dramasoliloquy | Drama Review: Awayjee See Chompoo

My first drama review!!! I decided to follow a certain template and I try to be as spoiler-free as possible. I rate dramas as follows: Wow, Great, Good, Okay, Mediocre, Poor, and Awful. I just recently finished watching this 2008 Thai lakorn Awayjee See Chompoo so decided to start with a review of it. Enjoy!

Drama Title: Awayjee See Chompoo
English Title: Pink Hell/Abyss of Hell is the Colour of Pink
Genre(s): Romance, Drama, Comedy, Marriage, Coming of Age
Original language: Thai                                                               Year: 2008
Episodes: 12                                                                               Pacing: Slow and easy, varies a bit
Director: ?                                            Screenwriter: ?
Actors/Actresses: Por Tridsadee, Ja Jittapa

Major Themes: Money is the root of all evil. Don't believe me? Watch this lakorn. The relationship of everyone to Pawalam is tainted by money. At times, it's truly moving to see Pawalam suffer because of this.

In Brief: A 16 year old girl named Pawalam marries a much older man Bapok (probably at least 13 years older) due to her dying mother's wishes. Her mother wanted to protect her from her grasping and greedy relatives as the girl is a heiress.

The story takes place over the span of 4+ years and we see Pawalam growing up and the developing relationships she has with Bapok and her relatives.

Cast of Characters: Por as Bapok, Ja as Pawalam. There's also loyal servant Taan, Pawalam's relatives and friends. Nat Legrend plays Wepak, Pawalam's boy friend.

Favorite Scenes: There were many scenes where meaningful looks were exchanged between the main couple. I love meaningful glances. No kisses in this lakorn. Boo!

In particular, there is this one scene later in the lakorn where Bapok is comforting Pawalam. And even though he doesn't want to, and she doesn't want him to, he lets go of her.

Memorable Dialogue: (Spoiler highlight to read) Talking about his marriage to her and if it's like being in hell, Bapok tells Pawalam he would go to the deepest depths of hell for her. (Awww. Or um, well... At least it's memorable, not sure I would want a guy saying that to me, but anyway.) I think it's a reference to the title.

Music/Cinematography/Sound: I can't really say anything stood out to me. There was one scene where the lights were truly beautiful. Can't say more, don't want to spoil it.

Pet Cliches (Pros): Marriage of Convenience, Older Guy, Younger Girl, Farm Girl, City Guy,

Pet Peeves (Cons): Lame Second Male Leads, Annoying Relatives, Over-Protective Male

Why You Might Not Like It?: If you prefer angst and melodrama, well, this only has a little of that. The plot can be somewhat meandering at times as well.

There were also a couple of instances where almost the exact same scene was repeated. If it had occurred more times, that would have lowered the rating considerably.

Reminds Me Of: My Little Bride (2004 Korean movie), My Wife is 18 (2002 Hong Kong film) – both features young brides married to much older guys.

Skim Through: There's a group of Pawalam's friends that I didn't care about and I found their scenes together skim through worthy.

(Loyal worker Taan, Bapok watching the girl he loves go off with someone else)

Smiles: I really liked this character Taan in the lakorn. He always had words of wisdom to say, and was smart and capable. Cool dude.

I also liked Por's acting in this drama. There were moments I really felt for his character.

(Some of the less cringeworthy outfits, Cute, but wooden Wepak)

Frowns: Really, the outfits that the main actress Ja wore were atrocious. Seriously, I know they were trying to make her look young, but you can look young AND pretty. Gosh, they were sooo unflattering on her, not to mention her hairstyle.

Also, the second male lead Nat's acting was a big no-no. He's okay to look at, but totally wooden in his acting as Wepak.

Finally, I hated the fact that the older people kept a lot of things from Pawalam that they should have revealed sooner to help her make better and wiser decisions.

Parent's Rating: PG-13 There is some violence, nothing at all beyond what you'll see in any tv show, and the grandfather's always waving a gun around threatening people.

If You Like This, Try: Taddao Bussaya (2010 Thai lakorn) – it features Por as the male lead again, and he's in love with a younger ~~boy,~~ girl disguised as a boy. Or Sweet 18 (2004 Korean drama) – An older man, younger girl story again of a married couple, it's quite different from this lakorn, but still features the story of a slowly developing love.

Where to watch it?: Online at viki.com

Final rating: Good.
Overall, a nice love story. I found the scenes without the main couple's interaction rather boring, but still, this is a good, not great lakorn.