Mario Maurer, Pimchanok Luewisetpaiboon, Tukky Budprom, Peerawat Herabut, Pijitra Siriwechapun, Akarabut Ariyaritwikul, Kachamas Promsakha Na Sakonnakorn

First love gets another cinematic spin with A Crazy Little Thing Called Love, a 2010 teen romance featuring popular Thai heartthrob Mario Maurer (Love of Siam). Pimchanok Luewisetpaiboon stars as Nam, a plain high schooler in love with handsome upperclassman Shone (Maurer). Shone seems far out of reach for Nam, but instead of giving up she uses her ardent crush to improve herself, hoping that one day Shone will notice her. He eventually does, as Nam blossoms from awkward duckling to graceful swan, but their precious, fleeting high school years bring more than just a change in Nam's looks. Things change, people change, interest rates fluctuate - the whole shebang occurs. By the time Shone graduates, will he see how much Nam loves him? Or will he choose one of the 30 other girls pining for his super desirable self?

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love belongs to a standard genre and appeals to an obvious demographic, but we shouldn't hold those things against it. Directors Puttipong Promsakha Na Sakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong never lay the familiarity on too thick, opting for pleasant sentimentality over sappy melodrama. The film opens with a peek at the future plus a voiceover indicating that things didn’t turn out so well for our star-crossed couple. That’s fine, as first love tales are frequently satisfying because they don’t offer the mega-mega happy ending. We’ve all experienced this painful part of growing up, so it’s acceptable when first love romances play the unhappy ending card. When viewed through the forgiving rose-colored lenses of nostalgia, the film's cheesy interludes, familiar character bits and overused plot devices work. Clichés come from somewhere and there’s a right time to use them. This is that time.

Helping matters are the lead actors. As Nam, Pimchanok Luewisetpaiboon is fresh-faced and believable as both a plain Jane and a suddenly popular sweetheart. Her transformation is a little too extreme – Nam seemingly gets her skin whitened several shades in only a few short days – but the film’s relaxed, languid way with time passage kind of excuses that. Super credit goes to Mario Maurer, who’s so dreamy, handsome and charismatic as Shone that it shames lesser beings. Maurer never overplays his hand as Shone, such that the character’s revelations are affecting and even beguiling – though really, Shone is probably too perfect to ever be considered realistic. Still, this is light, fluffy and innocent stuff, so unrealistically perfect characters are easy to forgive. It’s all part of the genre, so either get with it or go watch a Larry Clark film.

Unfortunately, nostalgia and genre aren't an excuse for everything. In a slight surprise, [POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT] the filmmakers definitively reveal the even-further-into-the-future destiny of their characters, leaving absolutely nothing to doubt, chance or the audience's imagination. It's a move that may satisfy a certain type of audience that needs a resolution, but it also negates the emotions that make bittersweet first love romances successful. This is a small but crucial misstep in a film that largely gets a pass on its commercial concessions – of which there are quite a few, from obnoxious comedy relief to maudlin sentimentality to gross product placement (apparently, Nam and Shone’s school is owned by Pepsi). Still, if the measure of a film is how much it does right versus what it does wrong, then A Crazy Little Thing Called Love gets an automatic and welcome pass. (Kozo, Reviewed at the Udine Far East Film Festival, 2011)