Country Boy – Drama Review & Series Summary

Nabdao and his group of friends are from the city. The four of them go on a trip by the countryside, staying with a family at their rural lodgings. Unfortunately, the facilities are pretty run-down and there are no other visitors nearby. Nabdao's friends observe this place is strange and spooky.

At the lodgings, Nabdao and his friends are welcomed by an energetic young man named Keptawan, who lives here with his mother. Keptawan is a friendly host, eager to introduce the city slickers to local cuisine and recreational activities. All four of them appreciate his hospitality, showing them a view of the countryside they've never witnessed before.

Keptawan and his mother are pestered by a loan shark, who threaten to take away the lodgings if they don't pay an outstanding debt on time. Due to the pandemic, their business was severely impacted and they had to take out this loan to make ends meet. Now, they might lose ownership of this homestay, which means very much to Keptawan. To help out Keptawan, Nabdao and his friends decide to chip in to help the business thrive again.

To be honest, I have gone back and forth on my review of Country Boy, wondering if my score is too harsh. This short series is made by a small production company, which doesn't need me kicking it down with an overly critical review. Nonetheless, the truth is that I found Country Boy lacking as a BL series and cannot justify grading on a curve. It's a mediocre, mild-mannered love story without excitement. A higher score wouldn't be fair to other indie dramas that I simply enjoyed more.

When you only have an hour to tell a story, you have to be smart about your storytelling choices. Country Boy wastes too much time on scenes that don't matter. For instance, we don't need that first scene in the beginning with Nabdao and his friends at the café. Just start the series with the characters arriving at the lodging so that the narrative moves at a brisker pace. You only have a limited amount of time to get to the heart of the story. Be intelligent with your storyboard and focus on the more interesting moments.

Country Boy is also bogged down with too much exposition, all of which are delivered very clunkily. How many times must the characters emphasize that they're ~from the city~ before the plot point gets driven home? This leads to another problem, which is that I barely know anything about the protagonist, Nabdao. Okay, this guy is from the city and plays the guitar, but what else is there to his background or personality? Although Nabdao's actor (Mon) is extremely telegenic, his role is generic and there's no spark to his character.

For a low-budget production, Country Boy is filmed remarkably well. The countryside scenery looks stunning, captured majestically with artistic camera angles and bright vibrant colours. I'm impressed with the quality of the cinematography, which is Country Boy's strongest suit. I just wish the story made use of the location better. Let the characters explore the wilderness and experience the countryside with more outdoor activities. The characters keep repeating how great this place is — show us!

Unfortunately, the visuals cannot elevate the weak story or the nonexistent romance in Country Boy. The loan shark plot is unnecessary, clashing with the calm, gentle vibe of the series. There must be a better way to depict a struggling business than someone harassing a single mother & her son for money. As for the BL content, Nabdao and Keptawan are developed to an absolute minimum. The several scenes near the end might be enough to classify this series as BL, but barely so. Whether this is a bromance or a love story, Country Boy feels underwhelming either way.