Paint with Love (2021)

Wash and Repeat

Most of us were here for Singto, and I am no exception but I gotta say, this is his worst work yet. No, it's not because I'm so stuck on him being with Krist forever (kinda) but because legit there was nothing going on here. The episodes seemed to repeat themselves constantly but I stuck it out cause I'm no quitter lol. There wasn't much to the story but parts that I liked I REALLY liked until I realized it's because it repeated itself with that too. I have no intention of recommending this to even a newbie BL fan cause as a Singto fan, I'm thoroughly unimpressed. I saw quite a few familiar faces which is always nice but I didn't see much chemistry between the MCs which is most important in this industry. Honestly, I don't blame bad acting, I believe it's 100% bad story!
btw I gave a higher rating than MDL recommended
Enjoy...

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secondary characters and the casting saved the show

I'm not sure where to begin, since I have a lot to say but I guess I'll start with our central characters: Phap is loveable, kind, and extremely emotionally intelligent. Half the time. Somehow he is either a master at resolving emotional issues or he's a total Neanderthal. I found myself disliking him sometimes, and feeling endeared by him other times. He's gross and immature, but also loves animals and has a soft heart. I'm all for embracing a free lifestyle and not confining yourself to suffocating restrictions, but even I would say he's a bit too irresponsible. I try not to judge people based on their age since everyone has different circumstances, but as a 30 year old man he should be more consistently put together than he is.
Onto Maze, who I will preface I am biased towards because he's played by Singto. This, however, does not at all stop me from seeing that he's a horrible person. He's iredeemably selfish and often quite mean. He's kind to his employees, so he's not a stereotypical tyrannical CEO, but one good thing doesn't overshadow all the bad. Specifically to Phap he's controlling, demanding, harsh, critical, dismissive, and downright cruel. I've never seen a character be so selfish and yet somehow still not apologize for his actions. There should have been a scene with him pouring his heart out, explaining and apologizing for every horrible thing he did and making a promise to try bettering himself. Instead, he flips even the final conflict around to make himself appear to be the victim somehow. It's beyond frustrating and I'm upset because I see how they could have redeemed him and that just makes it worse. It was possible! It's sad because there are moments where he's likeable, though this is maybe just my bias towards Singto slipping in. Because when he's smiling, laughing, and just being a normal person he's so loveable! And cute!
Now, it might be absurd, but contrary to my wall of slander preceding this, I actually didn't hate the two. Obviously it's undeniable that they're a completely unhealthy couple, but I still found myself smiling at them being cute together, even at the end. I didn't like them very much, and wouldn't gush about their love story, but I wasn't mad.


--*--

Sorry to say that I have more to say, but now comes what should be a much less critical portion.
Nae, Than, Neung, and the other cast of characters.

Starting with Than who is the reason I stuck this show out, and who is undeniably my favorite part. Yacht did a wonderful job and it was nice seeing him play a sweet character as opposed to the typical mischievous roles I've seen him in.
Than, from the start, is loveable and cute. He's never mean or unjustly vindictive. He is the sweetest boy and I love everything about him. Which means I therefore love Neung.
Don't get me wrong, I have my issues with him, but I can't help but love him. My main issue is that he is really petty and rude towards Phap. I like him more than Phap, but I still hate how he behaves towards him since he riles Phap up unnecessarily. He was suspicious for a long time to me, because he's not super expressive so I couldn't tell if he'd end up being two-faced or not. Luckily, he's at his most genuine with Than.
The (spoilers!) scene where they were shooting for the drama and improvved that kiss? Oh my gosh. Maybe one of the best parts of the entire show.
Nae is THE best. She's equal to Than for me and without her, so much of my viewing experience would have been ruined. She's a fun, kind, strong, influential, smart, caring, cool, and reliable woman. I love female characters that aren't just props for the plot and villainized for convenience sake. I'll give it to this show, the female characters were wonderful. Even Pooky, a horrific person, was done well in that she was a villain for her own means and not just there to cause strife in the relationships of the men in the show. She was just a horrible person, not specifically a horrible woman.
Nuna and Elle have my heart and I'm grateful for them.
I love the other employees as well, and Mr Ken is the most precious soul to ever walk this earth and I would put my life on the line for him.
Neung's manager was an incredible character and every scene they were in was made better. An absolute icon.

Overall, the show was entirely character driven and that fact makes my opinion difficult to clearly convey. Since the main characters weren't very likeable, I'm inclined to say I don't like it too much. On the other hand, because the secondary characters were so ridiculously loveable I find it hard to be so critical.
I enjoyed watching it, but I can't casually proclaim my love of the show without like 50 disclaimers.

The actors all did an incredible job. Any criticism is of the characters, and I think that adds on to my appreciation of the actors because they were able to portray a person who isn't always likeable which is a feat of its own.
I appreciate all the work put into the show and believe that the cast and crew did a great job. The biggest flaw is just poor character writing and unhealthy relationships.

Sorry for such a mess of a review, but I can obviously say that I felt a lot about the show lol

--*--
I forgot to include this very important part.
I was pretty confused by Neung and Maze's relationship, in that I wasn't sure if Maze ever actually loved him romantically or was just an overly attached younger brother afraid of losing what he felt was the last of his family. It's never made clear, and is more confusing when Neung explains to Than saying "I think there's been a misunderstanding, Maze and I are brothers." But I thought that was a well known fact? It was expressly stated but still Than and Phap thought Neung and Maze were romantically involved? It was a weird situation and wasn't made overtly clear, but I feel honestly that Maze wasn't ever in love with Neung but instead loved him so very deeply because he was his whole family.

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Such a good drama, muddled with unneeded jealousy

The drama started with such a good premise. It sounded really interesting and... Pretty mature and new.
It started out strong, but then the typical jealousy storyline came in.


MAIN CHARACTERS
Tae is really good in this role, he feels natural. Probably the best out of the main cast. You believe he is a painter and that he is a nature guy, not wanting to follow rules and uncomfortable in strict locations.

Singto however... I like Singto as an actor. However, this role didn't fit him at all. The story requires a strict, naturally intimidating and confident businessman, Singto is... None of these things. Everything feels very forced and over the top, like none of his antics come naturally to him at all. He is simply not scary, so it's hard to feel the anxiety his employees feel when they make a mistake. His 'wrath' looks laughable on screen.
This role was just not for him.
(Maybe they should have switched roles?)

Yacht was good. A very solid performance. You feel with him and can't help but like him immediately.
I also liked his chemistry with Yoon. They play off of each other well, giving the same rounded energy.

Yoon also gave a good performance. You also can't help but like him. He matches Yachts energy well every time they're on screen so there is rarely any weird uncomfortable tension or pure awkwardness. I can't wait to see more of him.

SET
Loads of sets. All made well. The 'company room' where they all work at looks real and I really liked Ne's apartment.
Tae's house looks good too. Definitely the house of a 'free spirit'! It's messy and urban and his studio is pretty and perfectly lit for the scenes.
All in all nothing bad to say.

FASHION
The fashion department worked hard, you can tell. They tried everything in their power to make the characters look polished but not unrealistically so. They did amazing!
Personally I DO SEE what they tried with Maengmum's (Ne's) outfits but... Something about the pieces was always off for me. I can't even tell you what. Nontheless she looked beautiful in every scene she was in.

TECHNICAL STUFF
The camerawork was good and so were the colours.

STORYLINE
Now we're coming to the nitty gritty of it all.
The drama (as I mentioned) started off really strong. The premise of a freelance painter and a businessman having to work together to create art sounded amazing.
They're coming from two different worlds and therefore have loads of good fight scenes and general angry tension. Maze and Phap are learning more from each other the more the story goes on and it's very enjoyable to watch. It doesn't happen immediately but in small steps or gestures.
But as soon as Neung comes fully into the picture it's less about them and more about Phap being jealous and Maze being annoyed.
And that ruins the plot. They turn from mature adults to high school students.
The fact that they already learned a lot about each other and are starting to understand and like each other honestly gets muddled with jealousy from both sides. Especially in the last two/three episodes.
They have the same conversation over and over again but never once take a minute to simply explain their feelings. I get that a little jealousy makes the plot longer but if the whole plot is ONLY held together by that then just make the drama shorter.

It's infuriating how long it takes to get to the crux of the jealousy.

Maze's selfishness is also never properly adressed. Yes, I understand his problems with 'getting left behind' but it's not Pheps job to fix that. It explains some of his actions but it's not an excuse. He is still being an ass.
If he has issues he has to work on them himself and not load everything onto Phep as if it's his responsibility.

IN GENERAL
A strong drama that got ruined by stereotpicalness.


Thank you for reading kind stranger, I hope you enjoyed my review :)

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A BL Reunion Series

Yes it is a major reunion for almost 90% of the actors in this series were in a/more BL series before this.The series show some promises at start and could have been great with all the experience actors but unfortunately it didn’t. Like most flop BL series it started with great vibe and excite you to follow the series but end up just feeling nahhh. It was just another BL series for me.
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I have nothing more to say but need 500 characters to review this.so ill just copy paste.tq
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Yes it is a major reunion for almost 90% of the actors in this series were in a/more BL series before this.The series show some promises at start and could have been great with all the experience actors but unfortunately it didn’t. Like most flop BL series it started with great vibe and excite you to follow the series but end up just feeling nahhh. It was just another BL series for me.

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Missed the mark

This series with its beautiful title completely missed the mark. It was sophomoric, full of sophisms, and just an awful screenplay. If the characters had only talked to each other and shared with each other (even a little), this series could have ended with five less episodes and perhaps a better plot and no doubt more memorable. This series end up with no depth or range to the characters. What you saw was what you got - superficiality. It relied on physicality I am guessing for comic relief that was cringeworthy and unnecessary and inappropriate. For me, not a good series at all. I just did not care about the characters at all and no one really shined. Too bad. Good actors; very poor script.

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Pleasantly surpised!

This was one of those dramas that I had in my list of dramas to watch for way too long and was just afraid to watch this. Ngl, I am so happy that I watched and loved this! This is just going to be a little appreciation post for this drama. If anyone is wondering, yes, I absolutely recommend this.

In the bl community, what I feel happens is that pairs of actors get formed, and it can be hard to branch out and work with new actors. For example, Krist and Singto have immaculate chemistry in all of the work that they've done so it was definitely new to see them not being paired together. At least, that's what I have noticed happening. I am happy that this didn't happen and that Singto went with Tae this time. I definitely see the chemistry between these two, and that just shows how good actors these two are.

Tae, first of all, a round of applause for this man. I swear, sometimes I think this dude is a shape-shifter. For the first few scenes, I couldn't recognize him. I had to compare his footage to the profile pics to check again and again whether it was him or someone else. I have seen him in Triage and was awestruck there as well. I can tell this man has experience. The way he portrayed comedy, emotions and character growth in the smoothest way possible is amazing. I am rooting for him, and hope he gets way more work in the future because he deserves it. The comedy scenes that he did were pure gold and he did them so effortlessly.

Soon, man, there's something special about him, and I am still waiting for him to have his breakthrough. I see this man everywhere, and he's definitely an expert in doing support roles. The way he manages to shine even in small roles is insane. I find him so interesting. I don't know if he prefers support roles or he's still waiting for a main role. Either way, I know he has the skill and talent to do a main role. I hope that day comes soon. I am rooting for him. I see shine in his eyes every single time I see him work so I hope he gets what he's hoping for in this industry.

Yoon, whenever I see this man, I wanna punch him so bad lmao. He has such a punchable face. Not in a bad way. This man looks like that one bird from Rio?? His face is too cute, it feels like he is mocking me every single time I watch him lmao. I think he's a great actor! I really liked his character in this. I think he is the perfect choice for this type of role. I hope to see him work more in the future as well.

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Okish Series

The story is simple, something which we have seen time and time again but the chemistry between the leads is nice.
Maze is curious and confused (not sexually) about another guy who is extremely opposite to him. Phap has feelings and doesn't mind displaying the same.
The actor playing phap's character has done an amazing job.
The secondary couple wasn't portrayed properly in the series, and I put the blame on the script, direction, and acting.
There are plot holes everywhere in the series with the characters trying to piece it together.
Small things are extended in this series, including a character just repeating stuff said by another one.

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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.

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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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