It’s surreal to watch Congrats My Ex, because the Thai production feels inspired by Indian romance films, with its musical numbers, elaborate dance sequences, and maximalist sets and costumes. With both India and Thailand culturally linked for centuries, it’s interesting to see how this film celebrates their commonalities. That being said, this film isn’t too focused on this, on the difficulties of having an intercultural, long distance relationship– it knows that it wants to be an over-the-top wedding rom com. It does overly rely on the standard rom-com tropes, with a dash of slapstick shenanigans, over-the-top wedding dramatics, and one too many reckless driving accidents. It’s still a fun watch for fans of Bella and Bright though, but it’s nothing new.
Risa agrees to organise an Indian wedding, only to find out that the groom-to-be is her ex-partner, Arun. To make things worse, she is forced to hire her other ex, Tim, as the photographer.
Unlucky-in-love Risa runs a struggling wedding planning business with her best friends Jan and Aoffy. A client can potentially save their company with a grand Indian wedding with plenty of guests, but turns out, the groom-to-be is her ex Arun, and the nearest photographer is her other ex Tim.
Congrats My Ex totally embraces the silly, trope-filled goodness of its premise, as Risa has to deal with exes for her work, which of course, leads to a cheesy fake dating scenario with the handsome Bright Vachirawit Chivaaree. Risa and her best friends introduce her lack of luck in relationships through a fun song and dance that quickly helps establish her background, and the cast seems to be having fun with slapstick, physical comedy. There’s also an interesting comedy aspect as the Thai wedding planners try to adjust with their Indian guests. However, aside from the cultural aspect, the humor isn’t new, and the insistent sound effects make it feel too much like signals to laugh. It’s lighthearted fun, especially for fans of Bella and Bright, but only if you’re already a fan of the standard rom-com tropes.
Yeah, your mileage of this film really depends if you like silly rom-com humor and if you’re already a fan of Bella and/or Bright.
