Venus in the Sky Review – Like A Store/Home Reel
A few weeks ago, I saw a tweet about 2023 Thai series “Venus in the Sky” that said something on the lines of – “great series, watch it after episode six,” and it totally cracked me up because the show is only ten episodes long. But hey, whatever makes people happy. If some think only the last four episodes of this series are worth watching (probably because the lead couple finally gets close and share a lot of steamy scenes), so be it.
“Venus in the Sky” is a romantic comedy about a doctor relentlessly pursuing his former friend but unfolds more like a random long ad for a 7-Eleven store, since a of the scenes unfold at the convenience store. Cheque Wacharawee Kaewpoolsri plays Venus, a young man who recently quit his job and begins assisting at a 7-Eleven store run by his older brother until he can figure out what to do next. Venus’ former crush, Sky (Tod Panapong Khaisang), who is a doctor, lives close by and begins to romantically pursue Venus despite being ghosted for turning him down in college. Time and distance made Sky realize his feelings, but Venus isn’t ready to open his heart again.
The creators should’ve just condensed this show into 5 or 6 episodes, because a sub-plot involving Venus’ best-friend dating a doctor looked like it belonged to another show and was executed in the most half-hearted manner. Viewers get no background on how the couple met or anything about them really, except that they fight sometimes and then make up. Venus’ brother Janus (Tontae Tinnakorn Puwasakdiwong) was one of the most fun characters in the series, although sometimes his behaviour bordered on being creepy. For example, in the very first episode, Venus walks in on his brother having sex, but Janus is completely unfazed about it. The scene was supposed to be funny, but, c’mon, that’s just disturbing for a family member. Anyway, Janus has a steady-sweet relationship with boyfriend Bom (Aungpao Chananyu Sinprasit), is busy running his store, although, underneath his cheery personality is also a stressed entrepreneur struggling to run a profitable business. In their efforts to stuff in three different love stories, “Venus in Sky” doesn’t do justice to any of them and often feels like a parody of sorts.
Visually, “Venus in the Sky” is aesthetically shot, with the 7-Eleven store becoming a vibrant and colorful character in the story. Many scenes take place in Venus’ home, which is drenched in pleasant, soft pastel tones that are easy on the eyes. The character were also always in shades of white, pink, peach or colors that are pleasing to look at and well, lead pair Cheque and Tod do look good together too. But the background music was inconsistent, with moments where it complemented the scenes, and other times, it felt like random stock audio pieces commonly heard in YouTube vlogs.
Cheque Wacharawee Kaewpoolsri goes hot and cold in his performance as Venus, and at one point it becomes hard to understand if it’s because of the sketchily written character or his beginner acting abilities (“Venus in the Sky” is his first series, so well, not bad for a first time actor). He reminded me of Best Vittawin Veeravidhayanant from the Thai series “Check Out”, which is produced by the same production house, but only as far as their looks go. Tod Panapong Khaisang, on the other hand, exudes a sort of charm as Sky, the doctor, but his character’s persistent efforts to woo Venus become a bit tiring. However, given that Venus makes it quite obvious that he is only playing hard to get, Sky’s determination to pursue the person he likes, despite being exhausted from working at a hospital, is kind of commendable and somewhat sad. While there are some cute moments between the lead couple, but “Venus in the Sky” drags on for far too long and isn’t as funny or interesting as it tries to be. Watch the series if you are looking for a silly romance with cute-ish actors.
Rating: 4 on 10. You can stream the series on iQIYI.
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