Vietnamese shows can really be a hit or a miss, and this one was no exception. The plot definitely had some good ideas, but it felt like they dragged it out way longer than necessary. Honestly, they could have finished the whole thing in eight episodes, but instead, we had to sit through fourteen installments that were 35 minutes each—and the finale was almost an hour long! Also, I’ve got to say, the "amnesia" trope is getting so old in the BL world. Writers really need to find some fresh ideas. The story is about Viet, a young artist who is going through a really rough time. He’s lost his parents, gets picked on by his boss, and eventually quits his job. To make things worse, his boyfriend has been ghosting him, and when Viet finally goes to see him, he finds out the guy has moved on to someone else without even bothering to break up with him. His only support is a female friend who sticks by him through everything. To clear his head, Viet heads to a quiet mountain village a...
Lloyd Cooper, a high school, nerdy shy guy lives with his financially pressed, over-bearing single mother Maggie Cooper. Maggie likes to be involved in every detail of life – from homework to activities to love life. Lloyd hasn’t figured out if he is straight or gay and no intention yet to pursue a relationship. But this doesn’t stop Maggie from assuming that her son is gay. She even manages to ‘out’ him at the school. Even worse, she takes it upon herself to surreptitiously submit an application for him for a gay student college scholarship, forcing her horrified son to play along with the deceit. The proceedings then mostly show us how Maggie continues to force herself on anything and everything that Lloyd is involved in; we get to meet his father Max, who tries to empathy with him but can’t do much because of Maggie. We also meet Cassie, the cheer leader, who has a crush on Lloyd and finally becomes friends with him knowing very well that sexually Lloyd is still confused. Things turn ugly when Maggie barges in school prom and tries to sabotage Lloyd-Carrie relationship just so Lloyd can get the scholarship from the gay foundation for college. The film ends alright when Lloyd still manages to get scholarship, and heads for NYC. Will Maggie Smith finally stop interfering in his life. Guess not, when she shows up at his dorm unannounced in NYC :)
The plot is simple but a lot of scenes are sitcom-ish style and fail to draw laughs. Maggie after a point becomes supremely annoying and it would take a very very good son to not go crazy in her presence. Maggie acts well, I guess, since her character was supposed o be so annoying and over-bearing. Lloyd, for a change acted really well. He suited the part of a shy teenager, who is totally in shadow of his mom. Max, his father, is the only character that brings some normalcy in Lloyd’s life. The good thing is that the films not stretched beyond a certain time, so its easily manageable. Sure its probably a low budget independent film, but that doesn’t give it a free pass. A little more sensitivity in Maggie’s character or maybe some background in her history might have added some charm to the film.
Its a slapstick comedy. Don’t have too much expectations. (5.5/10)
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