Love of Silom, ep1 first thoughts
PoompoompoompoompoompoomPoom. *drools*
I am one hundred percent biased here. do not trust a thing i say, because poom is my Hall Pass for life. He is one of the most beautiful men I've ever laid eyes on. But, like, he's also just such a joy to watch here. He was already the perfect pathetic wet puppy in My Stand-In, but they've baby-gurlified him even more here and he's relishing every comedic beat of it. Wayu's goo-goo over his cop crush, he's sexy as hell but too lazy to commit to working out, he's too naive to realize he's getting set-up with an asshole client, and he's earnest as all get out. I love him.
There seems to be some legit interest in cop commentary in here with discussions about the reality of "good cops." "Are there cops in heaven, too?" But it's good to remember that Thailand, and specifically the Thai queer community, has a VERY different relationship to police (as well as its military) than the US. This is my plea that people do some research before they make sweeping generalizations about how the commentary lands in the end.
I'm also predicting some commentary on societal prejudice towards queerness and kink, considering what we saw in this first ep and what we saw in the trailer. We got kink-play tied to aggressive and non-consensual sadism here and the queer characters and go-go club tied to money laundering. How will these dynamics shift as the story progresses?
I'm really loving the tonal balance here. It's somewhere inside the action-romcom genre, with an emphasis on the comedy. Strange comparison, but it sort of reminds me of Sister Act. The seedy night-life with dark dealings, the naive performer caught in the middle, the contrast between the criminal underbelly and the sweet silliness going on in the other settings. Some other films with a similar tone would be Miss Congeniality, Hustlers, or Magi and in the BL-verse, Kidnap, played around in that same sandbox.
It feels so...gay? I don't think the inclusion of realistic queer/gay elements is a legitimate reason to include or exclude a series from the BL-genre--I have a different post if you're interested in what I view as the definitive elements of the BL-genre--but for obviously personal reasons, I enjoy seeing series that depict queer men's lives with more realism. Poom is letting out some fabulous effeminate affectations here. His character is getting ogled by other men (an element of sexual desire that's not always present across BL), and he understands exactly what those gazes and moves mean, too. Up's character Krit is getting clocked, too, and pressured to marry. The gogo club also comes with a host of overtly gay character traits less often included in BL, too: mentions of plastic surgery, catty gay frenemies, and, of course, strip dancing. No surprise that P'Pepzi and Jojo have worked together before.
The reciting of the strip club rules, while likely referencing an older film, reminded me of another iconic queer series, P-Valley, and if you haven't watched it, do it RIGHT NOW.
P'Pepzi's shows (excluding one series that shall never be mentioned in my house) look sooooooo good. They have a sheen that looks prestige without pretension. Within the high-quality camera work and gorgeous lighting, there's still space for absurdity and slapstick and audaciousness. They elevate classic Thai aesthetics without abandoning them.
UpPoom's chemistry here is lovely and palpable. I'm so excited to watch these two characters build their relationship together.
And in case, I didn't make it clear, PoomOhmygodPoomPhuripan!
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