Love In Translation (Thai Series)

Hey hey.. look at that. A Thai Series which is not set in university. How novel!! Sarcasm aside, but it indeed was a good change to not have a show in either a university or a hospital. Here the two leads are a grocery store owner. Somehow this series has a heart. Despite some very glaring problems, loopholes and odd scenarios, if you choose to keep those aside (in addition to some of the most obvious product placements in the show), the sho was somehow still fun to watch an mostly due to a very crackling chemistry between its leads. They are both very likeable and charming with one another. To top that we have only 8 episodes (yay!!) still about 45-50 minutes each.

Yang is a Chinese immigrant in Thailand and years to open a grocery store which was his father's dream, but it turns out that he needs a Thai citizen to be his business partner. Enter Phumjai, a young aimless man, who spends most of his time crushing on Tammy, a Chinese origin social media influencer in Thailand. His bother gives him a very hard time for not doing anything in his life. They both have an accidental encounter where Yang and Phumjai have a few catfights of sorts, but destiny brings them together and they end up being business partners. Phumjai agrees in return that Yang will teach him Chinese so that he can court Tammy. The grocery store opens and somehow with the help of Yang and his helping with Chinese Phumjai manages to get Tammy on a date. He asks Yang to do a dummy date with him so that he knows what to expect. That day goes so well that on his actual date with Tammy, Phumjai can only think about Yang. When he confesses that to him, Yang refuses to acknowledge his feelings to Phumjai breaking his heart, despite clearly liking him. We later find out that Yang's family in under a huge debt and they are all hiding and he doesn't want to put Phumjai's life in danger. Eventually the lovers are able to mend their different and are a couple and come out friends and family. But the debt collectors catch wind of Yang. How Phumjai, his brother and his friends come together to get Yang out of this mess forms the rest of the story. In parallel, we also have a side love story of Phumjai's brother with a friend of his.

The firstling that you notice while watching the show is the infectious boisterous charm and energy that Phumjai brings to the show. The actor is really good and the role allows him to be bright and cheerful as his infectious enthusiasm radiates in every scene. Similarly actor playing Yang also embodies his character traits well. He portrays Yang's sadness and sensitivity authentically, like they are natural emotions from his inner core. The first episode where the two meet, have catfights, the quirky circumstances and eventually get into a business together are both charming and funny. I love how Phumjai constantly keeps nagging for Chinese help to court Tammy. Although you do have to ignore how the series neglects the practical logistics of running a store, but that's irrelevant I guess. Similarly the whole last two episodes of Yang getting kidnapped by money collectors and how the team gets together to rescue him seem amateurish but still acceptable. Eventually they both learn valuable lessons emphasizing their character growth The show derails a few times when the mandatory misunderstandings and heartaches come into the picture, but other than that thanks to the exuding chemistry that the leads share, their flirting etc all feel charming and less annoying. The supermarket make out scene is legendary as are the morning after reactions and explanations. They complement each other with their charm instead of outshining their costars. Even the supporting characters working in the store have thankfully not been stereotyped. My biggest grip would be product placements right from grocery store, to bread to skincare to ramen.

I kept my expectations low and despite its flaws, and thanks to the charming leading couple, this series turned out to be much better and enjoyable. (7/10)