Two Fathers

Why is Daddy suddenly interested in helping out Wendi with her homework? Daddy's not the type to understand his own motivations or actions. Papa is much better at that, and Papa is always the one who helps with homework. Never Daddy. So, WHY? Because, Daddy has newfound motivation, and this is one of the funnest onscreen couples EVER. Really! Tang & Fang are a blast. With 73 ~ Seventy-three ~ yes, 7~then-3, episodes, they have plenty of time to take their time. Not only with Tang (Daddy) & Fang, but with Wen (Papa) & Wu, too. They are all as cute as "lost Blackie" posters.

The premise is almost a nonstarter. Two guys are summoned to the ob-gyn office where they learn that one of them is the father of baby Wendi. Mom didn't know which one. Mom doesn't care. She's left the kid to them to sort it out. She's going to pursue her dream🇺🇸.

That isn't what's implausible. What is utter nonsense is that these 2 (heterosexual) dudes decide to raise Wendi together. Whose-yer Daddy, Wendi? Forget biology. She's got a Daddy and a Papa. I can roll with any premise as long as the execution is good. This is not an easy one. Time travel is more believable, but let's see where it goes... even with it being threescore and thirteen eps, let's see where it goes, I thought.

2F is a 2013 release that answers the question: "Papa, what happens when 2 friends want the same thing?" After baby Wendi's living status was decided, here's what happens next:

It was just a trip to the supermarket.

Megan Laai is "Fang" Jing Zhu. Yes, she just hit another car in the grocery store parking garage, Since dad runs a body shop it isn't that big of a deal. She leaves a note for the owner of the abused car and continues with her errand, when she meets a horrible man. She'd been trying to get that last box of chocolate for at least a minute. She can just brush her fingertips on it. Viola! Her savior appears! But he pops those confections into his /own/ cart. After Fang objects, he counters by telling her that if she wants to get something from the top shelf, she should grow an inch. 😤 How RUDE! Next, she runs into an adorable father and daughter. They end up helping her out of an embarrassing situation.

Back home, dad isn't happy about her causing more trouble. He'll fix the stranger's car, but he won't fix hers. She'll never learn if he keeps fixing her mistakes. Dad shouldn't be getting Fang upset b/c tomorrow is her first day as a teacher. (Dad, btw, says some of the most horribly obnoxious things, but he gets away with it because he's just so dang cute).

The next morning, guess who's in her class? Fang discovers that the 2 men she met-a-marketing are the fathers of Wendi, her student. Not only is Mr. "Grow-an-inch" rude in supermarkets, but he is also a mean school parent. He's also the owner of the car she struck. This guy's cheap, too. She knocked off his side mirror, but he's asking her father to fix his bumper as well. Oh, he's the PTA rep, /of course/. Worst of all, he is a lawyer😱! It is going to be a long year.

Weber Yang plays Mr. "Grow-an-inch" "Tang" Xiang Xi, or "Clueless Monster," as Fang calls him. He calls her Ms "Rear View Mirror," and that's where he wants to see her, both personally and professionally (he's guessing her teaching is as good as her driving). But he can't seem to actually put her in the rear view mirror. He is clueless, EQ-wise. Human emotions are nonsense to him. He cares about facts and results, and WENDI. He has no inkling of his developing feelings for Ms Fang, though there's sparks from the start.

The other father, Wen, sees it all. He's darling with his tousled bedroom hair. A born nurturer, he enjoys cleaning and cooking. Wen sees what is happening: Fang and Tang are getting tangy together. They are like magnet and steel, to borrow from Walter Egan. Wen is now in a deep personal conflict. The primary house rule is that they never, ever, NEVER fall for the same woman again. That's how they ended up co-parenting Wendi. Wen sort of likes Fang, so he is depressed.

The alien, Wu Yong Jie can see that. As an artist, she sees colors around people that broadcast their moods. Ms Wu is strange ~> Even for an artist ~> Think Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club. She isn't good at self-care. She refers to her cat, Blackie, as a roommate. She doesn't clean or groom. She just draws all day. Her apartment smells. Wen had to collect the overdue HOA fee from her and he was horror-stricken at first sight. Wendi bonded with Wu straight away, though. Wu agreed to teach Wendi how to draw, a deal that the 2 women struck while ignoring Wen's protests. Wen can't help himself: He ends up assisting Wu with meals and cleaning while she teaches Wendi. That brand of care branded Wu's 💗.

Love is in the air. Wen isn't the only sad onlooker as Fang & Tang start to bang around. Tang's partner, Jiang Ying Fan is deflated like 3 day old party balloons. What is worse is that Ms Fang's brother fell in love with Jiang at first sight. He works at his father's repair shop and he doesn't get out much. His only past relationships are with cars. He has no sense of style, he isn't cool, and he's pretty much clueless ~ "A primitive man in a modern world," as Tang puts it. What he is, is very very sincere. His co-worker Ni Oh (a bit of comic relief) delivers epically awful love letters to Jiang's office for him (he enclosed a screw. 'Screws are small but essential.' It's a metaphor. Jiang only sees a screw loose). No Oh takes one look at receptionist Xiao Pei and falls hard: The over-reaching-dork disease is communicable. These women are way far out of their leagues. All's well that ends well, right? These guys are technically stalkers, so one has to let that slide in order to enjoy the show. If you aren't in any mood to give that behavior an overlook, then I've just freed up 73 episodes worth of time for you.

Jun Liao is a highlight of the show as Fang's Father and failed dating coach. Lucia Xie is the adorable Tang Wendi, the little girl at the center of it all. She's fabulous, as are the two children who play her friends. Finally, there's the real star, Blackie the cat. Director Liu Jun Jie also did Boss & Me-7 which is a thoroughly enjoyable romance for romance junkies. If his name is on it, I'm interested.

We watch Tang and Fang's romance through Wen's eyes, or a third party's eyes. It's adorable yet less intimate than some romances. Whatever they lack in intimacy they make up for in its adorability. Their interactions are delightful. 73 episodes of them frolicking? I'm in!

What do you call a first date in which neither party realizes that they're on a date? By ep 47 they are still utterly clueless but always finding reasons to hang together. Do we count the frequent basketball and boxing matches? The boxing match has a strong case as for being the first date, but as far as we're-dressed-nice-we're-going-out-we're-going-to-have-a-couple-drinks-we'll-see-where-it-goes first date action, episode 47 is it... I think... I'm not sure what Tang was thinking. Even though it's working hours, he surprises her after school. He tells her to get in the car because he has somewhere to take her. Since it's something related to her family, in his mind, he can still lie to himself about the reason for taking her. So, it's a date, but it's not a date. He doesn't realize it's a date. It's a first dressed-up outing; Step 1; coupling-up. Episode 47 is a transitioning episode because Miss Wu ends up on a night out with Wendy and Wen. It's rather nice structure.

Will Blackie have kittens? Will that make Wendy wonder about who her mother is? Will Wendy's mother show up? (Cancel that b!+ch). I hope not. Will they find out who the true father is? Probably. Most probably. Some things seem obvious, but the viewer won't get everything s/he might expect. The show takes a couple unexpected turns and doesn't always turn when and where expected. The low point of the show is when a character becomes hearing impaired. The way they handle it is disastrously bad. There is no rhyme or reason as to what is audible and what isn't with the character. For instance, this person doesn't hear the tea kettle screeching but does hear a knock on the door. At the dinner table during conversation, one person can be heard, but the next can't. It is really bad, but by the time this happens it is nearly the end of the show and I already considered the whole thing adorable, so they are forgiven for this sloppiness.

Tang harbors anger against his absent father who is now trying to reconnect with him. "It's all love, the difference is in how you say it," Fang observes. That's good writing. Our extreme anger against a person can be evidence that we care. This also helps explain why Tang has ironclad determination to make things work well for Wendi. ("If you have a child, it has to call me Daddy too," Tang tells Wen. They are family forever. Yes, we're in fantasy world. Nevertheless, it's utterly charming).

The filmcraft is what makes the show nearly seamless. The light music and cadence of the actors' voices has a relaxing effect. They regularly zip-zip-ZIP through lectures. It's a cute technique. (Who knows how long the show would have been without that?)

As long as it is, 2F is filled with love, laughs, legal cases, HOA drama, PTA problems, kissing and running, bad suits, horrible poetry, and totally radiating warmth. Snuggle up. This one is cozy.

〰🖍 IMHO

📣7.5📝7 🎭8.3 💓7 🦋4 🎨5 🎵/🔊8 🔚7.5 ▪ 🌞7 ⚡2.5 😅3 😭2 😱1 😯1 🤢2 🤔3.5 💤0

Age 12+ Language: once or twice there was a b!+ch, d@mn,.and a $h!+

Re-📺? Not excluded

🇹🇼Taiwan - Age of Rebellion-9.5, Autumn's Concerto-7.2, Back to 1989-7.3, Black & White-6.8, The Fierce Wife-8 - worth sticking with, Love You-7, Office Girls-7.