Crazy Little Thing Called Love:
Thai Movie Review
Crazy Little Thing Called Love or First Love (also in some sites they refer to it as A Little Thing Called Love) is one of the few Thai movies that I have seen. To be honest I was not interested at Thailand‘s entertainment industry until I saw this film. Basing from the title, even before seeing the trailer it is easy to infer that this is aromantic-comedy film, and it is. Moreover it is about young love, more than 90% of the story are set in the characters’ high school life; this adds up to the movie’s lightness because of the then innocence of the young characters. Everyone who has been through high school and has had experience(s) of “love/infatuation/it-is-just-your-hormones-working-kid” can relate to this, as they have included in the trailer “this is a true story of everyone”. After seeing the film, I knew that this movie has been automatically added to my top feel-good films. It is a film one can easily relate to, laugh at, and for the girls the main lead guy, Mario Maurer or Shone (in the movie) is an eye-candy.
I was surprised that even if this is a Thai film of a love story among high school kids and high school life in general, there is not much difference with how things are in the Philippine setting. I went to high school in the Philippines and I laughed most of the time when I was watching the film because it has a lot of resemblances to my high school experiences. I don’t get this feeling a lot when I watch teen-movies from the West orHollywood because Hollywood teeny-bopper movies despite the age-group they were intended for are still commonly filled with sex, sometimes drugs, and other trashy stuff (case in point: 10 Things I Hate About You, Mean Girls, etc..). I am not bashing Hollywood teenage films, nor do I deny that some Asian teenage films feature the concept or act of sex in it (although I don’t know of any) but it is not prevalent as withWestern films. I guess what I am just trying to say that as a Filipina who grew up in the Philippines I identify with some Asian films more than I do with Hollywood films,this could be because of the disparity of cultural values between the East and the West.
The story’s main plot is mainly on Nam, a dorky looking girl with all the glasses and braces who then fell in love with probably the cutest guy in their high school, Shone. Nam tries to get Shone through all the ways she can muster; there was a time when Nam’s friends tried to make her skin whiter but in the end it turned out so yellow that Shone asked Nam if she had jaundice. Alas, her deep desire for Shone resulted to a better Nam. She became one of the prettiest girls in their high school and also the smartest. But up until the last part of the film (which already set in their last days as high school seniors) there was no clear-cut sign that Shone feels the same for Nam. I wouldn’t say the ending but of course you do have some ideas how romantic-comedies end.
Let me highlight some good points and a few bad points of the film.
Let me start with the bad:
- The film showed that in order to be more beautiful you have to be whiter. This is a rampant distorted concept of beauty here in the Philippines, I was surprised to know that it is also the same for Thailand. I mean deal with it, as Orients that is our heritage and we should be proud of it. Case in point: the new Ford Supermodel of the World, Danica Magpantay is a Filipina whose skin is light brown or kayumanggi. Being brown or tanned does not amount to being less pretty. So to girls out there who are kayumanggi, cheer up because you are beautiful.
- I didn’t like the fact that Nam improved herself solely because of a guy. There is much more to woman empowerment besides impressing a guy of our interest.
Okay, before I garner any haters here are the good points:
- The friendship between Nam and her friends. It is so genuine and honest to goodness. It reminds me of my high school girlfriends and just as how we would help each other with our school work and much more with our “love” lives. It is also nice that at the last part of the film, when they were already yuppies, the four of them are still together (this isn’t the same with me and my pals….awww)
- Mario Maurer is an eye-candy (need I say more?).
- The Confession Part: the film made it clearer on this part that Nam’s love is genuine and pure. She kept it for three years and knew the right words to say came the day she told Shone about it. This scene is heart breaking (will not give any spoilers) but there is an honesty in this scene that still tugs my heart each time I think of it.
- Soooo high school. Signing each other’s shirts and scrap books at the last day of their high school is just soooo high school. Of course there are other high-schoolish stuff in the film, but I laughed at this one the hardest because it is the same as mine.
- Shone’s character is not a jackass. I’ve seen some films where the lead female character fell for a jackass.
- As I have already said, most people can identify with the film.
- The comedy.
This is just some of my thoughts about the film. Please leave a comment if you have some. Thanks! 