Thai Popstars Billkin and PP Krit Together For A Deeply Silly Queer Ghost Love Story

I Believe OH is currently doing a review while sipping Vodka Sodas in Mikes Chowder House 🍸

 

Menn (left) is played by Thai actor and singer Billkin (otherwise known as Putthipong Assaratanakul) and Titi is played by actor PP Krit

If 2005 rom-com Just Like Heaven hinged on Mark Ruffalo helping the ghost of Reese Witherspoon jolt her body to life and find her one true love, Thai comedy The Red Envelope is about a man helping a ghost he has been betrothed to achieve his dream of getting married and reincarnated. It is as culturally specific as it gets.

Fast Facts about The Red Envelope

What: A deeply silly platonic love story between a gay ghost and a straight man

Directed by: Chayanop Bonnprakob

Starring: Billkin, PP Krit, Piyamas Monyakul, Anna Chuancheun

Where: In cinemas now

Likely to make you feel: Tickled and, despite yourself, moved

The ghost is the spirit of gay man Titi, whose wishes to get married in life were thwarted by a prejudiced father. On his last day on Earth, Titi had a fight with his father and died in a hit-and-run car accident while in an anguished state.

In a posthumous scheme hatched by Titi's amah (Piyamas Monyakul) — perhaps the most progressive grandma to ever live — whoever stumbles upon a red envelope with Titi's lock of hair and cut fingernails will be his husband for perpetuity.

That person turns out to be Menn, a petty criminal-turned-informant who fools men and women alike in sting operations that often go wrong due to his general uselessness. Crucially, he's also a homophobic straight man, despite his penchant for masquerading as a gay man when it suits him.

Titi's amah (Piyamas Monyakul) will not let anything get in the way of her marriage matchmaking, including his death.  (Supplied: Cine Asia Films)

The Red Envelope's draw rests on its two superstar leads: Thai actor-singers PP Krit and Billkin, who play Titi and Menn respectively. This is not the first time they have acted together, however — their joint breakout roles were in the queer coming-of-age TV series I Told Sunset About You and its sequel I Promised You the Moon.

The rapport between them is palpable as Menn's prejudice gives way to care and he becomes accustomed to the presence of a ghost in his apartment, while Titi discovers things about his life that shatter his understanding of himself and his loved ones.

The other thing that must be said: The Red Envelope is patently ridiculous, comically overblown and absurdly camp.

Billkin (left) became a household name after starring in 2024's How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, which was the first Thai film to be shortlisted at the Oscars. (Supplied: Cine Asia Films)

The low-fi special effects as Titi jumps out of photo frames and glides through the air like he is on roller-skates — I suspect this is the case, because we never see his feet — make the technology of late 90s TV adaptation Animorphs look sophisticated. The one horror scene in the film is so overdone it is ludicrous.

Titi's ability to possess anyone leads to uproarious outcomes, particularly in the case of Menn. One particularly memorable scene revolves around Menn undergoing a makeover as he pretends to be a gay man in order to infiltrate a queer club — the transformation hinges on an outfit that an archetypal straight man like Menn would not be capable of conjuring.

Challenged to a dance battle that is most reminiscent of White Chicks, Menn is possessed by Titi, who takes pity on him, and soon his stilted dance moves give way to stylised voguing and impeccable choreography.

Titi and Menn must work together to solve the mystery of who killed him. (Supplied: Cine Asia Films)

The emotional core of the film begins to emerge after the first act as Menn starts to work with Titi to track down his killer, a case that neatly segues into Menn's own mission to discover the identity of a drug overlord who remains at large. Motivated initially by his wish to vanquish Titi permanently from his life — the theory is that Titi will be reincarnated if he finds peace — Menn starts to discover the benefits of having a close friend, when he previously had none.

The Red Envelope is a remake of 2022 Taiwanese blockbuster Marry My Dead Body, but it has a tongue-in-cheek script that references its own distinct influences, from Thai horror film Shutter to South Korean social realist drama Parasite.

At times, the film struggles to balance its sillier aspects with the ever-growing seriousness of the dual mysteries that it is trying to resolve. Did it have to be 2 hours 8 minutes? Almost certainly not.

Less a rom-com and more a buddy cop bromance between the unlikeliest of partners, The Red Envelope tugs on the heartstrings — particularly in a stirring climactic performance by Titi's father (Anna Chuanchuen) — even as it remains a deeply unserious film.