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Ben x Jim (Tagalog Series)

I am all for sexual fluidity, but the convenience with which our main protagonist professes his love and turning from macho straight to gay is just too convenient. Makers didn't even try for a slow burn. It just happened too quick. I know I am spoiling fun right at the beginning but need to put it out. The show started off really really well but by the time it ended I was a bit underwhelmed primarily because how the story went and lack of character depth. Nevertheless at 7 episodes about 25-35 minute each, it is still a very decent watch.

Ben and Jim have been childhood friends and neighbors but 8 years back Jim moved to a different won with his dad after his mother died. Now because of covid restrictions, he is coming back to spend some time with is grandma. Ben and Jim had lost touch over the years and its through his best friend Flo that Ben realizes that Jim is quite a popular social media guy. The two boys restart their friendship where they had left off. Ben has always had a crush on Jim. Despite coming out to Jim as gay, their friendship remains pure and fun. Jim's girlfriend Yana also keeps coming to spend time with him making Ben more jealous. When Ben professes his love to Jim, a weird awkwardness happens with two of them. Then there is this courier service guy Olan who keeps hitting on Ben. When he openly professes his love and admiration for Ben, that triggers something in Ben. He tells Ben that he also loves Ben very much and can't be without him, conveniently dropping off his girlfriend Yana. Just when Ben and Jim started to enjoy their courtship, his mom drops a secret about his father that could possibly affect Jim's confidence if he knew the truth. At the same time, his ex boyfriend who was abusive also returns back. Ben decides to breakout with Jim giving him no reason around the same time when Jim publicly confesses his love for Ben. After about 2 weeks Ben realizes his mistake and apologizes to Jim. The couple are back together.

Jim, Jim, Jim.. soooo cute. I thought I have already seen some cute smile in BL boys but Jim takes the cake. The warm welcoming smile that Jim gives every time to Ben just would completely melt my heart. You may disagree but something about him made me melt for him. I so wanted to be Ben. Lol. In contrast Ben's character was a little cute, silly, uncertain and not sure of himself and life. Also if they were such close friends, how come they lost touch in this age of social media. After all Jim was Ben's first love. He is good looking but he had this straight expression throughout the show, its hard to explain. Also, the way where he literally forces Jim to fall for him and then just a few days later drops him was just not done. He comes out as someone who is just using Jim as per his own convenience. I mean, he knows his friend is straight, so making him feel bad for his sexuality was not cool. And similarly, very conveniently Jim just drops his girlfriend. Out of the blue, so random. I was like wtf! I feel bad for Yana. The whole courier Olan situation was just a gimmick in my opinion and why was he always hanging around when Yana needed some consoling. One of my absolute favorite scene was when they had a big evening hangout. Ben's friend Flo is the only one who knows exactly what's going on between the two boys. The situation keeps getting awkward and her expressions were just priceless. I was cracking up. She nailed it. The whole Covid setting was used just for convenience but lacks consistency. They were hardly wearing masks and would just travel anytime anywhere.

Overall, I feel it started off really well but at some point, the makers just wanted to cram too much with exes, an admirer, mental health, family history, career, studies etc etc. By the time it ended, it got just too convenient, cliched, unnecessarily dramatic and it was like what is going on. Can someone make a series where the quintessential gay guy is not trying to convert his straight friend. A straight friend can still be your best friend and not lover. Also, 7 full episodes and we barely even get a kiss in the last scene. Not done. I'd recommend this series for Jim and his friendly chemistry with Ben. Overall, still much better than most series out there. (6.5/10)

Comments

edward said…
"A straight friend can still be your best friend and not lover." Agree with you wholeheartedly. One reason I loved "Big Eden", it dealt with this issue seriously.
Golu said…
Are you a "Big Eden" fan like me. Even after all thee years, its my absolute favorite film still.
edward said…
Definitely! I saw the 3 films you gave 9.5 and I knew we had the same taste in movies.
Golu said…
oh wow!! Well , if you have any recommendations for me that you don't see on my blog already, please let me know. I am going through a streak of bad movies these days
Hedgehog said…
Spoiler alert! Theyre not back together as per season 2. There’s a lot of question need to address in season 1 about what happen to Jim and ben why theyre not getting in touch for such a long time & their family issues. That can be answer in season 2. Which is out now. I agree with you it’s too convient the olan and anna situation. I dont buy it. I’m not sure if ben is really straight guy when he meet jim again. There gotta be something that happen in the years that they not getting in touch, I dont know. It has a potential to be a great series but kinda lost its way in some episode. Theres a good moment here and there which is fun to watch. Like the one you mention the karaoke scene. Theyre mostly in their homes thats why theyre not wearing a mask. The thing that I dont like about this series, is the Fake kiss. They could just do a hug instead of a fake kiss. Like they did in hello stranger which I understand the point, theyre in getting to know each other stage and kiss is inappropriate in that scenario. It’s a good series not great but worth watching. 6/10.
Golu said…
Lets just hope that some of these concerns are addressed in the season 2. Looking forward to it.
Hedgehog said…
What should Filipino BL I should watch next? Aside from Oh mando. Im done with GSP, gameboys, hello stranger, ben x jim. BL With the same caliber with these series.
Golu said…
if you find out any, do let me know too
Sailor Maan said…
100% agree with you on this one. It's good but not great. Jim change from straight to gay in one night seems too convenient. Or badly done. After all he could have been in love with Ben since forever too but never wanted to admit it. But it's just not explained or showed. And Ben leaving him one day after without giving a reason was sooo wrong. Other than this it has the good feels of other filipino BL that I can't help but like a lot. +1 waiting for the next good one :p
Hedgehog said…
@Sailormaan have you seen the season 2 of this series ? I noticed in teaser there’s tons of new characters tossed in season 2 to put some back story to other characters.
Sailor Maan said…
No I haven't seen it, seems there are no subtitles for me yet. But my, that trailer! Looks like we're in for a lot of surpises.
I have just begun "quaranthings" filipino series and I love it so far. I think you should give it a try. I'm only halfway through, but honestly even if the end were to be bad, you won't waste your time: you still get to enjoy the (very very x10) hot body of Rocky :p
Golu said…
Adding this to the list right away
Hedgehog said…
I don’t know after watching Gaya sa Pelikula. It sets my bar so high that it makes it too difficult for me in picking my next Filipino BL series to watch.
Golu said…
Take a risk!!! lol
This one left me with mixed feelings, great material and adorable characters wasted as if the director had been compelled to rush the shooting. I agree with all the comments and the review, it's a decent watch and jim's good looks help a lot, but something feels wrong with his changes of Heart. Ben's no better, he's loved Jim forever, he never thought he'd have a chance, but he let Jim go anyway, for the sake of adding unrealistic drama. Which was not exploited anyway, the reunion scene is so flat it kinda fails to save the show. I am not sure I want to see more of these two.
Golu said…
Unless they address all thee flaws in the sequel and show proper reasoning behind the actions.
Hedgehog said…
Hey Gulo, there’s another Filipino BL series I’ve discovered it’s entitled My Day. I haven’t watch it. Maybe you should check it out too.
Hedgehog said…
And Also Meet me outside. The writer of that series is the same writer of Gaya sa pelikula .
Golu said…
noted. will add these.
I am watching my day right now, just one episode left. Give it a chance, allow yourself to fast forward a lot or skip the first four episodes, it gets way better towards the middle. When you come to think of it, most of these shows are enjoyable if we keep our expectations low enough.
Golu said…
exactly. Keep the expectations low and the fast forward button handy
Hedgehog said…
I’m not really keen on skipping episodes. Those boring episodes is as important as those great episodes. It what makes the whole series/film complete.
One should never skip episodes, it's like watching half a movie I can but agree upon that. But in some instances, the first episodes are so lame that they might just drive you away from a decent show. Regarding My Day, after watching 3 episodes, I really had to decide whether I would just fast forward all the way to the end, look for an edited version, or quit and try something else... A video of the main couple's first kiss and Sky's pretty face and good acting convinced me to try harder. Lucky me, in a way, but I would totally understand someone not liking the show based on the first episodes. It's obvious they changed the direction of the show at some point, so that more mature viewers can relate

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