Ben X Jim (2020)

Two soulmates condemned to suffering and oblivion

Imagine that you are completely happy with your partner, that you have built a common past with all the patience and complicity imaginable. Imagine that the myth of the better half has come true, the Japanese legend that assures us that there is someone linked to us by a red thread. Imagine that you finally found someone who was born to complement you.
Imagine that he is the only person on the planet who will understand you like no one has ever understood you, with whom you will merge in a love as deep as it is unimaginable. Imagine that you cannot conceive of a future apart, with a fence only between your house and that of the boy you have loved since adolescence, plans made, mutual friends. All perfect. However, one day a sad family secret that they both are unaware of catches up with them and turns everything upside down. Imagine that two soul mates are condemned to suffering and oblivion.
This is the premise of Regal Entertainment Inc.'s 2020 Filipino boy love (BL) romantic drama 'Ben .
Set in a period marked by the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the series follows the story of neighbors and childhood friends Ben and Jim, who lose contact after Jim moves to another city with his father after her mother's death.
Today, after 8 years, due to the restrictions generated by the new coronavirus, Jim will return to spend quarantine with his grandmother, Elma Magtibay (Christina Simon). In this way, friends reconnect and restart their friendship where they left off.
When two soul mates meet or are reunited, as is the case, a whirlwind of emotions and experiences are generated that serve as a sign of the undeniable connection that exists between them.
During that time, they had both lost contact and it is through his best friend, Flo (Kat Galang), that Ben realizes that Jim is a popular young man on social media. As the two friends reconnect their lives, Ben, the dumb boy who is insecure about himself and life, but more open about his sexuality, reveals to Jim that he is gay.
Jim, the sincere young man with the warm smile, is surprised at first. The strange discomfort between the two is evident. But soon Jim reacts and reassures him: "I'll support you in whatever makes you happy. I'll be there, like a friend."
But what Jim doesn't know is that Ben has been in love with him since his teenage years, and wants to be more than just "best friends."
The first season, told from Ben's point of view, begins with this young man narrating, euphorically, how Jim's return can mean that the two friends restart their friendship at the same point where they left it 8 years ago. From his prism, the series is dedicated to exploring how the relationship blossomed and how it withered.
Just as Ben and Jim begin to enjoy their courtship, the former's mother tells him a secret about his father that could affect Jim's confidence if he knew the truth. At the same time, her abusive ex-boyfriend also returns. Ben decides to break up with Jim without giving him any reason almost at the same time that Jim publicly confesses his love for Ben.
In histrionic terms, not everything is hunky-dory. The group of the most notable performers of the series is joined by Sarah Edwards in the role of Yana, Jim's girlfriend, with a performance lacking depth, and Ben's ex-boyfriend, Leo Portugués, is assumed from the most complete physical extremity. by Johannes Rissler.
Sticking to the rules of romantic drama, we have in 'BXJ' the character archetypes one can expect: the supportive best friend, Flo, and the respective third parties, Yana and Olan (Ronald Martin Angeles), the courier service boy. Their characterizations seem like stuffy formulas that fail to add interesting layers to the main story. The latter two fill the sad "broken people meet" role, and even with her own love life in the second season, Flo ends up stuck in the role of Ben and Jim's third wheel.
Starting from these central characters and situations, without deviating too much from the protagonists, the plot fully complies with some of the canonical rules of television melodrama, and is filled with secrets from the past, violent ex-boyfriends who return, the admirer, health mentality, the family history, the tumultuous relationship between father and son, jealousy, revenge, a layer of machismo and misogyny that in this case barely reaches the thickness of other Filipino series, in addition to other dominant elements, such as the relationship crisis, the fidelity, commitment, uncertainty, the emergence of the most devastating routine, couple experiments, and the challenges that come with being queer in today's world.
It validates the cinematographic staging with insistent and expressive camera movements and intelligent use of scenery and locations.
At this point, I must express my discomfort about the convenience with which Jim confesses his love for Ben in the sense that he goes from being a young heterosexual to being homosexual in an unconvincing and overly convenient way.
Easy Ferrer, director and screenwriter of the series, doesn't even try to put his narrative hero through that harrowing process of discovery and acceptance in slow-burn mode. This "transition" occurs too quickly, as something spontaneous and lacking in organicity.
Nor is it convincing that two such close friends would lose touch in this era of social media. After all, Jim was Ben's first love. How is it possible that they didn't exchange phones or follow each other in the digital world?
On the other hand, the way Ben literally forces Jim to fall in love with him is forced.
Ben's character is presented as someone who simply uses Jim for his own convenience. Ben knows his friend is straight, so making him feel bad about his sexuality is wrong. And similarly, it very conveniently turns out that Jim breaks up with his girlfriend.
The character played by Jerome Ponce can be a little inconsistent at times, especially when it comes to his feelings and emotions: Jim only treats Ben as his best friend, but there are many times where Jim's actions and words towards Ben hint the possibility of something more, such as calling him "wife", the furtive glances he periodically lavishes on him, saying that he will protect him or wanting to hug him and wanting to sleep next to him frequently.
The series revolves on the basis of friends to lovers. However, the story tends to become overly complicated or vary in intensity at times when we lose focus on the main characters. The narrative begins to lose cohesion in the first season due to the incorporation of new characters and conflicts, and the viewer loses sight of the main plot.
This situation is not resolved in the second season. Quite the contrary, it is exacerbated, with the introduction of even more secondary characters and subplots that contribute little or nothing to the main story.
With underdeveloped events, plots, and characters, some stories are also messy or inorganic.

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ITS MESSED UP!!! I HATE SUCH PLOTS!

I would rather say, it's such a mess! I really dislike plots where the bf of a girl suddenly breaks up with her because he's suddenly in love with one of his male friends. I mean, I've seen so many dramas of such similar plots. Usually, I overlook it because the gf characters in such plots are usually depicted as an arrogant, self centred, bitch... But here, Yana was a good girlfriend. Think about it..They just celebrated their "anniversary" and suddenly after a day or two, the bf asks for a break, without any proper reason. I feel so bad for her. And is relationships and love so easy that people can have a change of heart and sexuality overnight? Alright, I agree that people can suddenly fall in or out of love. But, in a relationship, commitment and responsibilities are important too. Jim was very selfish in that matter. Ben was kinda selfish too, confessing his love when he clearly saw that Jim and Yana was a happy couple. But still, I can't hate him for that because I understand, he couldn't just keep watching his first love be so in love with someone else. Many people are sympathizing with Olan. Yeah Olan is a good guy. But, I have watched quite a lot of series where the second love interest is often more caring and sometimes even better than the first love interest. Some even sacrifice themselves for their love. Yet, they remain the pitiful second love interest. Let's be honest, Olan only had a crush on Ben. They meet only for a short while when Ben gives him the courier stuff. He flirts a little and that's it. It's not like he was deeply in love with Ben. Moreover, in the mini party, he knew that Jim was Ben's first love. Throughout the party, the way Ben gazed at Jim made it obvious that he loved him and Olan was aware. Yet he still confessed. What did he expect? Ben still loved Jim. Even if they didn't get into a relationship later, Olan would still be like a rebound to him. He would still be hurt. All he could do was wait for him. And the last episode was even more messed up. Why are they so impulsive? Jim suddenly confessed on social media and when he saw Ben and Leo kissing, he wasn't even ready to listen to his explanation. Then the whole drama of lying to not hurt him and finally confessing the truth. They were mature adults but here they really behaved like impulsive teens. Anyways, it's a fine drama. Nothing new tbh. But not bad either.
I hope season 2 is better than season 1. Let's see.

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Childhood Friends Reunite During 2020 Pandemic

Childhood friends Ben (23) and Jim (25) are reunited during the 2020 pandemic. It seems a stretch to think these guys were close friends and Jim was never aware Ben was attracted to boys, but I suppose people see what they want to see. This little bromance drama moved along pretty quickly without a lot of padding. Both leads, Teejay Marquez as Ben and Jerome Ponce as Jim, have a number of strong monologues throughout the series. Both actors have a long list of acting credits and this experience shows on the screen. I really enjoyed the story and my only complaint is I really wanted to see more of the main characters interaction. We sit though 7 episodes and only get to a kiss, so it's kind of underwhelming. At least it wasn't 27 episodes to get his far.

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Clichéd story with new faces

There is nothing new or exciting about this story.
Same old drama where one childhood fnd has a long time crush on the other.

Ben is a online seller graduating in computer science after 8 yrs of struggling. His parents want him with them in US but they strike a deal where his mom gives him 6 months to prove he can live on his own in Philippines.

About this time Covid hits and his job application is at risk.

He loves baking and would lik a carrier in that.

Now enters the other lead, Jim, a famous tiktoker, successful car workshop owner who business is booming. Comes back home during the lockdown.

Olan, is the delivery guy who helps Ben courier his products. He likes Ben and is not shy about it.

Leo, a toxic ex-bf of Ben is stalking him, who happens to be self destructive.

Ben rekindles his love for Jim, they get close. Jim has a girlfriend Yana but gets jealous of both Olan's affection towards Ben and Leo constant request to get back with Ben.

Between all this. Love happens.

Now comes the twist, their dads had an affair and Jims mom died of heart attack due to this.

Leo blackmails Ben to breakup with Jim, drama drama, cry cry...

As all PG-13 movies, the grand gesture...the sorry card and truth moment (ofcourse in front of the camera since what do u know..the whole world wants to know!)

The lovers get together..happy ending...

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The series starts very slowly and it seemed to me that perhaps the first episode has the most unnecessary scenes. But that usually happens before we get to know everything. Those who persevere will do very well, because a slow start eventually turns out to be a real ball, and the romance turns into a big complicated drama about love and the pitfalls associated with it. This is the beautiful message of this Filipino series, which stands out more clearly from the gray of the average, and it seems to me that the Filipinos have penetrated more in 2020 with the production of better quality BL projects. In their presentation, the template (especially in Thailand) of school-boys-love is not so prominent, but they have a much wider range of different variants. Most of the actors are straight, but they don't mind playing characters of a minor sexual orientation, because the biggest message of these series is LOVE regardless of gender.

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Better then expected

This is a short series. Pace was a little strange and went from 5 to 10 within a short time. Acting was okay. What a liked was the premise and that it did tackle some bigger issues. Had some cute parts and one liners that made me smile. What I didn't like was the lack of chemistry and parts seemed forced between the actors physically. Emotionally they went from appearing removed to love very quickly for Jim which seemed far etched. The girlfriend was so clueless. That being said I don't think I would rewatch the show but I did enjoy it. It seemed to have a small budget but the filming looked good. It's a cute BL and I don't think it was time wasted at all. I would watch a season 2 and am looking forward to it. These lower budget short BL series are still nice to watch.

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Childhood friends/neighbours reunited

This could have been a nice story of two childhood friends/neighbours, who were reunited during pandemic quarantine in Manila. It started nicely, where you get to know more about Ben, whose family already immigrated to the USA, and Ben was left alone in Manila, but had not achieved much and had to prove to his parents that he was an independent person. Then came news that next-door childhood buddy, Jim, is returning home from Davao.

Ben had a secret crush on Jim since they were teenagers, (and likewise Jim also harboured feelings towards Ben, but you only get to know this in Season 2). I was glad to know that this series only had 7 episodes, so I binged watched it in one day.

It had a cute story line, but could have been made better. Some parts were cliched and some scenes seemed to move too slow and a bit dragging. I liked the music, particularly the lyrics of the theme song was great. It had something to do with what these guys used to as kids: stargazing with their telescope up on a treehouse. I also liked the scenes when Ben was doing his online selling part. Apart from the main characters. I also liked Flo, Ben's supporting best friend, and Olan, the handsome delivery guy who had a crush on Ben.

The things which I didn't quite like were:
1. Peeking into their neighbour's bedrooms, which I think was somewhat rude. Knowing that they were friends, they could just made jokes about peeking at each other, rather than looking like peeping Toms.
2. If there was lots of restrictions during the quarantine, how come they could have a small party at Ben's house? How could Leo appear just like that (late evening, no mask)?
2. Jim's girlfriend was the perfect cliche shown in many Thai BLs: cute girl, who suddenly became possesive, nagging, and bitchy when she discovers that her boyfriends loves another guy. (Yana, however, was more mature in Season 2)
3. the hanging end, where you could neither tell whether this story had a happy or unhappy ending.

I don't regret watching this drama, but there's nothing special that would make me watch it again. If I had to compare it with other Filipino BL series, I still think Gameboys is the best one so far.

ABOUT SEASON 2 (I couldn't find Ben X Jim Forever on the drama list)

I then watched Season 2, Ben X Jim Forever. Oh dear, I don't think I liked this at all. It was too slow, too many side stories going on, and then finally you get to see the accidental meeting between Ben and Jim at the cafe where Jim was working. Many scenes had a slow pace, and despite exciting things happening (such as the political campaign for gay rights) and dramatic moments like Val taking Jim to bathe in the ocean to cleanse himself from the past, but the way these scenes were made did not touch me at all. I can't explain how and why, but it seemed just too dry. Sir Val's character was also a bit ambiguous: was he a nice guy or was he an a**hole,? I couldn't figure out and didn't really care less. The orgy scene where Olan and Yan joined in was something which could have been taken out. A bit too much to put everything in this drama.

Episode 6 of Season 2 was supposed to be dramatic, where Ben and Jim met each other after so many months, but I just couldn't stand the 18 minutes or so of them, including Val and Roy, just staring and gazing at each other, while we listen to a song playing in the background. And the beach party scene in episode 7? Oh dear. Couldn't they just edit it? Why d we have to see all the awkward conversations they all had? Okay, we know that many were feeling uncomfortable, and Flo was trying to change the mood, but this scene was too slow. The only good thing in episode 7 is when we get to hear a more substantial conversation between Ben and Jim. It turned out that Ben had already decided on what he wanted in life. I know I should have felt touched or sad with the ending, but nothing emotional came out of me. If Jim had a gut feeling that Roy was a bad guy, and did some investigation on him, at least they could show us whether Roy turned out to be a really bad guy , or apparently he was a good enough person. I also didn't quite like how their relationship was portrayed. It seemed like there was no chemistry between Teejay and whoever played the role of Roy.

This drama could certainly be made better. It seemed like a waste of time to watch 8 episodes which did not exactly build up to a good climax. I would give this drama a six (6). Not worth watching at all, unless you just want to see the cute actors.

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Very disappointed

I was distraught that I stayed up half of the night to watch Season 1 & 2. Jim gave up everything for him and Ben to be together. I mean everything literally. Jim's dad disowned him; he ended up losing internet fame. (I feel that your fans shouldn't care who you are in a relationship with just as long as your happy). But, Jim did all this for him and Ben to be together. Unfortunately, the writers fool you in Season 1. Have you think that Ben X Jim will be together after that kiss at the fence, and then it went off.
But here comes Season 2 with a lot more drama and Ben has a new boyfriend, and Jim is now broke, and he looks miserable, and the other sad part is it leaves you on a cliff hanger with Ben boyfriend telling Jim you are wasting your time because Ben is with me now and he is in love with me.

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Cute, Lovable and engrossing BL~ Find it on YouTube ❣️

Let's talk about Ben first Coz he really kept me glued on to this!
His eyes, his face, his hair everything is just an eye candy to begin with.
Great acting skills paired with lovely expressive eyes is all what one can praise in him other than his cute looks.

Jim on other hand is just ok for me look-wise coz there's a lot of hype created over his looks in the series which I don't get.. like why ??‍♀️ coz the other supporting actors Olan and Leo are more handsome.
Anyway.. acting wise he's good so no complaints.


Plot is really good.
An open gay- Ben- Just gotten out of an abusive relationship with Leo, meets his longtime best friend and first love who is also his neighbour - Jim - who's straight (until he meets Ben of course!)

There's also a delivery guy Olan (who's really cute) who becomes a jealousy factor between these two friends and renders Jim to question his sexuality when he finds him getting uncomfortable with olan and Ben's closeness.

Then there is our besh - Flo- who's very lovable character and also a Ben supporter/ guide.
Little things like transferring money instantly to Ben after seeing a bunch of his unpaid bills will really make you want such a caring friend for yourself too.

With limited characters and amid this quarantine, this series is a good one which will bring back the memories of your first love and the butterflies you had then in your stomach will start flying again.

Ben's cuteness/ shyness/ drooling over his friend -will keep the smile intact on your face❤️

Though I have few complaints with characterisation of both the leads like Ben is shown too nosy into the affairs of Jim giving the feels of a stalker living next door while Jim is that kind of straight friend who shows his homo side only to a gay friend thereby playing with his feelings.

Anyway, all in all- go for it on YouTube and enjoy this BL coz its worth your time.

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One of the biggest no-no for me

I can easily say that this is not only one of the worst bl dramas, but one of the worst dramas I saw.

The story It’s not bad, I mean, it’s a nice idea, but I think no one behind this production was able to carry it out perfectly or at least in a way that felt entertained to see.
I feel like everything in this drama just doesn’t fit. I can’t blame someone or something specific, but while the performances are not good, in some other cases the scenery, the music and the story can save that big detail and make it look more bearable, but in this drama nothing goes well together.

The chemistry between the main characters felt uncomfortable throughout the drama, all the things that they said and did just seemed cringey for me, and all I could think about while I was seeing the series was when the chapter was going to end to stop seeing them. They didn't made me feel any affection for them or their couple all along the series. I even found more interesting the ghost ship between Jim's ex girlfriend and that other guy that was after Ben, and I just remember their names because that's how the drama is named.

Lastly, the music is not the worst thing here, but personally I didn't like it at all.

I would recommend not to waste your time watching this, it is not worth it, and there are better Philippine productions that came out in 2020, Gaya Sa Pelikula is one of them!

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In Re: Teejay's characterization of Ben; equating out stereotypical prejudice

The consensus is Teejay's portrayal of Ben is effective. We feel what he feels. How he throws his lines is natural. Contrary, there are those who find Teejay's portrayal inconsistent. Once, he acts explicitly effem; other time, not.

To me, that is stereotyping. That is a prejudice. Should an effem gay act one in all circumstances? Certainly not. Effem gay is perceived masculine until he shows cues. And there is a spectrum of effiminity, hence gender expression. The personal anecdotes of BL Bros in re to this matter is enlightening.

This is why we need to understand the difference between gender identity and gender expression. How you express yourself may be a cue to your identity but not necessarily the controlling factor.

I am saddened that this type of comment i.e stereotypical prejudice on how effem gay should act is from a member of the LGBTQI+. We hate to be stereotyped and yet unknowingly we practice the same and worst in our own community.

Notably, if we factor out our stereotypical prejudices and biases on how effem gay should act, we nevertheless and at best we feel the emotion of Ben when he is reminiscing their memories and stalking Jim's IG. We feel his kilig, his frustration, etc. The primary question in characterization is do we feel the character's emotion. Dama ba natin ang emosyon na dapat ilahad ng isang tauhan sa kwento? If affirmative, then that is a successful characterization and intention.

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