Mauilifeforme

Living here on Maui, I looked forward to watching The White Lotus, filmed at the Four Seasons Hotel at Wailea.

Opening scene of the local terminal at Honolulu Airport was my first exposure to the off-putting yellow filter used throughout the series.

The yellow filter absolutely ruined and deliberately misled viewers as to the normal intense beautiful color shades abundant on Maui.

Particularly affected by this horrible yellow filtering is the color of the ocean, the flowers and fauna, and the sunsets.

Patently abusive of ugly filter.

I hope at sometime in the future a non-yellow filter season 1 version is released.

I loved listening to the Hawaiian chants throughout the episodes,at beginnings and ends of each episode, however, the insipid jungle caricature background music in many episode scenes was annoying and distracting.

Note to the producers: don't disrespect Hawaiian culture in your next series foray filmed in Hawaii.

I downvoted this series for the yellow light and insipid music.

Only two actresses worth watching in season 1: Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Joylene Purdy as Lani

Both of these women portrayed their job and life situation very true to form of service industry workers here on Maui.

I rate each of them as "10" for their performances.

The remaining actors, actresses, and acting in the season 1 series is stilted, disappointing, and predictably annoying. Satire? Stupid lines and mechanical performances for a paycheck, not well acted satire, in my opinion.

After watching season 1, if season 2 opens with yellow filtering, I won't waste my time viewing it.

Summarizing my review: Season 1 of The White Lotus is a waste of anyone's time and not worth watching if you're hoping for a well written and acted series set with a true depiction of Maui daylight and evenings and its rich cultural heritage as the background.

This program is as "The Ugly American" as you can get, and very disrespectful of Maui, Hawaii, and Hawaiians.

I'm a romantic at heart and truly enjoy the boy meets girl, they fall out, and, then get back together storylines.

A little drama in the middle of the movie to make it possible for the reconciliation and live happily ever after romantic endings.

In other words, escaping from our normal lives and a respite for an hour or two from the non-stop drama in the real world.

A beautiful smile, eyes that light up when the romantic leads see each other, holding hands, etc., etc., etc.

So, spoiler alert here: I am not a happy camper with the Eddie Akau twist added to the end of this movie.

For those of you reading my comments, look up the movie "Eddie Would Go", or do a search of his name, and you'll find out quickly enough about how this movie ends.

Please don't get me wrong, I truly enjoyed the overall progression of the movie, enthusiasm by the actors and actresses, and a fairly genuine depiction of how I as a haole American have been experiencing the Phillipine culture with my own Filipina.

With that in mind, I will be a little more careful in my choice of Phillipine romance movies if I want a Hallmark ending.

FWIW, I too, lost a lover in a tragic accident as a young adult, and this movie hit hard, despite its gentle and respectful portrayal of how sometimes it's real life, not make believe.

Thanks for reading, and, that's about all I have to say on the matter.

Yes, it's a schmalzy romance; quirky, cheesy, and at times awkward.

That said, I enjoyed seeing my mature province Filipina partner stay up late and enjoy a Tagalog language movie she could relate to through her own life experiences.

Romance movies in any language are meant to be escapism from daily lives.

This one does that.

Plot line is predictable, including the ending.

Enjoy it with an older Filipino friend and read the sub-titles while the lilt of Tagalog and actor's smiles carry through the less than perfect technical moments critics love to cite as failings.

Romance still wins in the end.