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From fleeing to a village due to girlfriend troubles to finding new love amid the rustic charm of rural life, ‘My Sweetheart Jom’ follows the journey of city boy Yothin (Poom Nuttapart Tuntistinchai) as he begins life under the protective watch of the charming village chief Jomkhwan (Saint Suppapong Udomkaewkanjana) a.k.a. Jom, the titular protagonist.
Directed by Wun Songsak Mongkolthong, the 12-episode Thai series is based on the novel Wanjai Phuyai Jom (หวานใจผู้ใหญ่จอม) by Naoto. The first episode opens with a retro-sounding Thai song playing in the background, introducing the charming and hardworking village chief Jom through beautiful rural montages as he helps out the locals. The scene soon shifts to the big city, where 19-year-old Yothin (also called Yo) lands in trouble after flirting with a singer named Mixx (Songjet Sarochinee Pethampai). Her trigger-happy, unhinged boyfriend Zack (Aon Akadech Jaroonsot) attempts to murder Yo, prompting his parents to send him away to the village of Po Chai, where they trust Chief Jom to keep their son safe.
‘My Sweetheart Jom’ is essentially a light comedy, featuring caricature-like villains and a slow-burn love story, with the community spirit and the silly shenanigans of its younger characters driving the plot forward. The first half of the series focuses on Yo’s attempts to annoy the patient, kind-hearted Jom in hopes of being sent back to the city. And Yo isn’t the only person living at Yo’s village home, there’s also his feisty granny Jan (Noi Phongam), and three other teen boys who often play pranks on the newbie.
A parallel sub-plot also follows Yo’s experiences as a student, as he is forced to join a local high school to finish his studies. There he faces a whole new set of challenges, including bullies and an overly enthusiastic class belle who’s determined to become his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Jom deals with trouble of his own in the form of Yingyos (Somlek Sakdikul), the scheming former village chief who constantly tries to sabotage his work. So both school drama and village politics collide in ‘My Sweetheart Jom’.
Saint Suppapong Udomkaewkanjana portrays Jom with a likable, casual grown-up charm and is the most composed character in the series. Jom always handles emergencies with calm composure, though he occasionally goes overboard in playing the ‘hero’ during dangerously violent scenes. Still, aside from a few impulsive moments, Jom is a model citizen, his willingness to tackle and explain things with sincerity gradually win over the brash, hot-headed Yo, prompting him to grow up and view the world from a more mature perspective.
Poom Nuttapart Tuntistinchai is slightly stiff in some scenes, but otherwise manages to be convincingly entertaining as the city brat who slowly transforms into a more grounded, humble new version of his past self in ‘My Sweetheart Jom’. The chemistry between Saint and Poom is cute, and the make the age-gap romance work, instead of making it seem cringe-y.
Given that each episode runs over 40 minutes, ‘My Sweetheart Jom’ occasionally drags in pace and suffers from continuity issues. For instance, in one scene, Yo leaves his phone in a vehicle and is dragged away by goons, only for the phone to mysteriously be back with him moments later. In another scene at school, a student puts her phone down on the ground when someone interrupts her live stream, yet viewers can somehow still see what she’s doing, even though the camera should be facing the ground or the ceiling.
An important theme in ‘My Sweetheart Jom’ is Jom’s strained relationship with his father, who finally makes an appearance in episode 6. Unfortunately, the actor doesn’t channel the aloofness and disappointment he supposedly feels towards his son Jom for choosing the simple life of a village head. But well, even though the more serious themes in the show aren’t explored well, the silly comedic parts keep things entertaining.
The climactic episodes of the show add some unnecessary drama by bringing Jom’s ex, Thee (Heng Asavarid Pinitkanjanapun), to Po Chai village, clearly to complicate the growing romance between Jom and Yo. Much like the show’s exaggerated antagonists, Thee ends up being a scheming, villainous “evil ex” who provokes Yo to act out of character. Of course, since this is largely a comedy-drama, things wrap up on a happy note, though the final two episodes are messier than expected. Overall, ‘My Sweetheart Jom’ is an amusing series, especially if you enjoy watching city brats struggle through countryside life.
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch ‘My Sweetheart Jom’ on YouTube.
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