Live in Love Review: Join Some Other Live-Stream
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One of the best things the creators of Live in Love do is limit the series length to five episodes, as they didn’t have much of a plot to work with. Directed by Ball Kanathorn Tabvilai (Night Dream, Twins), the series is adapted from a novel by Yeonim and stars Hearth Chindanai Dechawaleekul as university heartthrob Kla, who is always turning people down until he meets the cute Cake (Junior Chokkorn Deotrakul) during a live-stream.
The show is very Gen-Z themed, with most of its characters being small social media influencers in their own right. Everyone is always live-streaming—talking to followers, singing, playing games, and chatting. The protagonist, Kla, is a straightforward, no-nonsense kind of guy who is extremely popular with both girls and guys. However, he never accepts gifts, food, or any other tokens people send his way to win him over. He also wastes no time in asking Cake out, being quite sure of his feelings, and luckily for him, Cake is also interested. Khing (Nina Pichayanin Pichayadechakarn), a classmate who has a huge crush on Kla, teams up with her best friend Gina (Mimi Ruethaiphat Phatthananapaphangkorn) to sabotage Cake and Kla’s relationship. At first, the antics of these two BFFs is sort of comedic, but as the show progresses Khing gets unacceptably evil.
Hearth Chindanai Dechawaleekul exudes very little charm as Kla and is miscast in the role. Out of the dozens of male characters in Live in Love, almost 70% have better screen presence. For instance, Haii Sarunsathorn Tanawatcharawat, who was last seen playing the lead in Chains of Heart, has a supporting role as Cake’s classmate and instantly seems more suited for a character like Kla. Junior Chokkorn Deotrakul on the other hand is adorable as Cake, but the character is boringly one-dimensional.
A secondary subplot follows Kla’s best friend Poon (Boat Napat Srinakluan), who is always hanging out with Gam (Tiger Tanawat Hudchaleelaha), hinting at a possible romance between the two. This second pairing is cuter, even though their romantic progression is clichéd. Poon and Gam are ‘shipped’ together online, and while they try to cash in on that, soon, their ship sails for real.
While Live in Love starts as a very social media-centered romantic comedy, the climactic twists in the last episode are ridiculous. One of the antagonists attempts to have Cake drugged and sexually assaulted by a group of thugs. Even though Cake is saved from the ordeal in the nick of time, the schemer gets away with their crime due to their wealthy background. The worst part is that she is eventually forgiven and befriended by the main group.
Overall, Live in Love is a chaotic mess, and you’d be better off watching something else.
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