Ton Hon Chon Tee (2020)

It's emply. It contains spoilers. Watch this at your own risk

Personally after I watch gmmtv's all bl series I thought this one would be another hit. But I was wrong. This one is worst. I can't say this one is trash but its not that much good to watch. At last for me it's not that much good. Because it's story was like all other bl same even wrost at most of it. Acting to story everything is cheesy. 1st 2 or 3 episodes was ok.i don't like the intro of 1st episode. After that to me, chonlatee character was OK but tonhon character was not good. Like he was manly but to me more than chonlatee he looks gay. His makeup was like that. After that the supporting character ai and ni was extra. They were to much. Like they want it to look like comedy but it more look like overacting. But I actually like miriam. In this series everything is extra. Like the story was old they just want to give it some new feel but the overdue it.
I am not saying it worst.but is this really good? Because of its rating is somehow good. But I don't know who give it this much rating. To me it's over rated.
I don't know how I watch this series till end. At a point I want to drop it but I thought they would left it up. So I watch this whole series. But at the end it was trash.
So I want to tell if you want to watch it then watch. But I won't recommend it. Because its full of extras.

Leia Mais

The cast is the only good thing to come out of this show.

Re-review after re-watch:

I'm going to take a chance at providing a better review now that my emotions towards the show aren't as intense as it was when I wrote the original review.

Story:

The issue with TC is not that the story is too typical or already seen. Human creativity can have its limitations. The issue is the Main Problem and what came with Him and Her. Some of these problems were not in the novels apparently. Though take that fact with a grain of salt as I have not read it. The issue also lies in the pacing. The development of TonChon relationship was slow, while not an issue generally, it is an issue when you have small number of episodes to pull everything together. Which is literally what they did. The last episode was clunky. They had to tell us what happened to the main antagonist through a flashback and someone asking about her. Why would anyone ask about her approximately three years later? When the person that asked the question would have witnessed the whole thing anyway. If you have to create a mini plot-hole to answer a question I doubt many people care about is testament to awkward pacing. Some parts of the last episode could have moved forward if the relationship between the main couple (Ton and Chon) had sped up just a little bit.

The twist that Ton knew the truth but still did what he did is baffling. So you knew, but still tried to change him? Ton was shown to like it but still did as much as he could to change Chon. Or did he try to lie to himself because of his family? So many odd questions and plotholes... It almost feels as if that big reveal was thought of later, after the intial filming (though it wasn't).

One subplot I did like was of the sister and her husband's issue. It was nice to see that issues like that can exist and how nicely it was managed along with how the couple got stronger after they communicated with each other. Perhaps a relationship feature Ton and Chon could have unlocked.

Cast:

I stand by what I said. The cast was really good. They worked well together. Decent chemistry. Solid comedy acting. The first scene that introduced Tonhon and Chonlatee? Hilarious. The actors did really well with making me laugh. If they had been given a better plot with the humour, the show would have been a hit. Neo was the best actor overall. That scene at the end made out to be a tiktok video? Phenomenal!

Music:

Not much to say, it was fitting with the aesthetic, but nothing to outstanding.

Re-watch value:

Obviously, as this extended review is of my watching it the second time, the show does have it's good parts, its potential is just killed with the last two to three episodes.

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Originial Review after re-watch:
Every actor did a great job with their characters. Were the characters ass? Yes. Did the actors do well acting out as asses? Yes. With the exception of Na, I found at least one serious flaw in the characters. Chon’s mom comes in second.

The cast should try again with another comedy series. I’m sure they’ll do well!

Story was crap. Apparently, a vital part of the series and the main insitigator for the problems wasn’t even a part of the original book, which I have not read.

Leia Mais

No One Talk To Me About This; I'm Senstive

I really enjoyed this drama! It was the perfect length and captured everything very nicely - I would've given it higher but Chonlatee saying that he would be called the 'godfather' of Tonhon's child made me physically uncomfortable so... They really amped up the drama and drew it out in a wonderfully painful way (I love slow burn, sue me) to the point where I wondered if they were just masochists. Overall, they were cuties and seeing Mike and Top together always makes life shine just a little brighter - I love them being plotting and planning gays they really made the relationship happen because these naive bozos for main characters really weren't making any first moves. I think Pod is a great actor and he really shines in the projects I have seen him in so far.

Leia Mais

CORNIEST BUT FUNNIEST BL DRAMA

The core strength of this series originated from its shallow yet comedic scenes. What did I drink to make every silly lines laughable? If I could remove one character here, then it is Nueng. I don't want to be rude but his existence is pointless. All of the characters have their share of funny/worthy scenes but his scenes are too problematic.

Seeing how low the overall rating is, I could say a lot of people watched this expecting that this will be a serious and complicated series jampacked with romantic scenes. Try to do some quick research first. Well, there are some unreasonable instances that I remember which I can't stand though (not even resolved properly):

1. The use of a rape victim to rape someone
2. Selective discrimination
3. Physical assault
4. Identity Crisis

Homophobic scenes are not a concern for me. In my point-of-view and although we are living in the modern era, it just shows that we must still face the adversities while the world is trying to change. Raising awareness to this kind of issues comes with facing the reality.

Referencing SOTUS series is a YES for me. I just finished it a few days ago and it is a good series for me too.

The casts made this a very watchable series. I never thought I would see Khaotung (as Chonlatee) who acts a cutey childish role. He really nails it and I realized that he's a versatile actor. There is Mike-Top-Ciize with their lovely flirty relationship. Neo (as Na) has the corniest execution and lines I've ever seen but the weird thing is I find his role funny that I still laugh on his corny jokes. Kapook (as Amp) portrayed well as a wicked evil soul. They all did a fantastic job!

There are minor scenes that I hate a little bit but overall, this was entertaining. I've never laughed so hard in a series since I watched Bad Buddy before. This is such an underrated series. I never expected to be this low. It should range from 7.8-8.0 out of 10.

IF YOU PLAN TO WATCH THIS WITH A SERIOUS AND COMPLICATED MINDSET, THEN DON'T! This is a series with 70% Comedy and 20% Romance and 10% Drama mixture.

Leia Mais

DO NOT TRUST THE REVIEWS!

THIS SERIES WAS SO GOOD, IDK WHY NO ONE LIKED IT (not the best, BUT NOT THE WORSE). I know that this show did have some scenes that promoted sa + homophobic scenes, but girl i have seen worse (tharntype). (plus this show made us see what the true world looks like, not everyone would support lgbtq, there would be always negative people! this show is not like those puppy cute love type of trope!) but beside those scenes the show was amazing.

1st of all, I liked the chemistry of poddkhao (rip they have sunk), 2nd THE ACTING WAS EVERYTHING!

the only thing that I didnt like was the ending, LMAO I WAS SO CONFUSED THAT THE ONLY REASON WHY PODD'S DAD WAS HOMOPHOBIC WAS BECAUSE PODD WOULDNT HAVE A CHILD IF HE DIDN'T MARRY A WOMAN, i mean there should've been a good reason. plus when miriam got pregnant....

Leia Mais

Sugary sweet typical BL (X), more to reality intense toxic yet great chemi with happy ending (✔)

In my opinion after watching this drama several times im not bored at all it made me laughed and sad and angry but at the end still got that happy ending...i dont know why people hating this serues maybe because of the toxicity or denials..but if u look at wider perspective you should know that the world is not all rainbow and sugars where everyone can accept everything...and this series deliver the message very greatly actually.

First this series touched on denial, homophobic, toxic relationship, friendships, surrogacy mother, unsupporting parents IVF(in vitro fertilization), call girl's world, toxic es girlfriend, toxic senior and so many more.

But that is how the world actually are and they actually put a very great job at delivering each issues in the short length of time, the progress were very well developed does not feel rushed at all..how the lead have to hide the fact he have crush for his *'childhood friend aka brother'* and how NI and AI have to hide their relay from their homophobic friend, how a call girl also have their own difficulties in life, how it also shows NA is not actually boastful because he is rich but he just have communication and socializing problems and how they judged him at first but slowly starts to understands him, how a father being homophobic and always worries about heirs and grandchild, a friend that became surrogate mother and a toxic ex-girlfriend and a toxic senior all of these have their own lessons and opens your mind to think about the world much more deeper...all of these and none of it felt rushed at all they were perfectly expand through out the series..some scenes especially the opening where the leads were in chinese traditional costumes are so freaking cringy!! But trust me keep on watching because after that cringiness you will get a lot of drama and funny scenes🤣but towards the end of the series you will see them in that costumes again🤣🤣that was the only torture i had while watching this series because im a fan of chinese historical drama and for them to do a parody on that are just funny yet cringy like hell🤣🤣🤣all in all, these things or issues happened in the real life, some wanted kids but unable to and choose to do ivf yet failed so many times bfore succeeding , and some were blessed to get pregnant yet wanted to do abortion not knowing how they were blessed to have the baby...some parents are very judging unwilling to listen to their kids all they think is what they were doing is the right one and the kids are just being immature...as a nurse i have seen many things and this drama delivered it beautifully, im actually proud of gmmtv for producing such perfectly written series that touched on wide spectrum of realities that we face in our life. So if you want to watch a sugary sweet typical BL then this is not for you, but if you want to watch something fun with just the right amount of toxicity and intensity yet still managed to deliver happy moments and great chemi then this series is for you.

Leia Mais

Why did they Change the Novel?

I think this would have been a much better series if they stuck to the novel. The author allowed 10 chapters to be translated and Tonhon was not as homophobic and even knew that Ai and Nai were a couple, Chonlatee was more girly, but did try to hide it, Miriam was not in the novel, so she wasn't even in the equation.

Why did I enjoy it? I took it for the farce it was, and I enjoyed the interactions between the male leads and the second MxM couple. I think they just went wrong by changing the essence of the novel by filling it with gags and characters that did not add relevance to the story. I can't blame the actors since they had to work with what they were given. This series is also an example of how production companies shouldn't make such drastic and unnecessary changes.

Leia Mais

SPOILERS | Started off great and then fell ALL THE WAY OFF

The first couple of episodes were enjoyable and funny, but then they decided to go with ALL the problematic, played out tropes. I started skipping through episodes very early on.
SPOILERS BELOW



PROS: Miriam, Chon's mom, Pang, Ai, and Ni. Chon's mom calling Ton's dad a limpd**k.


Again SPOILERS


CONS: Ton a.k.a Mr. "no homo bro," Ton's lack of balls when dealing with his ex(who still falls for I Dare You 's as an adult? ), homophobic man is actually gay trope, disregarding bisexuality, homophobic old man realizes that homosexuals are people only after they help save him trope, Chon's mom telling off Ton's dad only for her to retract her statements just because he got a stroke FROM HIS OWN DRAMATICS, Ai and Ni not calling out Ton for his bull, Nueng still showing up on campus and not getting charges filed against him after he tried to sexually assault Chon(why tf was everybody walking around like that didn't happen?), Ton knowing that Amp is a threat to Chon's wellbeing but still being nonchalant about her WALKING INTO HIS HOUSE UNINVITED, the tattoo explaination scene, and FEMALE CHARACTERS ONLY BEING PRESENT TO FURTHER THE MAIN/SIDE GAY COUPLES RELATIONSHIPS/PLOTS. Again Ton being toxic masculinity personified.

Ridiculous.

Leia Mais

Wasted potential

I really wanted to like this. I wanted to ignore the reviews and just enjoy some of my favourite guys in a silly little series. I wanted to ignore the cheesy writing, the overacting and absurdity, because that's what we normally do with these type of shows and we love it. However, I just couldn't enjoy this.

The plot is cliche but a trope we all love: boy love boy next door, it takes forever for boy next door to realise his love, some drama happens, then happily ever after, right? Well, that's more or less what this show does, only the steps it takes to get there ruin the story.

First of all, Tonhon's obsession with MANLY MEN isn't only toxic as hell, but just weird? I get it's because of his dad, but there was just something unsettling. Forcing his friends to go to a brothel was obviously supposed to be comedic, but it really just came across as abusive. I know Ai/Ni were comic relief and the whole idea of Ton not realising they were gay was obviously meant to be funny, but it was just stupid, I personally think.

Then the whole thing with Amp and Neung was uncomfortable. The thing it, Amp convincing a boy who had been sexually assaulted by his own senior to repeat that behaviour to a junior is bad, but had it driven the plotline it would have been somewhat acceptable. However, it didn't; it was a throwaway moment to make Ton look possessive, but it didn't really - I'm pretty sure he would have reacted that way if it was any of his friends. Then there's the fact that Chon didn't seem to care much afterwards when he was sober. (I would like to ask why there's no punishment for sexual offenders in these shows, but then I remembered real life, and, well. Bleak.)

I didn't feel much chemistry between Khaotung and Pod, which was probably a result of Ton being such an unlikeble character.

I'm rather angry that every kiss between Ai/Ni was cut off. Top/Mike have AMAZING onscreen chemistry and I would love to see more of them. (I know there's Ai Long Nhai but the fact it's different cast kinda bugs me. I probably will watch the show at some point when this one isn't so fresh in my mind.) Even Ton/Chon's romantic scenes weren't very romantic. The very short kisses and hugs just felt...empty.

Pang and Miriam were absolutely fantastic and were probably my favourite characters, if I'm honest.

The pacing was very off for this series, if I'm honest. Like, one second Ton is homophobic and is horrified that Chon kissed him, but then he's suddenly like LOOK I LOVE THIS BOY OH ALSO BTW I'VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU SINCE I WAS A CHILD. It would have been a lot more acceptable as a viewer if we'd actually had a little bit of a process of seeing Ton have a moment of, "shit, I like this guy." Also, the final episode was like whiplash. Ton's dad is suddenly not homophobic if he can get a grandkid anyway? That was some toxic drama right there. Like, as soon as Ton is finished school he's going to be a dad (and Chon, too, who is like 3 years younger and probably still in school).

It's a shame because this show had potential. Even the problematic stuff could have been 'acceptable' had it been paced and edited a little better.

Leia Mais

If you're thinking about watching this... don't.

A few months ago, I probably would have told you that this was a great BL series since it was the first one I ever watched... but boy was I wrong.

The series was okay in the first few episodes but after episode 5, it went all downhill. After episode 5, there is an attempted r*pe plus lots of unnecessary drama. The biggest problem though is the pacing. From episodes 1-7 it's just Chonlatee crushing on Tonhon while he was a homophobic jerk most of the series. Suddenly after episode 7, Tonhon claims that "he has loved Chon since they were kids" and decides to HAVE S*X right after confessing that he has feelings for him. After that, he kisses his ex-girlfriend to show his "masculinity". It didn't make sense to me at all and it only hurt Chon in the end. GMM definitely rushed their relationship through the last three episodes and I didn't feel much chemistry with them.

Only watch this if you have either watched all other BL series or if you REALLY want to watch a series with Khaotung as the main character.

Leia Mais

Bruh...Idk why people are ripping on this series so much.

It's almost like people forget BL stories are STORIES that encompass a multitude of characters and personalities. I, for one, found this series hilarious. It doesn't take itself too seriously and if you watch it simply for what it is, a BL story, you get that.

The 1st thing that I found phenomenal are how the characters are portrayed and how great the cast was at acting. Outside of the main leads, the support cast didn't get too much of a background story. However, the times they're on-screen are so valuable. From the words of wisdom they share to the banter they provide, there was never a dull moment where you wanted to fast-forward through their scene. For example, Ai and Ni's ship actually played relevance to the plotline. Even more so, their physical reactions to the dialogue and narrative of the story were so on point that I forget they're acting. And omg, Chon's mom calling things out as she sees it but in an endearing way where you don't question the wisdom she passes off. Like damn, okay! The whole cast felt so connected to me that I genuinely felt they were as close as they portrayed on-screen.

The 2nd thing I really enjoyed is the humor in this series. I loved the humor built around Ton's denseness and obliviousness to same-sex relationships throughout the series, only for us to learn later in this series why he was this way. Even the light banter and teasing the characters had for each other was fun. Like when Chon's mom went off on Ton's dad, and then Ton's dad response to her was "How did you know I had erectile dysfunction?" while suffering a stroke/heart attack, like omfg. I lost it lmao. There honestly wasn't an episode where I didn't find myself laughing at least once, and I appreciate that. For some folks who take themselves to seriously, this may not be for you if you don't like characters poking fun at each other and with each other.

And lastly, I really appreciated the complexity of the characters and their actions. For example, it turns out Ton had been raised by a homophobic father with the pressure of being the family heir and so those values and beliefs ultimately left an imprint on him. Because the series is only 10 episodes, there's not enough time to build in scenes to showcase Ton's development of processing through and challenging what he's learned all this time. However, the writers and director do a great job at showcasing how Ton's development shifts through his actions: apologizing to Ai and Ni, accepting Ai and Ni, and ultimately acknowledging and accepting his feelings for Chon. Ton was this homophobic guy who repeated what his dad had taught him and had to reconcile with who he is and what he had been feeling all these years. So I get it; a character like this will face the wrath of not being a flawless, perfect oppa we all envision our BL leads being. But for a character that is developing and unpacking the toxic beliefs and values that have been instilled in him his whole life, I appreciated that we got to see Ton move past some of his struggles and reconcile with the people that mattered to him.

The only thing I didn't like is the 2nd lead syndrome with my boy Na. I get he was plot relevant, but I wish the series was longer so there would've been more screen time for viewers to get closure with his character. After he helps Ton and Chon get together, we don't hear from him again except for when the time skip happens and he has a boyfriend. Instead of writing him as a love interest, I wish they would've wrote him as someone who also wants to be friends with Chon so that the story would've resolved cleanly. Now I'm left wondering if he still has feelings for Chon and if he will have his happy ending too.

All in all, I felt the cast did an amazing job. The chemistry was great. Comedy was hilarious. Story-line was clean and straightforward for the most part. And we get the amazing eye candy of Podd. If you're looking for something light-hearted and a good laugh, definitely check out Tonhon Chonlatee.

Leia Mais

A guilty pleasure

Yes, my headline pretty much says it all for me. As many have noted in the comments, this series had a lot of troubling issues, and I agree with that. Still... I will admit to enjoying it. Here are my pros and cons.

PROS:

ACTORS. For me, each actor played his/her role pretty much perfectly. Special mention to the actress who played Chon's mom. Loved her!

PODD'S BODY. Whoa! How'd I miss that before? For me, his "Sun" character in DBK was my least favorite, I thought he was boring. And I NEVER expected to see that body underneath. Wow!!

AI, NAI, MIRIAM. Sure, they were silly, but I enjoyed their"Three Musketeers" escapades.

NA. Loved him. Would have preferred him with Chonlatee. But I'm happy he found love in the end.

THEME SONG. I liked it.

CONS:

TON/AI/NAI. So Ai and Nai spend half the series (and a few years) hiding their relationship from Ton, because they're sooooo afraid of his homophobic behavior. Then, when Ton finds out, he's perfectly fine with it. So what was all THAT about?

THE EARLY EP AT THE BAR AND BROTHEL. Worse than ridiculous. I can't imagine anyone going along with that, just to suck up to a friend.

FLYING AROUND IN THE ANCIENT COSTUMES. What the hell?

AMP. She makes everyone's life miserable but, somehow, she talks Chon into drinking with her, and Ton into kissing her. Just... no.

STEREOTYPICAL/OUTDATED TROPES. 1) "I still like women, I'm just gay for you." No, no, no, no, NO. At least call yourself bisexual. So sick of this "gender doesn't matter." Umm... yeah, it kinda does. 2) The homophobia was so overdone, to the point of being laughable. 3) I can enjoy a bitchy ex-girlfriend character, but this was ridiculous, and we didn't get the satisfaction of seeing Amp get what was coming to her at the end. 4) Neung assaults Chon in what looked to be an attempted rape, and no one calls the police? Yeah... riiight.

Ai/NAI'S (hidden) KISSES. So they show a number of "almost" kisses between Ai/Nai, but the camera always conveniently cuts away. At first I thought it could be because of caution due to COVID, but Ton/Chon had plenty of kisses. So what was up with Mike/Toptap? Did they refuse? I'd have rather seen NO kissing attempts between them, than this weird camera cutting away.

BL is evolving in many countries, but Thai BLs appear to be stuck in an old school, formulaic rut. It's not working well anymore, but I did enjoy the actors in Tonhon Chonlatee.

Leia Mais