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Coffee Shop done right
Coffee Shop AUs are such a popular genre when it comes to fanfics. Take two guys, put them in a coffee shop, et voila, magic happens. I've myself consumed hundreds (not an exaggeration) of such stories on AO3.
So why does the Coffee Shop AU doesn't translate well when it comes to BLs?
My excitement for the Oxygen series (Thai, 2020) was out of the roof, but the final result was extremely poor. So it took me a while to actually focus on another barista-centred show.
In the past I saw two decently done coffee shop shows: short film One Last Order (S. Korea, 2019) and the coffee shop side of Dark Blue Kiss (Thai, 2019) with Plapodd and Gawin. One Last Order was too short to fully appreciate it, and with Dark Blue Kiss I didn't enjoy the incosistencies with the previous parts.
But here, with Coffee Melody, I'm finally satisfied how the coffee shop story was being played out.
STORY:
Rather basic and not very surprising, very very predictable. Two guys put in a coffee shop. You get the tropes very typical for Thai BLs, jealous exes, miserable parents, annoying friends, shippers. What is missing is a gay crisis, annoying woman chasing the male lead and homophobic parents, and the fact these tropes are not there naturally help the story.
I really enjoyed the fact that the creators focused on fewer pairings and had time to actually develop characters in a proper way. With many BLs taking the attitude "The more couples the better", Coffee Melody takes a different approach and it benefits greatly from this.
What I especially liked is that the story actually does take place in the coffee shop for the majority of each episode. This is what a coffee shop story should be about, after all!!
ACTING:
Ok. Could be better, could be worse. Pavel's decent in the cute sweet barista role, but his crying requires more work. Does he hold as a male lead? Not fully, but Benz's character is more expressive and it helps this couple. Chemistry between Pavel and Benz is passable, but there are no sparks on the screen when they are together. The rest of the cast is doing their role ok, but there are two actors who are stand out:
Palm Veerapat (Jean) and Minty Chuthikan (Chanchao). Palm is not only cute and subtle as Jean, he's possibly the best actor in this show. With Minty I especially liked how she showed her character's development and engagement with other actors.
MUSIC:
For a show with the word "melody" in the title, I was actually very disappointed with the music. Stock background tunes take the majority of the screentime. Even the actors singing "happy birthday" are muted and background music is exposed. The main tune is nice, but nothing that stays in the memory for longer. And it is clear that Benz, despite playing a famous composer, has no idea how to play the piano. It shows, but it's a minor detail.
PRODUCTION:
Also decent. Subtitles available in English for those interested. Last 2 episodes not available on YouTube, which is sad. You get the same props every 2 scenes but again, a detail. Perhaps the budget was low, on the other hand you don't see any product placements/commercials within a show, and this was definitely refreshing for a Thai show, so I'd rather take this over luxurious clothes/cars etc. The coffee shop itself looks lovely fresh and airy.
OVERALL:
I'm not saying that Coffee Melody is the greatest BL to ever BL, but it's a nicely done show, which surprised me in many ways. Solid 7/10.
So why does the Coffee Shop AU doesn't translate well when it comes to BLs?
My excitement for the Oxygen series (Thai, 2020) was out of the roof, but the final result was extremely poor. So it took me a while to actually focus on another barista-centred show.
In the past I saw two decently done coffee shop shows: short film One Last Order (S. Korea, 2019) and the coffee shop side of Dark Blue Kiss (Thai, 2019) with Plapodd and Gawin. One Last Order was too short to fully appreciate it, and with Dark Blue Kiss I didn't enjoy the incosistencies with the previous parts.
But here, with Coffee Melody, I'm finally satisfied how the coffee shop story was being played out.
STORY:
Rather basic and not very surprising, very very predictable. Two guys put in a coffee shop. You get the tropes very typical for Thai BLs, jealous exes, miserable parents, annoying friends, shippers. What is missing is a gay crisis, annoying woman chasing the male lead and homophobic parents, and the fact these tropes are not there naturally help the story.
I really enjoyed the fact that the creators focused on fewer pairings and had time to actually develop characters in a proper way. With many BLs taking the attitude "The more couples the better", Coffee Melody takes a different approach and it benefits greatly from this.
What I especially liked is that the story actually does take place in the coffee shop for the majority of each episode. This is what a coffee shop story should be about, after all!!
ACTING:
Ok. Could be better, could be worse. Pavel's decent in the cute sweet barista role, but his crying requires more work. Does he hold as a male lead? Not fully, but Benz's character is more expressive and it helps this couple. Chemistry between Pavel and Benz is passable, but there are no sparks on the screen when they are together. The rest of the cast is doing their role ok, but there are two actors who are stand out:
Palm Veerapat (Jean) and Minty Chuthikan (Chanchao). Palm is not only cute and subtle as Jean, he's possibly the best actor in this show. With Minty I especially liked how she showed her character's development and engagement with other actors.
MUSIC:
For a show with the word "melody" in the title, I was actually very disappointed with the music. Stock background tunes take the majority of the screentime. Even the actors singing "happy birthday" are muted and background music is exposed. The main tune is nice, but nothing that stays in the memory for longer. And it is clear that Benz, despite playing a famous composer, has no idea how to play the piano. It shows, but it's a minor detail.
PRODUCTION:
Also decent. Subtitles available in English for those interested. Last 2 episodes not available on YouTube, which is sad. You get the same props every 2 scenes but again, a detail. Perhaps the budget was low, on the other hand you don't see any product placements/commercials within a show, and this was definitely refreshing for a Thai show, so I'd rather take this over luxurious clothes/cars etc. The coffee shop itself looks lovely fresh and airy.
OVERALL:
I'm not saying that Coffee Melody is the greatest BL to ever BL, but it's a nicely done show, which surprised me in many ways. Solid 7/10.
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