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...
We have Dawn, a single mother with two teenage kids Josh and Nicola. Dawn is going through mental issues and is seeing a regression therapist and says that she was abused as a child but no one is her family believes her. Other they are or not, the whole situation becomes difficult for Josh and Nicola to handle. Nicola spends most of her time out with friends and drugs. Meanwhile, Josh is dealing with his sexuality. He is secretly in love with his best friend and the duo share a common interest of making films. Since, he has no one to talk to, he creates a online friendship with an online blogger Ryan and even goes to met him when he visits London. In the end, thanks to the shrink, the siblings finally understand their mother's pain and Josh finally tells his best friend that he is gay, who accepts him for who he is.
There are many problems with this film actually. It tries to juggle a lot of issues and styles and in the process cannot decide what to really wants to be. Each character is flawed and muddled but it never really comes across as genuine that would wanna make you feel for them as an audience. There is so much going on that each of the story’s strands doesn’t get enough time to properly develop. The mom dealing with hysteria shouting over her kids, starts getting repetitive after a while. The acting is pretty below average for the most part, except for Josh, who is a sensitive soul who is trying to be strong for the sake of his mother whilst hiding his sexuality. Overall, the movie feels like a surface deep attempt rather than a realistic portrayal of a family dealing with a variety of difficult issues. Also, I am really not sure why the title of the film? It makes no sense. (3/10)
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