My Stand-In Review: Up & Poom Make This A Guilty Pleasure Watch
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Bratty bad boys don’t just get the good girls; they get the good boys too. The last time actor Up Poompat Iam-Samang played a protagonist in a gay romance was in the 2021 series “Lovely Writer,” where he portrayed a cute, shy, introverted, hard-working author. In the 2024 iQIYI Thai drama “My Stand-In,” Up Poompat plays a walking-talking red flag called Ming, who is a far cry from his previous roles, but also the primary romantic lead. This show is all about drama, with problematic relationship dynamics, but the lead pair, Up Poompat Iam-Samang and Poom Phuripan Sapsangsawat, make it a guilty pleasure watch.
Directed by Pepzi Banchorn Vorasataree (KinnPorsche), “My Stand-In” spans 12 episodes and is based on the Chinese novel “Professional Body Double” (职业替身) by author Shui Qiang Cheng. Poom Phuripan Sapsangsawat plays protagonist Joe, a hard-working professional stuntman who often serves as a body double for famous actor Tong (Mek Jirakit Thawornwong). One day, the wealthy young Ming walks into the dressing room and hugs Joe from the back, mistaking him for Tong. (Ming has a back fetish, by the way, not even kidding). Joe falls head-over-heels in love with Ming, and the two start to date, only for Joe to realize Ming only sees him as a substitute for Tong. The two break up, and Joe dies while working on a new stunt job. But in a shocking twist of fate, he wakes up in a different body two years later, which belongs to a model called Joe. In what feels like a cruel joke, Joe once again finds his life repeating—he gets a job as Tong’s stunt double, and Ming hounds the new Joe.
This show heavily banks on the “bad boy” trope, which I am usually not a fan of, but there’s just so much drama, what with the supernatural body-swap twist, that you want to know what’s going to happen until the very end! Unlike the more plain series “Maxton Hall: The World Between Us,” which was oh-so-boring and also about the bad rich boy getting the good girl. Ming from “My Stand-In” is a young, brash, extremely jealous, possessive romantic lead who often tries to solve his problems with money or brute force. Ming is nuts, the kinds who will tie up a person, and hold them hostage until he gets his way, not a red flag, but the whole red nation. But Joe is mad about the boy, so he simply lets all his problematic behavior slide, happy to be by his side until he learns Ming isn’t in love with him. Joe is like that dog in the comedy movie “Strays”, who thinks his owner loves him to death, while in reality the dude is always trying to abandon the pup. So when Joe wakes up in a new body, he does try to avoid Ming like the plague but fails at it. But despite the new body, Joe is still the cute, sad, puppy, drawn to Ming like a moth to a flame, only to be burned.
Since iQIYI has a “cut” and “uncut” version of “My Stand-In,” I thought this was going to be a lot steamier than it is. But regardless, despite the messed-up personal dynamics between Joe and Ming, Up Poompat Iam-Samang and Poom Phuripan Sapsangsawat have good onscreen chemistry. I was skeptical about whether Up Poompat would be able to pull off the anti-hero shades of Ming, but he manages to make you hate his character, especially in the first half of the series.
Meanwhile, Poom Phuripan Sapsangsawat, who was last seen in “Bake Me Please”, is the standout star of “My Stand-In.” Like his character Joe, he might not have the dazzling personality of a superstar, but he is charming, sweet, and likable in his delivery, despite all the stupid decisions his character makes. Viewers will want to root for Joe’s success and well-being, and due to his desperate, hopeless attraction towards Ming, some viewers will also hope the jerk-of-a-brat Ming mends his ways. Poom shoulders the emotional scenes exceptionally well; there’s a scene in the second half of the show where Ming humiliates Joe, comparing him to a dog, so an exhausted Joe breaks into tears and tells him, “Sure, ask me for a paw; go ahead” The scene could’ve easily been one of the most cringe-worthy moments of the show but Poom makes it heart-breaking with his delivery.
“My Stand-In” is essentially Joe’s story, seen mostly from his viewpoint, and both the hero and villain of Joe’s story is his lover Ming. The next antagonist in their life is the manipulative Tong, the actor Ming crushes on, but their romance isn’t possible because Tong is in a relationship with Ming’s sister May (Shu Nunnicha Saehuang). However, Tong often meddles in Ming’s affairs. Mek Jirakit Thawornwong as Tong doesn’t really look like an action star, and the casting directors should’ve probably picked Inntouch Naphat Chalermphonphakdee, who plays Ming’s older brother Mike in the show, as Tong, but with a better hairstyle.
A lot of the supporting cast do not do their roles full justice. For instance, Porsche Tanathorn Charoenratanaporn plays Sol, a popular singer who is interested in Joe, so he poses a threat to Ming as a potential love rival. And even though Porsche looks cute as Sol, his portrayal of the character is annoying, and some of it is also the writers’ fault because Sol could’ve been a solid secondary lead, but much like Tong, he too is jealous, possessive, and manipulative, often trying to dictate to Joe what he should be doing, even though he has no stake in his life. Sorry, but I just wanted to swat Sol with a mosquito bat each time he appeared on screen. The actor who plays Joe’s mother is very wooden in her delivery, and while the actor playing Ming’s mother was more at ease in front of the camera, her role is a lot shorter.
Visually, “My Stand-In” makes for an engaging watch, with well-shot scenes. From outdoor bike stunts to indoor drinking parties, each setting is choreographed to entertain. One of the stronger elements of the show is the background music—the creators avoid stock tracks and comical sound effects and instead use a lot of original music. One of the songs that stood out most to me is a track by singer-songwriter Sin titled “The Chosen One” (เลือกแล้ว), which often plays during the romantic scenes.
Apart from the personal conflicts between the primary leads, “My Stand-In” also briefly explores the class divide between the ultra-rich Ming and the modest Joe, who struggles with his finances when he wakes up in a different body. The last two episodes squeeze in a lot of twists in the tale, including some ugly family conflicts, which get a too-easy conclusion in the end. The climax gives everybody a concrete resolutions, some who didn’t even need it, so at least the writers don’t forget any of their supporting characters. If you’re up for a “hero wakes up in a new body but finds himself trapped in old circumstances, including his toxic former lover” kind of tale, “My Stand-In” is an interesting series that might make your blood boil with some of its subplots but might also keep you satisfactorily entertained until the end.
You can stream “My Stand-In” on iQIYI.
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