Stupid Genius (2023)

A lovely, somewhat different BL high school series

Yes, this is a BL high school series, and no, it doesn't re-invent the wheel, but this short low budget production is a little different, and it has a lot more charm than many highly polished, expensive productions of the same genre.

The series tells the story of class 12 A 13 where all the bad students and troublemakers of the school are being dumped. The main couple are Thu Khoa (The Bang), a bad student who dreams of joining the national badminton team, and The Vinh (Tien Hai), a very good student who was sent to class 12 A 13 as a punishment for arguing with his teacher. Their story is a conventional ”opposites attract” story, and they have their little ups and down before their first shy kiss.

The second couple, who go from enemies, who play evil tricks on each other, to friends (though not really lovers), are Gia Ho (Thai Kiang) and Huynh Kha (Quoc Nam), and we have two yaoi fangirls, who fortunately aren't as OTT as in many other series, Thanh Thao (Cindy) and Bich Phuong (Tieu Thanh), the latter also reading tarot cards and providing love advice to whoever asks her for help.

I won't spoil the details of the plot but rather focus on the way the characters are being presented and develpoed, because it is surprising – and evidence of clever writing – that in only 6 episodes, most of which are well under 20 minutes, all the 6 main characters aren't one-dimensional at all, but have various character traits that do not only make them interesting, but each of them are also lovely in their own ways and thus soon intrude the viewers' minds and hearts. There isn't much to complain about, maybe just this – I hope the main couple actors are able to kiss better in real life than they do in this show.

There are also a male and a female teacher who seem to hate each other, but there's a surprise waiting after the credits of episode 6, so don't miss that!

Whereas a few actors have already played in RL Studio's series ”The Star Always Follows You”, most of the very young actors are rookies, but they are all pretty or handsome, and they are definitely all very talented. RL Studio is obviously very good at casting promising talents.

Of course it is plain to see that the series was produced with a low budget, but it doesn't come across as ”cheap” in any way. I have already mentioned the good writing and acting, and the same can be said with respect to directing (ThuHa), filming, and sound. The OST is a captivating song once again, and some of the background music makes me smile as it's good old 1970s Bert Kaempfert sound.

All in all, this is another lovely little series from RL Studio, and if you have one and a half hours to spare and are looking for solid, light entertainment, I can recommend you to watch this series.

Country: Vietnam (2023)

Episodes: 6 à ca 20 mins.

Director: ThuHa

Cast: The Bang, Tien Hai, Thai Kiang, Quoc Nam, Cindy, Tieu Thanh et al.