This Vietnamese show isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it definitely keeps you hooked. It’s a quick watch with 10 episodes that only last about 15 to 20 minutes each, and even though it uses all the usual BL tropes, it really works because you can't help but root for the underdog. The romance actually takes its time to show up and then wraps up pretty fast, but the characters still feel way more relatable than in a lot of other shows like this. The story follows Phuc, who moves from Hanoi to Saigon to open his dream bar and live with his girlfriend. Things go sideways immediately when he arrives a day early to surprise her and catches her cheating, so he breaks up with her and leaves. He ends up reaching out to his old childhood neighbors, Cong and his sister Han, who he hasn't seen in years. The siblings are struggling on their own with a massive debt and Han’s poor health. Han thinks her brother works at a convenience store, but Cong is actually a heavy for a criminal gro...
The plot is actually basically very simple. Emma lives with her mother. Her routine includes sleeping through the day, then working at a night, very seedy adult/porn store which is usually followed by going to some bar, picking up either a man/woman; having sex and moving on with her life. We go through the mundane routine of her everyday life, waking up late, struggling with her coffee machine and being dropped off and picked up by her mom. We also realise that Emma makes up new names and new carers, overtime she meets a person because she doesn’t do drama and more than one night stand. One day she meets Mason, who she later finds out is transgender IT technician. Mason doesn’t jump in to Emma’s pants right away and takes her for dates. Finally when Emma also starts to have feelings for Mason(does she really?), things take an ugly turn when the girls from her past arrive and the real truth behind Emma is revealed, leaving everyone shocked on all the lies she has been telling.
Emma, played by Anna Shields, is the main actor, write and director of the film. As an actor I would say she is good, as a director average but as a writer; she needs a lot of work to do. There were some serious gaps and flaws in the screenplay of the film. Watching and going through Emma’s mundane daily routine gets pretty boring after about 10 minutes but we still have to sit through for about 30 minutes for it. The title suggests “bi” but barring one man, all action happens with other girls, until finally Mason comes into picture. Looking at all this, I wonder what was the real intent behind giving it a “bi” twist. As an actor Emma does quite well and brings out the boredom, frustration and naughtiness of the character alive. But same cannot be said of other actors. While most girls were over the top, Mason was a little too conservative. I wish there was a right balance. The film needs some serious editing. Many scenes at home feel repetitive. As a concept I think the idea is nice but as a full length feature film, it gets boring and repeated after a while.
I think this film will work better as a short narrative of 45 minutes or so; but as a full length feature film, it failed to keep my attention beyond a certain point. (3/10)
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