Only Boo! Review – Newbie Keen Is Bae of Puppy-Love Series
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
If your crush decides to sing you a love song over the school’s loudspeaker (or the office loudspeaker if you’re older), letting the whole world know their feelings, you’d probably be embarrassed and want to dig a hole for yourself to disappear into. However, it would also be one of the most recklessly romantic things someone has ever done for you. Moo from GMMTV’s 2024 romance series “Only Boo!” does just that – sing his original love song to ask his crush out – and is the kind of romantic lead who constantly makes big gestures of love, if not grand. From being exceedingly annoying to incredibly cute, Meen Suwijak Piyanopharoj’s vivacious portrayal of Moo will make most viewers root for his success.
Directed by Golf Sakon Wongsinwiset (Club Friday/Enchante), “Only Boo!” spans 12 episodes and is based on a novel called “Khae Thi Kaeng” (แค่ที่แกง). The show stars Meen Suwijak Piyanopharoj as the primary protagonist Moo, while debut actor Dechchart Taslip plays his romantic interest Kang.
Plot overview: Moo is in his last year of high school, but instead of worrying about final exams and university applications, he is always dancing and daydreaming about becoming a pop-music idol. Worried about his future, Moo’s mother sends him off to a distant town to keep him away from Bangkok’s distractions. However, Moo not only finds a way to pursue his passion in the small town, but he also falls madly in love with Kang, who lives near his new dorm and runs a food business with his mother. But Moo’s aspiration to become a pop idol proves to be a big challenge for his romantic life. Will he be able to balance both loves, or will he have to give up on one of them?
“Only Boo!” is powered by Meen Suwijak Piyanopharoj’s energy. He is bubbly, charming, and completely cheesy as Moo, who blatantly pursues Kang once he realizes his feelings. While they are strangers at first, Moo moves into a dorm owned by Kang’s best friend Net (Pansa Vosbein) next door. Kang helps Moo a lot, including giving him free meals when Moo splurges all of his pocket money on an expensive bike. There are plenty of hilariously bad and corny pick-up lines that Moo uses on Kang, and all those scenes are super cute. Bonus points to the writers for making Moo expressive, he wears his heart on his sleeves, always speaks him mind, and leaves no scope for any kind of misunderstandings. So at least there is no “miscommunication” conflict between the main leads.
Moo’s character is consistently bright, positive, laid-back, honest, and even a tad bit shameless, but in a good way. For instance, one of the funniest scenes in “Only Boo!” is when Moo is called in by his new school principal for a scolding, and at the end of the pep talk, Moo unabashedly asks the principal to lend him some money because he is broke. I almost died laughing at that scene. And while the first eight episodes of the series are mostly upbeat in tone, things get a little serious and complex only in the last four episodes. Meen Suwijak Piyanopharoj gracefully shoulders even the emotionally challenging scenes. From being a hopeless puppy in love to being a heartbroken young man, Meen captures all of Moo’s emotions vividly.
Dechchart Taslip, on the other hand, is quite awkward as Kang. While some of it comes from the character being slightly shy, Kang continues to look self-conscious even when he and Moo become very close. Despite a cute teen love story, the romantic chemistry between Meen Suwijak Piyanopharoj and Dechchart Taslip as Moo and Kang is just about enough to make “Only Boo!” entertaining. Meen manages to keep viewers distracted from his co-star’s flaws with his spirited performance. An actor who was more at ease in front of the camera as Kang would’ve definitely elevated “Only Boo!” Book Kasidet Plookphol (“Only Friends”/“A Boss and A Babe”) has a small cameo role as Kang’s cousin, which was kind of pointless. His part only adds some avoidable drama to the otherwise wholesome puppy-love tale.
Actors Aun Napat Patcharachavalit and Peerakan Teawsuwan play best friends Potae and Phayos, who are in the same class as Moo, and the three of them enter a pop idol contest together as a trio. While a major subplot is about whether the three friends will make it as pop stars, another subplot follows a potential romance between Potae and Phayos. Aun Napat Patcharachavalit and Peerakan Teawsuwan have palpable onscreen chemistry; however, the Potae-Phayos story isn’t explored to its full potential and given the usual “friends to lovers” treatment, where one of them is blissfully unaware of their real feelings until a rival steps in.
For a series with music and dancing as key themes, the “Only Boo!” soundtrack isn’t very memorable, even though it does feature some fun bubblegum numbers. I couldn’t help but compare it to GMMTV’s show “My School President,” which has a fantastic musical score. Even though some of the songs featured in it were covers, the renditions were entertaining. Apart from the music, the choreography for the dance practices by Moo, Potae, and Phayos is very tame and basic. It’s only in the last few episodes that viewers get to see decent dance steps, but until then, the lackluster choreography makes you question the actors’ ability to dance.
For the first eight episodes, “Only Boo!” is a high-spirited, adorable high school love story, and the last four follow Moo’s journey in the music industry and the challenges that come with it. The last four episodes pack in a lot of challenges for the endearing Moo, and it feels like a completely different show. The creators should have either introduced the conflict much earlier, say episode six, or simply saved all the drama for a second season. Regardless, due to the sunny, joyous nature of the first eight episodes, which are mostly about Moo following his heart without any inhibitions, “Only Boo!” makes for a very entertaining series. The climax gives Moo the ending he deserves, so all is well that ends well. Watch the show if you love high school romances with a dash of music, dance, and drama.
Rating: 7 out of 10. “Only Boo!” is available on YouTube.
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