‘My School President’ Review – Wholesome!

By Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

‘My School President’ is a Thai teen romantic-comedy series that delivers everything one would expect from the genre. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, is filled with silly-sweet high school protagonists who fight, rejoice, cry and laugh over little things. Fans who enjoyed watching GMMTV’s ‘Bad Buddy’ might like this even better. I sure did!

Directed by Au Kornprom Niyomsil, ‘My School President’ is spread over 12 episodes and stars newcomers Gemini Norawit Titicharoenrak and Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul. Gemini plays class topper Tinn who has a secret crush on Gun the lead singer of the school’s music club which is on the verge of being disbanded. Keen on winning over Gun, Tinn becomes the school president to help save the music club, only to realize they have a strict rule – members cannot date anybody unless they win the ‘Hot Wave’ music contest. Will Tinn be able to win over the headstrong Gun who thinks the school president is out to sabotage the band?  

I could turn this review into a little listicle about a bunch of things to like about this breezy fun series and the first on the list would be the music. A lot of Thai dramas, especially the high-school themed ones, have songs peppered throughout the show and my first instinct is to fast-forward them. But that wasn’t the case with ‘My School President’, which has a lot of songs, but they were all well sung and entertainingly shot. Gun’s band ‘Chinzilla’ records a video cover of ‘Just Being Friendly’ by Thai band Tilly Birds to enter the ‘Hot Wave’ contest and the series’ version is brilliant. All the actors have sung their own bits and Fourth has a distinctive smooth voice that’s unlike his mischievously charismatic personality. Sattang Kittiphop and Ford Arun play fellow band members Sound and Por respectively and have pretty good vocals too, especially Ford who can hit high notes really well.

Except for the finale, ‘My School President’ is consistent in pace, the romance is cute and cheesy, the jokes are all kiddish but absolutely work for the script because it is set in high school. Gemini and Fourth’s chemistry is adorable, the two light up the screen with their harmless flirting on campus. In fact, Gemini also gets to sing a few songs, one of which is his debut single titled ‘Hook’ – the lyrics are a mash of popular Thai song titles and he sings it to Gun in a syrupy sweet scene. There’s even a flash mob dance performance by the boys in episode 7, which was surprisingly fun.

In a wise decision, there aren’t too many sub-plots and the few with other supporting characters complimented the overall stories and didn’t feel unnecessary. Winny Thanawin plays Win, the hot-headed guitarist of ‘Chinzhilla’ who has an ‘enemies to lovers’ plot with Sattang’s character Sound. The two had minor forgettable cameos as friends in ‘Fish Upon Sky’ but leave a stronger positive impression in this series. Mark Pakin Kunaanuwit should get a ‘best friend of the year’ award for portraying Tinn’s buddy
Thiuson who constantly schemes and plots to get his friend the boy of his dreams. Aun Naupat felt a little wasted in his small but well-acted cameo as Khajorn, he has been in many shows (‘Enchante’, ‘Star and Sky’), and it seems like he can pull of bigger roles but isn’t getting his due. Tao Sarocha Watittapan and Lookwa Pijika Jittaputta play Tinn and Gun’s moms respectively; the two mothers are poles apart in their personalities but their love for their sons are heart-warming. The boys’ sexuality and their parents’ reactions to their children’s choices are tackled sensitively.  

Screenwriters Pratchaya Thavornthummarut, Bee Pongsate Lucksameepong have done a fantastic job with this series. From the colorful sets, snappy outfits, to scenes filled with high-school nostalgia, ‘My School President’ gets all its ingredients right. Episode 12 was a little drawn and had a serious conflict which wasn’t really in sync with the rest of the show’s mood. However, things are smoothened out and the climactic scenes were cuteness overload.   

It’s a 9 on 10 from me. Stream the show for free on GMMTV’s YouTube Channel.