The weekend the Thai comedy mini-series begins running in Thailand on broadcast television. Up until now, it has only been available in that part of the world on Disney+. Now seems a good time to revisit my review which ran recently on SERENDIPITY.
A Midnight Series review, by Rich Paschall
Yes, I have been watching another Thai mini-series, and this time it is just for laughs. The Midnight Series is three separate mini-series, Dirty Laundry, Midnight Motel, and Moonlight Chicken. The first two are six episodes apiece and the last is eight episodes. If you are willing to suspend disbelief, as the saying goes, and laugh along, then these might be for you. The loose tie-in among the three is that the most significant action occurs at night.
Dirty Laundry stars Nanon Korapat as an aspiring murder mystery novelist named Night, who is doing his dirty laundry at a late-night laundromat and writing his mystery story as he waits. On the night shift at the laundromat is Neon (Film Rachanun). She envisions Night as her dream guy and loves watching him work. Neon has to put up with quite a collection of odd-ball late-night characters. One night Night saves her from an upset patron after her boyfriend has been coming on like a bright light to Neon.
Foei Patara plays Nick, an aspiring rock star, who is guilty of flirting with others. Jenny Panhan plays his girlfriend Smile who wants Nick to give her solos at his performances. Their fights and absurd attempts to play rock music at the laundromat give the GMM TV veterans an opportunity to “chew the scenery,” as yet another cliche saying goes.
Night’s flow of creativity is interrupted by the rockers, so he invites Neon to go get something to eat with him. “Is this what you call a date?” she asks. Night replies, “You can call it that.”
When they return from the “date” they find Judo (Pond Naravit) taking off his clothes and throwing them into a washing machine. They stop him before he goes too far. He says he is used to taking off his clothes. Later we find out he is an exotic dancer.
When Night leaves the laundromat he leaves a unique shirt behind. When he does not return to the laundromat, it will be Neon’s only lead to finding him. She gets the help of a friend to search the neighborhood by day looking for Night.
When she finds her way to the right apartment building she learns Night has not been there. She tricks her way into Night’s apartment looking for clues. When mobsters arrive, she hides in a closet where she finds a briefcase full of money. Of course, she leaves with the briefcase. Night figures out Neon stole it and he demands its return. That’s when we learn someone has stolen the stolen suitcase which was obviously already stolen. Got it?
Night and Neon will try to figure out who stole the suitcase while going through the list of characters who populated the late-night laundry. Night’s life could depend on returning the money to “Mama-san,” the leader of illegal businesses.
In addition to the rockers and the exotic dancer, they will have to consider Chompoo (Godji Tachakorn) the caretaker at the apartment building where Night lives. Also in the mix is a tone-deaf karaoke singer who is actually worse than the alleged rockers. They will need to track them all down, and of course, this will include going undercover, so to speak.
Night and Neon hatch a series of plans to try to find the stolen briefcase at each suspect one at a time. The misadventures and failed attempts will lead them to a final showdown in episode six.
Nanon Korapat has already proved his acting skills in a variety of roles and now gets to tackle a somewhat silly comedy adventure. Film Rachanun is the perfect partner in search of the real thief. Pond Naravit gets a turn at broad-based comedy and the chance to show off his…uh, dancing skills.
Foei Patara has played a large variety of characters at GMM and others. Here is a chance at some outrageous comedy. Foei has appeared in some serious stories recently including “10 Years Ticket” starring Ohm Pawat and the soon-to-be-released Double Savage, also starring Ohm.
Jenny Panhan is a go-to performer in comedic roles. She is also a frequent host and presenter on GMM. The entire cast has done well with this one and you will find no weak performances. Enjoy the adventure and the search for the stolen cash.
Find the Midnight Series including Dirty Laundry on the GMMTV YouTube channel with English subtitles. In Thailand and other SE Asia countries, you may need to find it on Disney+ Hotstar. Dirty Laundy began its run on GMM TV 25 on March 11.
rjptalk 