Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Two feuding neighboring uncles hate each other so much that their young sons too constantly fight and compete with each other. Remind you of anything? Because the opening minutes of ‘Match Point’ felt like a re-worked version of Thai romantic-comedy ‘Bad Buddy’, except that this one is a high-school romance with tennis settings.
Directed by Chic Sakon Tiacharoen, ‘Match Point’ pretty much gives away its entire setup within the opening minutes: Sun (Ping Krittanun Aunchananun) is a rising tennis star, while his neighbor Bay (Teshow Promsakha Na Sakonnakhon) dreams of studying art in Italy. Despite their very different aspirations, the two are constantly bickering and causing chaos at school.
When Bay enters a tennis tryout just to annoy Sun, an injury causes Sun to lose to him. When the school arranges a rematch, their fathers place a bet that the losing side will have to shut down their shop. However, sports coach Kong (Chimon Wachirawit Ruangwiwat) has a very different idea: he thinks the rivals would make a great doubles team.
The first two episodes of ‘Match Point‘ are probably the most challenging part of the show. You’re not quite sure if the leads have any chemistry, the plot is predictable, and there doesn’t seem to be much here for anyone who’s already watched Bad Buddy. But from Episode 3 onward, Teshow Promsakha Na Sakonnakhon might begin to grow on you as Bay, whose real reason for constantly messing with Sun is simply that he wants to be around him.
Bay has a huge crush on Sun and soon starts acting on his feelings, revealing a playfully jealous streak along the way. Sun isn’t quite sure if he feels the same way, but he’s happy enough to let Bay woo him, kicking off a cute secret romance, because obviously they can’t let their maniacal fathers find out they’re actually on the same side. Soon enough, ‘Match Point’ becomes a fun teen rom-com about sports, arts, first love, and fighting for what you want.
Chai Chartayodom Hiranyasthiti (Thinnakon’s dad from ‘Edge of Horizon‘) plays Sun’s father Chun, who runs a dim sum restaurant and absolutely hates Bay’s dad Bee (Am Amarin Nitibhon) after the latter starts a similar business and allegedly steals Chun’s family recipe. Both fathers constantly pressure their sons to outdo the neighbors, and the consequences of that rivalry aren’t always funny. Bee’s older son Boat (Sing Harit Cheewagaroon) drops out of medical school because he’s unable to keep up, only to be made to feel guilty and worthless when his father tells him not to let anyone find out.
Chimon Wachirawit Ruangwiwat’s Coach Kong sometimes looks more like a student than a teacher, but he has such great screen presence that hopefully we’ll see him back in lead roles again soon. A small subplot hinting at a potential romance between Kong and Bay’s older brother Boat, who used to be his classmate, feels underdeveloped, though. The show should’ve simply left them as old friends looking out for the teenagers without trying to squeeze another romance into the mix.
One of Match Point’s biggest strengths is its likable cast and the way it consistently keeps tennis an integral part of the story without overdoing the sports angle. Although, in one of the show’s more jarring and unintentionally hilarious visual choices, Sun’s bedroom is filled with AI-generated anime pictures of tennis players instead of posters of actual sports stars. And you keep seeing his bedroom through ‘Match Point’, so it was just bizarre and silly.
It’s also funny that the teenagers often turn out to be far more mature than their constantly feuding fathers. In one memorable line, Sun points out that sometimes people can have their “coming-of-age moment at 50.” And that’s really one of the major themes of Match Point: the fathers gradually realizing that their irrational grudge isn’t just affecting them, but everyone around them. By the climactic episodes, they’re finally forced to do some growing up of their own.
Match Point might be marketed as an enemies-to-lovers story, but it’s really a pretty sweet friends-to-lovers romance. Ping Krittanun Aunchananun and Teshow Promsakha Na Sakonnakhon make a cute onscreen pair as two teenagers working towards their individual goals while also working to make their relationship work despite family differences. The finale gives them the bright, happy ending they deserve and everybody gets to score in the end.
Watch ‘Match Point’ on YouTube.
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