Not bad

There are many things to like in Gaya sa Pelikula: the undeniable chemistry between the leads, the moments of inspired acting, and the fact that it is sometimes able to strike a balance between being accessible and profound. It is also admirably clear and unambiguous in its agenda of representing queer lives with necessary depth. In my opinion, however, it doesn't always succeed. The plot advances unevenly--it starts by lumbering along, then midway, as if realizing that it's running out of time, sprints to the end. Also, the ethical agenda of the film is sometimes laid on a bit too thick, articulated by the characters as such rather than dramatized, and consequently risks being perceived as preachy. Some scenes too leave the impression of being overwrought--i.e. the scene where Karl almost cooks two cups of rice. It’s hard to tell if GSP sometimes lacks subtlety or if it doesn’t trust its audience enough with it. That being said, a good enough BL, overall.

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Simple and straightforward

The story is built around a kiss, and how that simple gesture of intimacy is made difficult--and therefore perhaps more special--by pandemic lockdown measures. The desire for closeness and proximity confronts an adversary that insists on distance and isolation. So, if you find Lockdown Boys easy to watch it is probably because it does not make you work too hard.

This simple story comes with an equally straightforward message: that people faced with adversity nevertheless find ways to make do, to manage, to get by, even to access petty pleasures, especially when buoyed by privilege.

To be fair, the series makes no claim to being a work of art. Neither does it claim to make a grand political statement. It offers levity in times when it seems that everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. Here "the medium is the message", as one intelligent person puts it. Simple and straightforward.

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Watch it! Then watch it again. Then again, ad infinitum

The poet T.S. Eliot famously said that "Dante and Shakespeare divide the modern world between them; there is no third." I'm certainly no Eliot, but in my humble estimation, in Philippine BL there is Gameboys; there is no second. Cat-and-mouse narratives often risk tedium--one eventually figures out that after tension there's release then tension again. Gameboys observes this structure, but the acting is so strong that each scene is special in its own right. It is generous in that every moment of joy and pain that the characters experience feels like it were your own.

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BLeh!

This series is terrible. An apt one for 2020 because everything that could go wrong goes wrong. And then it sets itself on fire.

I’d like to say that the script is groan-inducingly written, but that would presume that a script was written in the first place. Sometimes it seems like the actors were simply told how the plot should end and were ultimately given the responsibility for finding their own way to get there. It just all adds up to a big, amorphous ball of confusion where there is uncertainty with everything from character motivation to where Ace parks his cars (We’ve seen where he lives and can safely conclude that a carpark isn’t annexed to his home). This series begs for subtlety in all aspects, even in product placement.

The only point of redemption is the obvious and organic chemistry of the leads, including their predilection for double entendres. So you do end up cheering for them somewhat, and forgiving their bad acting in the same way you overlook the bad acting in porn.

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