect towards Tum most of the time.

6.Another unexplored character was Hin. He literally disappeared from the show for most part of it. Even though his character was given a closure , there was barely anything we know about his characters other than he is gene's assistant and he writes . He comes and goes from the series without much of a purpose.

7. Despite having a lot of plot holes, I did love how it portrayed the importance of consent and communication in a relationship. It was refreshing to see how caring and loving the couple were towards each other. The best plotline of the story I would say is the coming out episodes. It was well written and acted. The potrayal of toxicity in the industry and fandoms were kept to a bare minimum . They could have explored on this subject much more. Something that confused me was how they got together after the huge break up in the last episode. For a couple who communicated extremely well throughout the series, they got back together without talking to each other about how they will face such a situation in case that happens in future.


I would say , the series as a whole is a one time watch if you like the actors.

Leggi di Più

The plot is mysterious. As to what sense it all has:-) An average author accidentally creates BL sensation by inserting some hot gay scenes in one of his novels (he actually loves to write fantasy or horror) so his publisher is now pushing him to write such stuff. He is a lonely gay guy of average looks who lives alone so all his dreams and fantasies come alive when this perfectly handsome guy starts living with him and seducing him. Only problem: Why??

One thing is the author is actually invited on the shooting set, when they make a BL drama out of his book. He's not even that interested, only lets himself being dragged into it... Kinda makes no sense as we all know on every set, there is a director who wants to direct his vision and there are actors who keep asking him "what is my motivation in this scene?" daily and there is a producer who wants to see return of his money and then there is a scriptwriter who wants to see his script done right and that already is enough annoyance for the director. NO ONE wishes to see the book author on the set, unless it's J.K. Rowling and that is the exception which CONFIRMS the rule.

But our "lovely writer" gets included in the whole production process for some reason (no reason, really) since the casting. Many "pretty boys" come to that casting. One looks girly (perfect cast), one looks "hot" (main cast) and one is actually attractive (side-cast). Now, the "hot main guy" makes a move on the shy book author and tries to impress him since day one. He even moves in with him under some ridiculous excuse. Kisses him after 1 day or so. He keeps smirking when "no one is looking". Only thing left mysterious is what's supposed to be the reason he's trying to seduce the writer so hard. Should't he be rather sucking up to the director?

So much for the unrealistic plot, but what is real... is the kissing!:-) So BL fans, attention. First kiss comes in episode 2 and it's a long, good REAL KISS. Yeah, rare, right? Why this like never happens in any series where would it be REALLY exciting? Here, we are watching the guys snogging before we really know them, and 10 more episodes remain. Will there be some explanation for all this in there somewhere?

Next episode continues with the actor being all over the book author (actually overdoing it quite a bit). It's starting to get boring. The author is really not a looker. The actor behaves like his life or death depends upon seducing him... Then the author gets drunk and goes for it with him but even that doesn't satisfy the actor. Obviously his goal is to really get to him. I would prefer watching the fictional BL drama side-guy getting on with the girly one than these two, but never mind.

I got to smile... 'Coz next epi my wish got fullfilled:-) I mean there was a kiss scene of the two secondary guys in question:-) First it was awkward, the girly guy was really girly, I mean he was carrying a totally girl's handbag, LOL. But I gotta say I did enjoy it because by then I was already tired of the main couple, I didn't really like neither the author nor the actor, so I switched my attention to this couple. Theirs was a hot kiss, preceded by a nasty family scene (turns out this secondary couple actually had way more interesting backstory all along). Emotions were hightened and kissing real. Very well. Even straight dramas (which tend to have way more build up) should be like this. Not just the gay ones in episode 5.

Then episode 6 the connection between the author & actor gets revealed, for their plot to finally have at least slightest sense. Well, better late than later:-) Also it was time for them to beat the drama of the secondary couple (like, the scene of Aey crying on the friend's lap was kinda stealing thunder of any other character in this drama). Episode 7 features author & actor getting all mushy, I completely zoned out and ended up looking outside the screen. My eyes returned when there was a kiss on the bed, but I don't really ship these two.

Anyways then there comes the premiere of the fictional BL (it's called 'Bad Engineer'... my, what can THAT be a referrence to, lol). It's a funny look from the other side where we can see that all it takes is to take a few moderately handsome guys, put them in school uniforms, make them shoot a couple over the top "drama" scenes featuring some kissing and a crowd of screaming fans appears. The book author is present even at this event (I'm no longer commenting on how that's absurd) and sits directly next to the drama "stars". They make those play one scene "live" on stage. It features a few ostentatiously stupid dialogue lines and, of course, a kiss. But that they don't do.

Episode 9... The main couple is fun again:-) And their bed scene is georgeous. Skinship is incomparable with any thai BL I have seen, it's more comparable with us/uk production. Interesting that the series mocking the BL genre would have such good BL scenes itself. If such scenes would happen within stories I really enjoyed, or couples I really shipped, I would have fainted. This is how it should look like. Also family scenes with members disapproving of gay relationships are good here for both couples.

Episode 11 it starts getting dumb. Actor & author's relationship gets revealed to public. Aey is crying in front of his fans on a livestream (makes little sense, there is nothing in between Aey and the actor, at least THIS actor:) and the publisher scolds the author that their sales have dropped. Which is even less believable, we all know any publicity is a publicity, and if not love triangles, then what are all dramas about?:-) Aey keeps crying. Unlike episode 5, for completely unknown reason. Actor & author's relationship is in crisis, which clearly has the "last episode crisis" purpose only. We know it's gonna get solved in the last epi, followed by happy end (just like in any other show this series partially mocked). During final episode I was seriously bored, I nearly fell asleep. Then they tried some goofying towards the very end, I would appreciated it more if they reversed Aey back from playing the silly "nang'rai" and we'd see some continuation on what we watched in episode 5, but never mind.

Now, how to rate series that was so good and so bad? Then, perfect average has to be given.

Leggi di Più

Lacking

This series was boring, I’ll say it right now. After the first couple episodes, my interest just dropped. I had ceased watching it for a bit because it didn’t catch my attention. The characters are cute but they can’t make up for the bad plot. I had to speed up the episodes because the show dragged on. There are funny bits but they get replaced by the lack of true substance.

The music was all over the place ; when a character was crying in one scene, the main theme started playing out of nowhere... like, what a great way to ruin a emotional scene! The sound effects also felt cartoonish and OTT.

Speaking of OTT, can we talk about these characters? Almost all of the characters are over the top. This is supposed to be a realistic take and a glimpse into the BL industry, but it’s so unrealistic.

I sadly don’t recommend this show... I hope to see these actors in better projects.

Leggi di Più

Lovely BL

J'ai lancé le visionnage de ce lakorn en me disant que ça allait être un BL comme j'en ai déjà vu beaucoup mais qui sort un peu des schémas habituels du milieu étudiant, mais j'ai eu la surprise de me rendre compte qu'il est bien plus profond qu'il n'y parait.

En effet, les épisodes commencent comme les autres séries du genre pour devenir des films à part entière pour chacun d'entre eux par la suite. Aucun rôle, plus petit qu'il soit, n'est oublié. On parle de chaque personnage, de son évolution, de son avancée ou de ses difficultés. Il faut tout de même avouer que les développements sont plus profonds concernant les personnages principaux mais je salue l'effort apporté au background de chacun car, si je prends l'exemple de l'histoire de Aey, elle n'est pas développée et expliquée de bout en bout mais beaucoup de choses sont suggérées et on comprend ce qu'il se passe au final.

Le lakorn nous parle aussi de problèmes et situations sérieuses comme l'acceptation de l'homosexualité au sein de la famille et des proches, mais aussi et surtout, dans le monde du cinéma BL où on peut se rendre comte jusqu'où peut conduire les dérives provoquées par les fujoshis ou les fans des séries ou des acteurs qui ont un impact parfois désastreux sur la vie privée de personnes qui incarnent juste un rôle pour vivre de leur art et se voient par la suite objetiser par leurs admirateurs qui veulent absolument que l'image fictionnelle qu'ils se sont construite à leur sujet soit réelle sans ne faire aucun cas de leurs sentiments alors qu'ils prétendent aimer ces personnes.

J'ai énormément aimé le jeu d'acteur de chacun, ils jouent juste et ce, dès les premiers épisodes, ce qui est loin d'être courant dans les lakorn BL. On suit, en plus de la romance du couple principal, l'histoire de plusieurs autres couples et leur dénouements qui ne finit pas forcément en happy end, ce qui est aussi une innovation dans le genre. La réalisation a su placer des retournements de situations et des moments de surprise auxquels je ne m'attendais absolument pas,

ATTENTION SPOIL
Comme la révélation du passé du père de Gene
FIN DU SPOIL

et ça rend le récit vraiment très addictif de cette manière.

L'alchimie entre les leads est indéniable, Kao qui incarne ici Nubsib nous montre une facette de lui très différente du très excellent Until We Meet Again nous présentant ainsi un jeu d'acteur très complet. Je ne connaissais pas Up qui joue le rôle de Gene mais j'espère le croiser dans d'autres productions car son jeu m'a également convaincu.e. Le seul bémol c'est que les personnages sont censés avoir 5 ans d'écart alors qu'en réalité les acteurs ont le même âge, mais déjà dès le début, j'avais l'impression que Nubsib était plus vieux que Gene alors que c'est l'inverse donc, bon, c'est pas le plus gênant non plus. Il ne faut pas oublier non plus les scènes coquines et croustillantes à souhait pour les plus coquinous d'entre nous, vous serez ravis !

Enfin, concernant la fin justement, c'était juste incroyable ! J'ai bien ri à voir leur délire d'imagination tout en brisant le 4ème mur, puis la mise en abîme de l'œuvre dans l'œuvre, j'ai trouvé que c'était un coup de maître, vraiment ! De plus, de cette façon, on en revient au thème de la césure à faire entre fiction et réalité, propos soutenu et défendu par la série, juste génial en somme.

En définitive, je ne m'attendais pas à grand chose et j'ai été mindrollé.e ( si je puis m'exprimer ainsi pour un « retournement de cerveau » ) à plusieurs reprises pour mon plus grand plaisir avec cette production bien plus profonde qu'il n'y parait. Je conseille fortement le visionnage de ce lakorn qui arrive directement, bien placé, dans mon top ten !

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

Leggi di Più

I forgot why I even want to watch this in the first place... But for sure just another drama to be added to my list...

Let's begin...

This drama told a story of Gene, the writer. He wanted to write story about mystery, but instead his publisher gave him task to write BL novel & it exploded with success. This drama started with Gene book choose to be adapt into series. And there where's he met Nubsib, the main actor of his drama. When the story started to run, we learn that admiration Nubsib had for Gene is nothing light & he really loves him with all the jealousy... How will the story run from here forward...?

Ok. What now let's discuss what I like and don't like. First as usual, what I like. Cause I gonna write a little bit spoiler in the part of what I don't like

What I like:
+ The harsh reality of the industry. Both publishing and entertainment industry. We see how much Gene get pressure from his editor, even to put the things he didn’t want to write in the book. And later we also see how harsh the entertainment industry…
+ Nubsib, Gene & Aoey all have good manager that thinks for them not only for the industry.
+ The cute story of Gene & Nubsib past relationship.
+ What a supported Gene & Nubsib family…

Overall this just another title to added to my list...

Below I'll write what I don’t like. But that's also mean a little SPOILER ALERT!!! So read it with ur own risk!!!












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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Now what I don’t like:
- Nubsib is one stubborn kind. The stubborn not always in good side. Like how he insisted his relationship with Gene, he even talked about break the contract. Some people maybe find it romantic, but for me that just scream irresponsible…
- I don’t understand why Gene angry with Nubsib, when he learned that they actually know each other from childhood. Nubsib never really mention he didn’t know Gene in the first place, why Gene must feel Nubsib lied to him & angry about it…
- Until the last I still don’t really get a grip of how Aoey character really is. Is he one cunning man? One man that looked for attention? Or what his character really is? I just know for sure he is one lonely man. Unfortunately, we also don’t get much of history of Aoey. There’s a little bit about him & I hope to see a little bit more of it.
- The ending… UGH!!! Feel like anticlimactic after what happen with Gene & Nubsib family.

Leggi di Più

One of the best BL's out there

I went into this series very late in the game. But I'm so glad I watched it. This series made me cry. It made me laugh. It broke my heart and then mended it back together again. The acting is phenomenal from Kao and Up. Kao does such a great job portraying his care for Gene. Up's portrayal of Gene's hesitance toward Nubsib is just fantastic. Not to mention Bruce; I felt for Aoey so much and I understood where he was coming from because of Bruce's acting. The finale alone makes watching the entire series a must. I have never seen such a good final episode from a Thai BL. It had me sobbing out of sadness and then sobbing out of pure joy. Overall, if you have any hesitation about watching it: don't. It's so worth it. I would recommend this series to anyone, literally anyone, who wants a good binge show or just a casual thing to enjoy. Easily top five favorite series.

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U N I Q U E

You know it’s good when it has the power of telling you what it’s about from just the title but still surprising you every step of the way. This is BL was really well written, the writer should be really proud themself. The casting was almost perfect (in my opinion) and soundtrack is beautiful. The story progressed so nicely and the actors did major justice to their character. Everyone character in the series is likeable all the way down to the villain. This BL has a uniqueness about it that will be really hard to replicate it’s lovely refresher from all the cliche titles we often watch.

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