Paint with Love (2021)

It's started okay but..

Starting from episode 8, it's going downfall with illogical plots, insignificant supporting casts, tons of misunderstandings that actually can be resolved with 1 good communication, etc. I started to watch the rest of the episodes with 2x speed but still find it too slow and dragging.

STORY: Paint with Love. The idea itself is great but the plots are so messy.

ACTING: ML both are great actors just not in the right series. The 2nd couple are mostly awkward + lack of chemistry.

MUSIC: Mehh.

REWATCH VALUE: Please no.

OVERALL: 6/10 because I still watched until episode 8 without 2x speed but the rest, just disappointing.

Leggi di Più

opposites attract, workplace romance, grumpy/tsundere, enemies to lovers

For me the mains were unlikeable and the actors had poor chemistry. So while this offered a lot of what I thought I wanted from a Thai BL - mature characters, workplace setting, adult themes - I’m wasn’t wild about the execution. I suspect Thai pulps are better when they stick to university/high school. This one felt like a better version of Loveless Society (not hard). The main couple's sex scenes were kind of sweet but I’m just not into them.

The side dishes (Yoon & Yacht) gave us more chemistry and a better kiss but had little screen time. It was interesting to see them portray BL actors being shipped and then confessing to actually dating each others. I’m not sure how I feel about the handling of it but it was different from Lovely Writer, and I guess it's nice to see different takes.

In the end, this show was nicely grown up but boring and became a matter of endurance for me. I can’t ever see myself rewatching this one and that weighs hugely in my enjoyment of any series.

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Could have been a 5

When I started watching this show, I immediately didn't think the leads had chemistry. I felt the secondary couple had more potential. By the end, I'd changed my mind on both. Finally, around episode 4, the two leads began showing signs of attraction. Honestly, I only have a few complaints that keep me from giving this sweet romance a perfect score.
One is the misunderstandings were carried on for too long. I'm not fond of them in the first place, and to keep them going that long was just too much, particularly when it worked to keep everyone apart.
Another is that Maze was too d*mn mean. How can he stand there at the end and claim that Phab left him when he downright pushed the guy to go to Japan? Told him he wasn't good enough to work for him or be with him? In an info dump near the end, Neung, after FINALLY revealing that he only thinks of Maze as a brother, it is revealed that Maze has a thing about being left behind.
The third is that, while I'm okay with a sweet romance that stays with the chaste kisses, I absolutely hate when they stand a foot apart when they do it. I'm sorry, but nobody does that.
By the end, I was totally rooting for the primary couple but didn't really care about the secondary. Not much time or effort was given for their romance. (And Yacht played THARN? The whole time, the captions said THAN.)
I could have completely done without the whole fight between managers. It was boring and didn't add much to the plot.
Speaking of not adding to the plot...why the big deal about how Phab got hurt while saving Neung from drowning? When Neung's in the hospital, they show Phab lifting his shirt to show a gigantic bruise. Then they show a flashback of how he got that bruise while saving Neung. Later, back at the office, a coworker accidentally touches Phab there, making him flinch. But nothing else was ever said about this. I thought it was going to become a big deal--like Phab had some kind of internal bleeding and Maze was going to feel like a jerk for ignoring him. But that never happened. Nothing happened. It had no purpose at all as far as I could tell.
Good story for the most part with sweet and moving moments, but it needed work, so 4 stars out of 5 for me.

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Deserves so much more attention

To be honest, I'm surprised this series isn't rated higher.. it was so good, Is it perfect? No. But it had so much good going on that the bad was next to irrelevant.

So what is this "bad" that I'm talking about? For me, the biggest issue was the editing and pacing. Seriously, there were so many inconsistencies albeit each one was minor. But even if they aren't huge or even all THAT noticeable, if there are too many of them, it becomes more and more distracting.

A few examples (SPOILER ALERT) I remember... the progression of the painting. (you see Phap making progress on it then in a few scenes later, it's back to where it was and for a minute I thought we were watching a flashback). The fact Phap gets fired and then a few scenes later, the rest of the employees are asking why he's not in the office and if he'll work for them after he comes back from Japan. (Like, he was fired. No. No he won't.) And then there was the jealousy and misunderstandings.. it's fine to have it in there but it's like, one minute it's there, then the next it's forgiven without any actual conversation, you just have Phap standing there with cotton candy and a megaphone, and then the next scene, he's all pouty again.

But even with all that said, I can't really fault the actors for any of it. They were all so perfect in their roles and it was fun to see a few of them in such different ways from other series I've seen them in. I very recently watched Triage and it was fun to see Tae in this fun-loving character after such a heavy and serious one. I also remember being fascinated by Singto in He's Coming to Me (another fairly heavy drama) and he was even better here. I've heard SOTUS was good too but I have yet to see that one though, after watching Paint With Love, I'm likely to follow Singto in every series he's in.

But I digress..

I really loved the chemistry between Tae and Singto, and I'm not talking about their romantic chemistry. They fed off each other with their bickering and their comedic timing was so good, I almost didn't even need there to be any romance between them. Almost. Not gunna lie, when they finally hook up, I was super happy. But I would have watched this even if it just turned out to be a buddy comedy, which is saying a lot because I love me some smut. The show was simply THAT entertaining.

The side characters were fun and interesting enough to have the viewer invested in them. There wasn't an overload of multiple storylines going on or an influx of new faces coming in and out. It was easy to follow and each one was relevant, at least to some degree (obviously some more than others.) I have seen Yoon in a few shows before and, while I think he's a great actor, I never truly believed his chemistry with his on-screen partner. This show was better and he definitely looked more relaxed in his role though I feel like the side couple still fell under the more typical awkward BL stigma where "intimacy" is concerned. (I put "intimacy" in quotations because I don't mean smut.. but instead anything that suggests there's romantic intent in their interaction.)

But overall, this was a very enjoyable series and I can certainly see myself watching it again from start to finish.

Oh, and whoever was in charge of Maengmum's wardrobe, I salute you.

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This series definitely deserves more than the 7.4 rating it has right now. Nothing new re the storyline but frankly it’s really nice to watch a Thai BL series outside the school setting. It’s life after graduation. It’s refreshing to see Singto as Maze, the driven, hardworking and business savvy corporate boss. He’s no pushover, in fact he’s doing the pushing. With his friends and employees not totally agreeing with all his decisions but their respect is well-deserved by Maze. Phap (Tae) on the other hand is the gifted and pure artist at heart. Living his life based on the now and totally in touch with his emotions. While cerebral Maze’ life is fast paced and is successful at a young age, a bit older Phap is a diamond in the rough, his life, emotions, plants, chickens, lizard, and new pet cockroach will eventually give him new inspirations for his next paintings.

What makes this series lovable is the chemistry of the two lead characters. While their support cast are the usual wacky, nosy but with good intentions, watching Tae and Singto interpret each of their characters then interact with each other is such joy to watch. All throughout the series we’ll see Phap wear his heart in his sleeve, “charmingly” (subject to one’s interpretation) cajoling Maze to look his way. He’s the artist painting different colors in Maze’s cold monochromatic canvas. Maze on the other hand is pushing and giving direction to Phap’s still water. The viewers cheer with Phap when the matronly, grumpy, playing-hard-to-get Maze succumbs to the kisses and hugs. Singto nails Maze character to a tee. Singto’s Maze might seem stiff and frustratingly stubborn, but he gets the viewers anticipating for that magic moment when he warms up to Phap, then we’ll love his Maze all over again. As for the starry-eyed underdog, Tae’s Phap stole our hearts from the very start of the series.

Helpful too are the short and not so convoluted side stories. They don’t distract with the pacing of the story (except for the managers in episode 11). I’m a little disappointed though that C’game wasn’t given a meatier role. Yacht also lost his dynamism in his role as Tharn. Neither can I understand how the sweet faced Nueng (Yoon) became a hot star. I’ll take the manly and scruffy Phap anytime. Admittedly I’ll dress him up a bit too, just like how Maze trained him.

The series is not perfect but it’s heartwarming and believable, even the connection between Maze and Nueng and why Maze was heartbroken. I definitely see myself rewatching Paint With Love. To be sure I’ll need a fill of Maze and Phap in the future.

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Honest Review

I initially read somewhere it was going to be just 8 eps but its now 12,so that's exciting.
I really love the storyline and how it is told using a comedic approach.
Maze is a control freak and everything has to go his way while Phap is carefree and sees life very differently. The contrast and the collision between them while building up a relationship both professionally and romantically is really interesting to watch. At times Phap is irritating but that's how his character was written. Tae-Singto has undeniable amazing chemistry.
The side couple however could use some work in their chemistry department. Yatch's acting especially for this role is somewhat bland with his repertiore.
Nae the shippper from Together with me is still a shipper here and its really a joy to see her again.
I'm looking forward to see how the story goes forward.

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Não é perfeita, mas diverte

Eu gostei muito da série e fiquei surpresa quando vi como a nota tá baixa e o tanto de comentários negativos, pq no geral, eu gostei muito e me entreteve bastante. Vi uns comentários falando que o relacionamento era abusivo, mas eu achei bem ok pro nível BL (qualquer série da mame comete 37 crimes e infringe 40 direitos humanos e mesmo assim elas são super populares), sem falar que o Phap é um dos semes mais de boas que ja vi em lakorn, não comete abuso, não tem estupro, nem consentimento duplo, é sempre tudo 100% consentido e ele é super cadelinha do Maze e eu gosto disso. Já o maze não achei abusivo como falam, só um pouco tsundere, não gostei várias vezes de coisas que ele fez, mas nada que me fizesse gostar menos da série.

Eu concordo com os comentários que dizem que algumas coisas não fazem sentido, principalmente em relação a forçação do Maze com o Nueng... pq cara, se duas pessoas são irmãos (mesmo que não sejam de sangue) quem ia achar que tem algo entre eles???? E na cena lá do presente de aniversário não entendi pq o Nueng agiu daquela forma, não tem nada que me convença de que aquilo foi plausível. Enfim, é real que a série tem diversos furos e alguns problemas de continuidade, mas meu ponto é que ela me entreteve até o fim. Eu sou fã de BL há muito anos e recentemente vem saindo uns tão entediantes que eu nem consigo terminar de ver. Paint with love, mesmo com seus defeitos, foi legal e divertida de assistir.

Outros pontos que gostei foram os dois protagonistas de pele mais escura, coisa rara em lakorn, o casal secundário tbm é bem fofo (já tava na hora de alguém fazer um bl sobre atores de bl que se apaixonam), tbm gostei muito da Nae, fiquei o tempo todo achando ela a cara da Yihwa de Bad Romance e no fim era mesmo ela kkkk (estou destinada a amar as patricinhas que ela faz). Além disso, ter o Singto pesa no meu julgamento porque eu adoro ele e a trilha sonora também é muito legalzinha.

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Un chouette BL qui mériterait une meilleure note

Je ne comprends pas bien pourquoi cette romance BL thaïlandaise est aussi sous-évaluée. Ou plutôt si, une personne a tenté de l'expliquer dans son commentaire (notamment le fait que cette série est passée sur une chaîne payante et non pas sur Youtube, d'autre part il semble qu'ils n'aient pas fait beaucoup de promo etc.) mais franchement, elle n'a rien à envier à certaines daubes produites à la chaîne, souvent problématiques et neuneu. C'est peut-être ça aussi, d'ailleurs, qui gêne une partie de l'audience : que l'histoire ne présente pas de situation de viol qui plaisent tant à certains genre TharnType, mais bon, passons...

L'histoire nous raconte la romance entre Maze, le patron d'une agence de communication, rigide, obsédé par l'argent et assez déconnecté de ses émotions (à part l'agacement et l'impatience, pour ça il est assez doué) et Phab, un peintre talentueux mais anticonformiste et "nature". Le peintre ayant merdé lors d'un évènement organisé par le publicitaire, il est obligé de travailler pour lui afin de rembourser sa dette, et se voit en parallèle proposer un projet de peinture qui pourrait lui rapporter encore plus gros et rembourser son débiteur plus rapidement. A côté, on suit aussi l'évolution des sentiments entre Nueng, un acteur assez connu avec qui Maze semble avoir un conflit non résolu, et Than, un ami des deux précédents, acteur débutant qui se voit proposer de jouer dans un BL avec Nueng. Une troisième romance (beaucoup moins développée mais choupinou quand même) se noue entre deux membres de l'agence de com, un gars plutôt timide et une fille discrète mais professionnelle. Cette romance accessoire, on s'en fiche un peu, mais elle a le mérite d'exister et ça ne gêne en rien les 2 autres histoires d'amour, dans la mesure où tout le reste est bien mené et ne présente pas de manque, du moins à mon sens.

Déjà pour commencer, l'histoire se passe dans un environnement professionnel et c'est très appréciable. Depuis l'an dernier, la Thaïlande prend un virage intéressant en offrant de plus en plus d'histoires sympathiques et originales qui s'éloignent du traditionnel contexte universitaire. On a donc droit à une intrigue adulte, avec des acteurs plus âgés et surtout, qui n'en sont pas à leur premier BL : Singto (Maze) était un des acteurs principaux du couple de Sotus, et Tae (Phab) incarnait Forth dans la première version de 2Moons. Sans leur décerner un Oscar non plus, j'ai toujours trouvé que Singto était assez émouvant et capable de faire passer des émotions sans paraître débile. Quant à Tae, dans ce drama il a clairement laissé tomber le balai qui semblait coincé dans son fion dans 2Moons et si je pense qu'il a encore des efforts à faire, il est en tout cas beaucoup plus naturel (je ne l'ai pas vu dans d'autres dramas, donc je ne peux pas trop comparer, en tout cas j'ai perçu une différence notable). Tout cela fait que leurs scènes sont plus matures et qu'on ne les sent pas gênés lors des moments romantiques. Alors bien sûr il ne faut pas s'attendre à des scènes passionnées de ouf non plus, mais c'est romantique et mignon, ça fait parfaitement le job et c'est l'essentiel. Si l'on ajoute à ça une histoire complète et assez originale par la nouveauté de son environnement, des personnages sympathiques ainsi que l'absence de clichés vus et revus (et fait non négligeable : pas de placements de produits à gogo !!!), on peut dire que c'est une très bonne série.

En ce qui concerne l'histoire principale, qui se passe beaucoup au sein de l'agence de communication, eh bien pour une fois on voit vraiment les gens bosser, le décor n'est pas là pour faire semblant. Alors bien sûr ça reste light et ne plombe pas le reste, mais au moins les dialogues sont crédibles. Quant à Phab, bien que son personnage de peintre soit assez stéréotypé, au moins il pratique une activité qui a du sens et qui sert l'histoire, que ce soit pour montrer la nécessité d'être inspiré et la difficulté du processus de création, ou encore le côté parfois inadapté au monde du travail de ceux qui ont des personnalités dites "artistes". Je travaille dans l'insertion professionnelle alors je sais de quoi je parle quand certains ont vraiment du mal à coller aux attentes de la société et des jobs prétendument "sérieux", avec leurs lots de codes à respecter et souvent le manque de naturel, de profondeur ou de spontanéité que ces personnes ressentent dans le monde du travail classique. Le tableau qu'il est en train de peindre est aussi une métaphore de sa relation avec Maze, donc les scénaristes ont su exploiter ce support à leur romance. Enfin, les collègues de l'agence sont tous agréables et bienveillants, ce sont des personnages qu'on apprécie et ça fait du bien.

Concernant la romance secondaire entre les deux acteurs de BL, bien que le contexte soit moins développé, il a le mérite de nous montrer certains aspects problématiques que peuvent rencontrer les débutants confrontés à des agents peu sérieux ou qui tentent d'abuser de leur position. Certes on a déjà eu l'occasion de voir l'envers du décor dans Lovely Writer, mais ici on découvre un autre aspect de cette industrie, qui est rarement abordé dans les dramas. Alors leur histoire d'amour ne casse pas des briques et il y a comme d'habitude le traditionnel malentendu (j'aime quelqu'un qui est amoureux de quelqu'un d'autre sauf qu'au final non il n'y a rien entre eux) mais là encore, elle est sympathique, donc le contrat est rempli.

J'ai lu ici ou là que certains n'avaient pas apprécié la personnalité de Maze, le patron de l'agence. C'est vrai qu'il se comporte comme un trouduc pendant une bonne partie de l'histoire et que comme d'habitude, on lui oppose un partenaire qui est au contraire très spontané et vrai dans ses sentiments, et qui se fait pas mal rabrouer. Alors en général j'ai du mal avec ce genre de scénario où un connard en fait voir de toutes les couleurs à un gentil (ou une gentille) qui va lui courir après sans faire preuve de fierté et poser de limites. C'est malheureusement fréquent dans les dramas, où l'on fait croire à l'audience (généralement féminine) qu'un connard sera transformé par l'amour et deviendra gentil une fois qu'il sera attendri par la bonté et la mignonnitude de son/sa partenaire. Soyons honnête, ça n'arrive jamais en vrai, et c'est quelque chose que je trouve extrêmement frustrant d'habitude. Notamment j'estime que les femmes (l'audience majoritaire de ce genre d'histoires), qui sont déjà victimes de micro-agressions tous les jours ne serait-ce que dès qu'elles allument la télé ou la radio, quand ce ne sont pas les différences de salaire et de responsabilité au travail... bref, les spectatrices voient déjà des relations dominant-dominé partout autour d'elles et qu'il s'agisse d'un BL ne change pas grand-chose au schmilblick : dans ces séries on vient souvent romantiser des différences de statut social, de position hiérarchique etc., et je trouve rageant de voir l'un des personnages (généralement celui auquel on s'identifie le plus) se faire humilier ou remonter les bretelles pendant une bonne partie de l'histoire. Après cette tension, cette frustration qu'on ressent à l'égard du personnage rabroué, on a BESOIN d'une catharsis, on a BESOIN que ce personnage dise stop et prenne sa revanche (pas forcément méchamment, ça peut être simplement en disant à l'autre que désormais, son avis de trouduc ne compte plus et qu'il fera ce qu'il a envie), et malheureusement cette catharsis n'arrive jamais parce que dans ces histoires c'est juste l'amouuuur qui change le méchant en gentil (et qu'il n'a pas vraiment l'occasion de s'excuser du coup, et le gentil n'a pas non plus posé ses limites). Alors qu'en vrai on sait tous que c'est faux, plus une personne continue à se comporter en carpette et plus l'autre lui manquera de respect, et ne tombera sûrement jamais amoureux. Je comprends pourquoi certains ont pu être agacés par cette histoire, sauf que justement, l'acteur qui incarne Maze a su interpréter le changement de ses émotions correctement; d'ailleurs il se comporte davantage en enfant gâté qu'en véritable con fini, donc ça va, on a vu pire (par ex. on comprend au bout d'un moment que c'est la fierté qui lui fait refouler ce qu'il ressent, et on comprend aussi pourquoi il rejette l'autre "pour son bien"), d'autant qu'on a droit à une belle situation d'arroseur-arrosé, si je peux l'exprimer ainsi. Donc pour une fois, si j'ai été un peu agacée au début, j'ai ensuite eu le plaisir de crier "BIEN FAIT ! " et oui, j'ai eu ma catharsis, et je les ai trouvés émouvants tous les deux. Ca ne vole peut-être pas très haut niveau romance, mais franchement c'était, je le répète, mignon et romantique donc j'ai passé un moment très agréable.

Pour conclure, j'ai apprécié le fait qu'il s'agisse d'une histoire adulte, qui se passe dans un contexte professionnel et pas encore vu dans un BL (du moins je ne crois pas). Les romances sont sympathiques et l'émotion au rendez-vous, avec des acteurs qui font le job et n'ont pas l'air d'être embarrassés dès qu'il s'agit de se bécoter, ce qui est déjà beaucoup quand on compare ce drama avec les productions débiles qui ont précédemment inondé le marché thaï. Ce drama mérite d'être vu, et quitte à choisir un BL, autant choisir celui-là, ça nous change des niaiseries universitaires.

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Queimei minha língua

Vou tentar ser bem sucinta em minha opinião. A série é boa, apesar de seus defeitos. O roteiro é bem interessante, inovador eu diria, principalmente sendo tailândes. A história de um empresário sem coração que se apaixona por um pintor que é pura emoção, foge completamente do formato padrão, dos clichês, e talvez seja esse o motivo de muitas pessoas terem reclamado da série. Amei o retorno da atriz "Maengmum", nossa eterna "Yihwa", amei a ost, com o casal principal cantando a música que leva o nome do quadro que está sendo pintado na série. Minha crítica é mais relacionada ao casal secundário, e a história de Maze com Nueng que realmente não teve muita lógica, pelo que entendi apesar de serem "irmãos" o Maze sempre foi apaixonado pelo Nueng, que por sua vez gostava do Tharn, mas sempre que via Phab e Maze juntos tentava provocar o coitado do pintor, a meu ver para que ele reagisse e se rendesse aos sentimentos por Maze, mas isso já estava sendo feito, Phab sempre foi clarosobre o que sentia e queria, então essa parte não fez sentido.
O elenco maravilhoso, Singto faz qualquer papel parecer brilhante, seja seme, uke, hétero, fantasma, ele sempre arrasa, o Tae também estava meio sumido após a primeira temporada de "2 moons" e aparentemente voltou pra ficar, atualmente está dando um show como protagonista de Triage, e todos os outros fizeram um bom trabalho.
A fotografia dessa série é maravilhosa, tem locações belíssimas, e não posso deixar de citar o tom humorístico da série. Enfim, recomendo a série e gostaria que as pessoas dessem uma chance a ela, de não olhar as críticas e assistir sem julgamentos, com certeza vão se surpreender positivamente.

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