FAST & FEEL LOVE (เร็วโหด..เหมือนโกรธเธอ) (2022)

Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Ter Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
Cast: Nat Kitcharit, Yaya Urassaya Sperbund, Potae Anusara Korsamphan, Primmy Wipawee Patnasiri, Pleng Keetapat Pongruea
Runtime: 2 hrs 12 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 12 May 2022

Synopsis: Kao, a thirty-something-year-old man, is the world’s fastest sport-stacking champion who is being challenged by kids around the world trying to break his world record. In the midst of this, Kao’s long-time girlfriend, who has taken care of him and everything else in his life, decides to end their relationship. Like Batman without his Alfred, the king in the world of sport stacking becomes a complete loser in real life. While Kao must keep up with up-and-coming stacking challengers, this glorious champ also needs to learn basic daily life skills. Whether it be laundry, mopping, ironing, grocery shopping, fixing the water pump or other trivial daily tasks. These simple chores for general people become uphill struggles for this sport-stacking master. Yet, the most difficult task of all for him is to figuring how to win back his girlfriend’s heart. 

Movie Review:

Everyone has a dream that they believe in. But how do you convince someone to believe that you can succeed with your dream if yours is one that is obscure and uncommon? Would one be able to grow and succeed despite the circumstances that one is in? Does one follow their dream or hold on to responsibilities that are essential?

“Fast and Feel Love” is about a thirty-plus year old man called Kao, who achieved to be the world’s fastest sport-stacking champion through sheer determination and great support from his girlfriend. When his girlfriend decides to break up to pursue her dream of leading a regular family life, he is now faced to maintain his world record with an upcoming competition and kids who are trying to break the record, while maintaining a regular life that he took for granted by learning regular household chores and basic stuff, and in the hope of regaining the love of his life.

One would look at the film’s poster and trailer and feel like that there is so much going in. And it is true. With a typeface of the film title looking suspiciously like a famous film franchise and a varied cast looking out intensely, one would definitely know that they would be taken on a long 2 hour ride of fun, madness and hilarity.

This romcom feels like it came out from a random action comic strip, with its extremely exaggerated and bombastic actions and lines, tastefully well-paced across the film’s entire duration, making the film easier to digest and less overwhelming. Yet, amidst this, time is taken with the plot, which is intriguing and detailed. While there were parts that seem slower, which nearly throws the pacing altogether, what was amazing is that care is taken to ensure that no detail is lost in all of the action.

What is even more amazing is that the storyline had many elements that engaged the viewers in many ways. From the love between the protagonist Kao and Jay, his girlfriend, to Kao feeling helpless and learning to be an adult, to finding help in the most unexpected way, the film’s storyline is liken to boiling soup, where despite the soup being hot, the flavours only come out after time has passed, and it is the slower pace of storytelling that makes the film appealing. What was also clever is the ‘introduction’ of sports stacking, which itself is a novelty and definitely one of the film’s pull factor, adding on to the hyped action and humour to the film and creating relevance to the plot.

Yet, it might slightly seem that “Fast and Feel Love” is sort of trying too hard to make one ‘feel love’ (or any emotions in the film for that matter) and be highly entertained within a certain span of time.

The film does very hard to connect with a wider international audience with multiple [mainly American] pop culture references, ranging from various comic universe to popular classic songs and even slight references to the rise of K-Pop popularity. While the references does add on to the humour on some levels, the extreme number of references within the 2 hours of the film seem a little like a desperate attempt to be likable on all grounds.

And like its pop culture references, jokes have been injected at so many moments, that what was supposed to be quite a comedy somewhat nearly turned a little stale, in its possible attempt to make the film as hilarious as possible.

Still, there is definitely no dull moment and so much feels with “Fast and Feel Love”. And with a lovable cast playing extreme characters, the film is made palatable and entertaining. Despite its questionable continuity and ‘lapses’ in the storyline, it still entices and engage the viewers in unexpected ways, through its novel and clever storytelling.

Overall, this feel-good, slightly over-the-top film exaggerates, yet entertains and educate. One would leave the cinema reflecting a little about life’s choices and the importance of having great support. Because, after all, like in the film, you need the right place grows and future. And maybe our dreams, no matter how big or small, and how long we take to achieve it, there will eventually be growth somehow.

Movie Rating:

(A fun action-packed romcom that does not bore even the most jaded of audience. Worth watching if you want to have fun and not think too much.)

Review by Ron Tan