Make Up, Make Me Grow Up!

A movie with a message

I've been a fan of Wayufilm since I started watching BL series and movies, and there are two main reasons. The first is that Nitchapoom ”Nicchi” Chaianoun, screenwriter, director and the owner of Wayufilm, has a very good eye for young talents, and the second is that Nicchi manages to tell stories that touch viewers' hearts without being sentimental. For some time, it looked like Nicchi had lost his instinct for this kind of material, e.g. in some really unpleasant episodes of the ”LGBTQ+ Dramas”, but with short films like ”Make up, make me grow up!”, he's clearly back on track.

”Make up, make me grow up!” tells the story of Up (Nutto Nutdanai), a shy gay boy who is bullied at school because of his spots. When his long-time crush (Fongfong Pathomporn) rejects him, not only because Up is gay, but also because of his allegedly ugly face, Up is so depressed that he's about to jump from a bridge. At that moment, Mek (Jo Ronaporn) comes to his rescue.

Up seeks advice on the internet and covers his spots with make-up, transfers to a different school, and is suddenly popular – until by coincidence his make-up is washed off after he tries to help a bullied boy (Night Yodsakon). As kids gather round him, humiliating him, Mek comes to his rescue once again.

Up and Mek get closer, and after some time, when Mek mainly protects Up, they become boyfriends. Up throws away all the make-up items, after Mek has made it clear to him that Up's appearance doesn't matter to him. With growing self-confidence, the two boys make their relationship public, and are accepted by their peers.

The story isn't really unique – bullying and body shaming have been topics in many other BL series as well. It's the absolutely realistic way the story is told that makes it so lovely – it depicts the ugly side of today's youth culture, with real-life and cyber bullying, with the standards of young people's appearance raised by influencers as well as BL actors, who need...