I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
Ricky is a star who is gay and is into drama and musicals big time. Ricky’s dream is to move to New York and become a Broadway legend. But he also has flaws because he always looks down upon everyone, cares only about himself, has massive insecurity. A quintessential Divo, a male Diva. But money is tight and he needs to win scholarship to go to college. Things change when Josh, the school basketball star, shows up for audition for the musical having broken his arm and unable to play the game. Surprisingly they both get selected as co-leads to play one night each. After understanding why Josh wanted to do theater, Ricky took him under his wing. But as time passed, Ricky began to realize that helping Josh might have been a mistake. Then it all turns sour, as Josh is bitten by the acting bug and turns all his competitive energies toward 'winning' on the stage, and driving Ricky out. They both try to outdo each other and eventually thanks to jealousy, they both end up losing. But hey get an interesting life lesson that even though hone door may close, life will present you with multiple opportunities.
You should not take this script or the film very seriously. This is here to entertain and entertain it does. Ricky is clearly a star and you would expect him to be humble, but he is sassy. And with hJosh, you would expect hatred towards LGBT folks but he turns out to be equally opportunist, not willing to lose out his new found passion for musicals and taking it all away from Ricky. Isn't his what high school is about? Jealousy, being mean etc. Thankfully, most of the side characters have also been given decent space and opportunity to shine. Everyone’s carrying their own baggage and while certain people do have an air of confidence about them, that doesn’t mean they aren’t fighting insecurities. Ricky's acting was a bit OTT but I think that was expected. Josh fits the part well. Ricky's side kick, gender fluid Michael are 2 characters that stand out. Thankfully, no forced romance was shown between the boys. Their sexuality just happened to be just there. It was just a silly one-man upmanship about 2 high school boys.
It’s a queer-centric comedy that knows it’s crazy and has a lot of heart. My ratings are a bit low since these kind of campy films are not normally my kind of thing. But on a sad day, I can see this film bringing a smile to your face. (5.5/10)
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