My Sweet Brother in Law

“My Sweet Brother-in-Law“ – Family Affairs The Vietnamese series “My Sweet Brother-in-Law“ (“Vụng trộm với anh rể“) appeared out of nowhere, and it’s been a big surprise. BL fans around the globe obviously liked it, as it has gained more than 2 million views accumulated on youtube within the four weeks since episode 1 aired. The story is quite unique in the world of BL. I won’t spoil too many details here, but the mere constellation of the characters indicates that there’s a lot of room for drama and comedy alike. Van Bao (Pham Cuong), a successful broker without a family, goes back to university to study economics and becomes assistant teacher Khanh’s (Nguyen Hoang Anh) lover. Without Khanh knowing, Khanh’s sister Huyen (Thanh Tham) has hired Van Bao as her alleged fiancé to cover her relationship with her girlfriend An Nhien (Thu Truc). Khanh thinks that Van Bao’s engagement with his sister is real, which infuriates him. On top of all this mess, Khanh is married with Tra (Bich Phuong) to please his family and cover that he is gay. The mess starts when Van Bao chases the attractive assistant teacher, who can’t resist the young man’s charm, while at the same time Van Bao is introduced to Khanh’s family as Huyen’s fiancé. As the plot develops, it becomes more and more evident that everybody is cheating on everybody else. While the viewer can excuse most of the protagonists’ cheating, as their actions are understandable and relatable, there is one character who is really evil, and that’s Khanh’s wife Tra. Not only does she cheat on her husband, who she only married for his money, but she also blackmails him and provides the tragic ending of the series. Khanh and his sister hiding their sexual orientation is due to the traditional, conservative values of their family, which mirrors the Vietnamese society like in a nutshell. Both siblings respect their parents and don’t want to hurt them by coming out, but their fake relationships – Khanh as Tra’s husband and Huyen as Van Bao’s fianceé – are bound to lead to tragedy. This series, short as it is, has it all – drama, comedy, spicy scenes and a tragic ending which, however, provides a glimpse of hope, and thus the possibilty of a second season. The writing (Nguyen Van Hoan) is good as it characterizes the protagonists well and finds the right balance of comedy and drama, which is excellently put into scene by director Vi Ha My. There’s no reason to complain of the production quality at all. The soundtrack is sensitive in every scene, and sound and coloring are better than in many more expensive series. This series is another example of the ability of Vietnamese production companies to produce good content with a limited budget. The complete cast is very talented. Bich Phuong comes across a little OTT in some scenes, but she thus manages to display her character’s malice. Nguyen Hoang Anh can do it all – grumpy in some scenes, naughty in others, and often hurt, insecure and guilty. For me it’s Pham Cuong, who steals the show, though, by brilliantly pulling off the contrast of the little devil and his angelic face. All in all, “My Sweet Brother-in-Law“ is another proof that it doesn’t need 12 hour-long episodes to tell a captivating story, and it also indicates that Vietnamese BL series can easily compete with the expensive Thai productions – money can’t buy creativity. It’s been a pleasure watching this series, and I hope to see more from this talented cast and crew. Country: Vietnam Episodes: 5 (à 13 – 20 mins.) Director: Vi Ha My Cast: Pham Cuong, Nguyen Hoang Anh, Thanh Tam, Thu Truc, Bich Phuong et al.