Bad Genius Movie Review: This Year's Biggest Hit In Bangkok Is A Well Made Thai Movie About Cheating In Exams, Presented Like A Neat Thriller
The story concerns cheating in high school. The central character is Lyn Nilthep (the actress who plays her has a kilometric tongue twisting name, Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying), and we see her at the opening scene being investigated for cheating in her exams. In flashbacks, we see that she is a straight A student, smart but quite poor. Her dad, Vit (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), a lowly schoolteacher, wants her to go to an expensive private school, the best stepping stone to get to a prestigious college abroad, but they don't have the means. As luck would have it, a top elite school offers her a scholarship with free lunch.
Lyn is quickly befriended by Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan, a lookalike of our own indie actress Ana Luna), a rich girl who's not so bright. Grace wants to act in their school play but she can only do so if her grades are high enough, so she offers to play Lyn to help her pass her exams. Lyn agrees and soon, Grace's rich boyfriend, Pat (Teeradon Supapunpinyo, a young version of our own Diether Ocampo), and some other classmates are also asking for her Lyn's help. The money they pay her is extra income for Lyn and she saves them in her bank account. Lyn devises a plan where she uses her fingers like she's playing classical music on the piano to give them the correct answers in their exams. She does not feel guilty since their school, teachers leak exam papers to students in return for alleged tutoring fees.
The movie could easily be the story of an intrinsically good girl corrupted by peer pressure, but here, Lyn is shown enjoying being the criminal who masterminds the heist in their exams to pass various school exams. Chutimon succeeds in making the character of Lyn quite sympathetic even if you know what she's doing is wrong. To think she's better known as a model and this is just her first acting job. As the main protagonist, she is shown being detached at the start, what with being brainy something that is just natural for her. But then, she seems to welcome the challenge of putting one over the school authorities and we get to side with her and even wish she'd succeed in the illegal things that she is doing. But for her dad, it's more important that she is a good person first, more than just being successful, so when the truth is discovered, your heart goes out to both dad and daughter.
Both Eisaya as Grace and Teeradon as Pat give excellent support, both not so academically bright but playing their roles with so much charm that you also somewhat root for them. It is Chanon as Bank who has the most well defined character arc, stern and defiant at first but later on realizes he can wield his own power if given the chance. In the end, he's totally transformed and goes one step ahead of Lyn, but Lyn retreats.The movie is directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya (best known for the horror flick, "Countdown", which was set in New York), who also co-wrote it, and he succeeds in telling a gripping story and in giving his young cast terrific charaterizations to work with, better than the characters in the Hollywood TV series also set in high school, "Riverdale", where the characters are mostly stupid.
The cheating scenes are presented ingeniously and make the film work well, through taut editing, as a thriller similar to other Hollywood heist and caper flicks. His treatment of Lyn is quite resourceful, showing her reflection in scenes with multiple mirros to convey the various sides of who she is. In the end, we know that despite what happened, she is not really callous or cynical and there is redemption for her.
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Mr. Gay World 2017 Winner In Spain, John Raspado, Tries Acting For The First Time In The Daring Stage Play 'Solo Para Adultos'
Now, he's trying acting for the first time in the sexy stage play, "Solo Para Adultos", produced by Red Lantern Productions and directed by Bong Ramos. Why did he join showbiz only now when he's 30 years old and not when he was younger? "Actually, year 2000, nag-VTR na ako for auditions, pero hindi ako pinalad," he says. "Siguro dahil wala pa rin akong confidence noon. I was still a college student in St. Louis University in Baguio, where I finished marketing."
Has he always known that he is gay? "No. In college, may girlfriend ako, four years kami. It's only after college at napunta ko sa Manila to work here, doon ako nag-experiment. Now, may boyfriend ako who's based in Australia. Three years na kami, long distance relationship. He visits me and I also visit him."He's active in his advocacy, Responsible Sexual Behavior that fosters HIV Awareness, giving lectures to members of the LGBT community on safe sex.
In "Solo Para Adultos", he plays a top actor who's a closet queen. He'll have kissing scenes with Vivo Ouano who plays a masseur he falls in love with. Have they actually tried doing it? "No, rehearsals pa lang kami, so puro batuhan muna ng mahahaba naming linya. When the play was offered to me, natakot ako kasi wala naman akong experience sa acting. Pero sa sex, meron. Ha ha ha!"
Doesn't he get affected by Vivo? "Siempre, affected. Lalaki siya, guwapo, ang ganda ng katawan, mabait pa, e. E, gay ako. But I have to respect him, his boundaries, kasi may asawa't mga anak na siya. So parang kapatid na lang ang treatment ko sa kanya. Huwag na lang lagyan ng malisya dahil trabaho lang ito. Panoorin nyo na lang ang play namin sa Music Museum on October 20."
So he's ready to bare his body on stage? "Naku, e mataba ako ngayon. Kasi I fractured my hand at hindi ako nakakapag-workout so tumaba ako. I'm 6 feet tall. Dapat ang weight ko is 185 lbs. But now it's 200 lbs. So I have to exercise and lose weight for the play."
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