Good acting but lacks real interesting story.
Sadly this is boring and I hate how they make it only look like a one-sideded gay mock-up. Not every gay man wants to sleep with everyone around him and all his friends. Have to say lacks story and chemistry at times. I am a big fan of all the actors and they all do amazing in acting and showing emotions, but their chemistry is off at times and I feel like the story is not going anywhere. Feels like we have seen this way too many times, and as a gay man, it is not always how it is for all of us, we all don't want to sleep with friends and lie and cheat. I respect the idea of the story but sadly comes up short on anything else. Wish the story was better the only thing it has going for it which I think is the only reason people are watching is for the intimate moments only, it is very sadly written and half the time looks like nothing is really centered for the story. Great actors but nothing else.Was this review helpful to you?
Oof, it's painful
I'm struggling to make it through this one. I can commend them for trying to make a "grittier" BL, but if I have to see much more of Boston's face I'm going to lose it. Also, no one is likable. Even Sand and Ray (who I'm still watching it for), are messy as hell. I guess if you can let go of the mess and just embrace the melodrama, it's fun. The acting isn't terrible and the music is good.However, it's hard watching these characters come up against the same "stuff" that's been holding them back, over and over again, not face any real consequences of their actions, and then do the same thing all over again the next day.
Just don't show me Boston anymore.
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A drama full of drama queens, passion, hate, spicyness and the thing with loyalty to those you love.
The trailer makes us believe that it is superficially all about sex. Even though there are many hot and sometimes explicit scenes, it's about much more than that. It's about friendship and what true friendship means. What highs and lows you experience, how you can solve problems. But it is also about true love and how human desire, which is inherent in each of us, can be a problem and a problem solver at the same time.The acting is overall very good, only cheaum's performance can't quite keep up with the others, and yet her character is fun to watch. I also like the fact that the series doesn't have the heavy involvement of parents, which is something new in the bls I've seen so far. I especially like the theme music, finally a theme music that you do not want to skip. Even though I didn't quite understand the forshaddowing at the end of ep12, I'm hopeful and excited if there will be a second season. I'm sure they wouldn't have cast a well-known actor for the first guest if it didn't make sense.
If there is a second season, here are a few thoughts on my part:
- Can Boston really change? Will he continue to live his life as before? Will his dream of having his own art exhibition come true and will his ex-friends or Nick visit it? and what will become of Nick, will he maybe get together with his boss? I thought they were very cute.
- The storyline of top and mew seems to be told at first sight, but the newcomer aka first guest looks like a troublemaker. Will there be tension between mew and top? What will their life together look like? I think Tharntype has shown us that even an everyday life on the screen can be exciting.
- Sand and Ray. I would love to see the two of them travel around the world and sand play concerts. But it will probably be too expensive to produce. Will ray make it through his rehab? I really hope so and hopefully he will find something to do in life. It's a shame to see him so completely without a plan.
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Only Friends - A Disappointing Watch
"Only Friends," a series that promised a compelling story and dynamic chemistry, unfortunately fell short of expectations. As someone who was eager to dive into this show, I found myself struggling to stay engaged.One of the biggest letdowns was the story itself. Despite its potential, the plot was sluggish and uninspiring. There were moments that felt repetitive, and the narrative seemed to drag without any significant developments. Instead of being gripped by the drama, I found myself frequently checking the time, hoping for something more engaging to happen. The pacing issues made it difficult to invest in the characters or care about their journeys.
Adding to the lackluster storyline was the disappointing chemistry between the lead actors, Force and Book. Chemistry is often the cornerstone of a good series, especially when it revolves around relationships and emotional connections. However, Force and Book’s interactions felt forced and devoid of any real spark. Their on-screen dynamic failed to capture the essence of their characters' supposed bond, making their scenes together unconvincing and awkward.
Interestingly, the only parts of the series that managed to catch my attention were the sex scenes. It was unusual for GMMTV actors to participate in such explicit scenes, and this unexpected departure from their typical roles added a fleeting element of intrigue. However, even these moments couldn't salvage the overall experience of the series.
In conclusion, "Only Friends" struggled to deliver a captivating experience. The slow-paced story and the lack of chemistry between the lead actors made it a challenge to stay invested. For a series that had so much potential, it's unfortunate that it didn’t quite hit the mark.
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A very realistic description of the gay scene... unfortunately!
Having experienced the gay scene from the inside, I can tell you that it's unfortunately just like in the show: everyone sleeps with everyone else, fidelity is a dirty word, friendship is a concept, alcohol flows freely and drugs are all too easy to come by.The series can't be faulted for its desire for hyperrealism, and in that sense it succeeds. But we're not here to watch a documentary, and Only Friends doesn't have the stature of an Oscar-winning film, so a little levity would have been welcome. The characters are in 100% toxic mode at all times, and we'd have appreciated it if this had been softened by a bit of a bitchy moment. I was expecting to watch this series all smiles with a glass of wine in hand and found myself sighing and thinking "someone get them a psychologist!".
Apart from Sand and, to a lesser extent, Nick, the characters are not really likeable: Mew is falsely candid and rather bland, Top is infuriatingly "I want to control everything", Rey is ultra-toxic, Boston is the epitome of the well-built bitch who doesn't give a damn about anything, Nick is touching but goes too far in his actions. Then there's poor Sand, in whom I kind of saw myself.
As for the acting, Neo and Mark are excellent. As for the others, it depends on the moment.
In conclusion, I'd say it's a good series, but if you have to compare it to Friendzone, which is in the same style, Only Friends is worse.
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This review may contain spoilers
Started off great. What went wrong?
The first half of this show was really great! Fleshed out, complex characters were introduced with a wide variety of storylines that made for an interesting watch. The characters were authentically queer and messy, with really fantastic acting coming from everybody. Every character has some pretty serious flaws, and to be honest it looked like everybody was going to hate each other by the time the show was over. I was not expecting a traditional happy ending for most if any of these characters, but that's life! I came into this expecting that it would be messy and disastrous, that would have been a reasonable ending.However, the last few episodes completely switched their tune. Of everybody in this show, the only characters that made any sense to give a happy ending to was Sand and Ray, with a possibility of Boston and Nick ending up in a successful open relationship. I'm the first to admit that I'm biased as this is the only show with ForceBook that I've ever been able to finish because I just don't enjoy their pairings, but Top and Mew were a disaster from the start and everybody could see that they were going to crash and burn before they even got together. But for some reason, instead of letting Mew go through with his revenge and have a true wild phase, he ends up getting back together with Top??? It made zero sense with the original plot and came across as something that was changed halfway through to appease the fans.
The treatment of Boston and his shitty ending also seemed to come out of nowhere. Initially, it seemed that this show was going to challenge the stigma around queer people who sleep around and don't choose the monogamous lifestyle with Boston's character. I truly thought that he was going to get a "happy" ending where he continues to live that life or has an open relationship. But instead we got whatever that was and a reinforcement of the idea that the only way to truly be happy is to settle for a monogamous relationship. There were plenty of characters done wrong by this change in narrative, but personally I was most disappointed with Boston's treatment.
Really great acting from the cast in this though! Khaotung has proven himself as a very capable and compelling actor before, but he really did an AMAZING job as Ray in this. First also did a great job as Sand, and together the two of them played very well off of each other to create a really tangible dynamic. Neo got a chance to step outside of the roles he's been cast in for the last few GMMTV shows, and his acting really stood out here.
Overall, there's a lot of really talented actors in this who got to shine during the first half of the series, I just wished they had went with a different ending.
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loved it.
My friends made me watch this series and I loved it. The cast is great, especially First and Khao are just incredibile, immense chemistry and they’re both very good actors, always believable in their performances. The story is very nice, intrigues of friendships and romantic/sexual relationships that never fall into ridicule, and the plot twists, unexpectedly, were definitely surprising. The several relationships feel overall natural, and all the conflicts take the right amount of time to be resolved, nothing ever feels rushed. And last but not least, is a very hot series, lol, many interesting scenes indeed…I would definitely recommend!!
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This review may contain spoilers
It shows real world or...
It really shows real world outside of our dramas. It not about bl but a person. His emotions, living ways and so on...But at some points i found this show is really crazy u find any characters hooking up with each other but i kinda expected it.
Everything has come to MIDLE. Nothing compled like a hole drama i think but this also shows that life can change any time and cs of anyone.
It's good to watch but not to rewatch nevertheless u want ur head goes crazy
PC i want to know why did the director end them like that really want.. cs their casting contains really good actors. Maybe this way director thinks they can attract viewers
All of the my opinion..
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This review may contain spoilers
A Work of Art
TLDR: This is a nuanced show that can only be enjoyed by a psychologically mature audience. If you see things as strictly black or white, if you cannot empathize with characters who don't think like you, or if you're expecting this to be like GMMTV's other BL shows, then this show will frustrate the living poo out of you. This is a sophisticated piece of work. Each cast member delivered on point.It's been a year since I first watched this show and have watched it multiple times since in order to understand each character's unique perspective - trying to judge the show as objectively as possible. Considering the cinematography, the soundtrack, color grading, the screenplay - and how all of it comes together cohesively & paints an incredibly vibrant picture of the multifaceted "queer-college-student" life - this was one of the BEST shows that was produced by Thailand in 2023, not just one of the best shows to come out of GMMTV or just one of the best in the BL genre. Each and every aspect of it was meticulously choreographed, and this attention to detail is what I liked the most about this show. It was a VERY high quality production.
Here's my more subjective take.
Story:
This is a dramatic story, which might not be for everyone. Each of the characters behaves in immature ways and they're all toxic in one way or another (some more problematic than others). Each character has very unique flaws but each individual represents a different version of the messy, confounding and spontaneous college student life. The story begins with & stays driven by the character's infatuations, lust, and obsessions with one another, so the focus is entirely on the nature of their evolving relationships. There is no other overarching theme or 'takeaway' from it (and that's fine). At first glance upon this group of friends, Mew (Book) appears to be the bespectacled, dependable, studious & prudent kid, Ray(Khao) is the recklessly alcoholic, money-to-burn rich kid, Boston (Neo) probably has the highest body count in Bangkok, and Cheum (Lookjun) is just a chill girl. Top (Force) is introduced into the mix by Boston and has a reputation of being one of the most desirable men in the country (well, Force *IS* absurdly attractive, so this was an excellent casting choice) and Nick(Mark) as well as Sand(First) go to the same college, eventually encountering a member from this group, which then enters them into their drama. The story is shaped by the character's drinking habits (lol), their love lives, their social relationships and the resulting personal agendas.
Is the story interesting? Yes, very much so, if you can watch it without getting attached to the actions of the characters. If you're easily triggered by fictional characters doing fictional nonsense, then you're not mature enough to watch this. The key word here is MATURE. The series can only be enjoyed if you're open-minded and mature enough watch it as merely a bystander. This is not teenage drama - it's much more complicated. If you're used to seeing everything as black and white then this is NOT the show for you.
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Finally the real gay community
I was so excited to see the chaos this would be. I was so proud of GMMTv for the audacity. Realistic stuff always get me, it's a love-hate thing.But let's go to the character analysis.
Everyone sucks. The only character who is an actual angel is Sand.
Mew: was descent until he became Harley Twink and turned toxic as well.
Force and Boston: both can't keep it in their pants. Except Force was willing to join monogamy at the end, but Boston couldn't, that's not who he is.
Nick: did some fucked up shit and was very colorblind when it came to red flags, but he was not a bad person at the end of the day and I'm glad he teamed up with the best person in the "group".
Ray: messed up, poor little rich kid... nah 'cause Ray fucking sucked and would make a scene out of every little thing. He definitely doesn't know how to deal with anything and that could be because he doesn't got a mom and a present dad but took him too long to even want to try to be a better person. He hurt too many people. Sand was a saint for pulling up with all that shit.
Sand: I think he is flawless, but he gave too many chances to Ray, also kinda colorblind. It went well at the end, thankfully.
Chuem: I was so happy that this actress would be gay in the show. Also was so happy that she was dating Nanon's sister. But damn, she was so annoying and had no own opinion. She would just believe anyone that came up to her and said like '"your girlfriend said "blah blah"'. She wouldn't even ask or talk about it, she would just come for the person. There was also kinda of a lack of chemistry between her and April tbh.
April: is only there to be Chuem's girlfriend, barely appears.
Yo and Plug: I wish their story had more screen time, cause they meant nothing to me (which is sad 'cause I love Jennie)
Atom: bro was filthy. I tried to understand that he was very confused and fell for the first guy he hooked up with right after he found out he likes men too, I was kinda sorry for him but he fucked up still.
We can see most characters are very well written and developed. I really liked that and the fact that everything was very real, like getting out of that romantic perfect bubble. I kinda wish the couples wouldn't end up together, because that could be like a lesson about real life: some things don't work out and that's okay. I loved that Nick and Boston didn't get together in the end, Boston tried but he was unable to be monogamous, so he should just try and stop making other people's lives miserable. Overall the drama was very nice to watch, chaos is very entertaining. Seeing our beloved actors getting out of their comfort zone and playing shitty characters was an experience.
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This review may contain spoilers
Crazy, but Fun
Like the title of this review, Only Friends was crazy, but fun. There's a LOT of drama, but that's the whole point of the show. If you're looking for a gentle, sweet, kiss-on-the-cheek drama, check out 2gether or something like that. This show is NOT for the people wanting the innocent first love story. This show is meant for the people that want the drama that comes with boys that are capital M - messy!Story:
I gave the storyline an 9.0 instead of a 10.0 because there were so many misunderstandings. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good misunderstanding, but it felt like there was a point where the only drama for every couple was the a misunderstanding arc. Use it once or twice, but don't keep reusing it in the same fashion for every couple. Communication is key!
I will say, the ending was pretty good and the way that the characters reacted to things was fairly understandable/reasonable for their characterization. This is to say that the reactions may not have been reasonable in a modern IRL setting for an everyday person, but for the characters and their stories, the reactions and motives were fairly on point.
Acting:
First/Khaotung were amazing as always. Their chemistry is OUTSTANDING. I loved them in The Eclipse and I loved them here. They were messy messy, but they were real in a way that I appreciate. Sand stayed firm in his boundaries and Ray learned how to see himself through Sand's eyes leading him to loving himself more than he had in the past.
Give it a go if you're looking for a far more mature series (and you're not afraid of a little mess.)
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The hype was deserved
I had seen this go viral everywhere but didn’t have time to watch it then (thank god because waiting a whole week for an epi wld have been so hard). The story is messy, as it’s intended. This is how many 20-somethings party, the toxicity doesn’t seem unbelievable. Though it seems like a superficial drama, there are many real character developments for everyone, and not all same.It was my first FirstKhao show and I GET IT. I GET WHY THEIR “IT”. They have the most sizzling but cutest chemistry, they were my endgame.
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