Synopsis:
Fabulous 30 follows the story of Ja (Patcharapa Chaichue) a beautiful woman who has everything a woman is supposed to dream of having; a successful career, a partying lifestyle, and a handsome sweetheart. On her 30th birthday, Ja finds her perfect life changed when her boyfriend wants to halt the relationship. Now, at thirtysomething, Ja accepts a happy single life until a new guy (Phuphom Phongpanu) gets in her life and he’s 7 years younger than her.
source: Asiawiki
Characters

Ja | Played by Patcharapa Chaichue / Aum
Ja is a successful woman in her age: beauty, career, and romantic life. She is preparing to settle down already with her partner but one day her dream crashed down when her long-time boyfriend decided to break up with her. Knowing that she is 30, her hopes of marriage are now in a blur.
Por | played by Phuphom Phongpanu
Por is a simple young man who is still a student training for marines. He has an eye for Ja for a long time but never confessed because of their age gap. He is persistent when it comes to the pursuit of love.
Cinematography
The direction of photography paid attention to creative framing of the camera as it highlights the best locations in the urban of Thailand. I also appreciate the used of animation in the first part of the film where they showed a paper plane flying. The film production somehow maximized the creativity in filmmaking even if it’s just a slice-of-life story.
Settings
- Ja’s Apartment
- Aquarium Park
- Wedding Event
- Karaoke Room
- Beside the Sea
Related Link: The Teacher’s Diary | Movie Review
Critique
Fabulous 30 (2011) is a romantic-comedy Thai movie. This is a story about a woman whose age soon to end at the edge of the calendar; as she is trouble conforming to the norms of being a woman in her 30s. What would you do if your expectations suddenly crashed in a second? It also showed the downside of unconventional relationships such as having a large age gap especially when the man is younger than the woman. The movie shows the dilemma brought by this situation and how to win it.

Expectations to Women on her 30s
For women who are in their 30s, there’s a certain expectation in the society such as marriage, steady career, and even babies. When Ms. Ja turned 30 on her birthday, many aunts and colleagues kept on asking about her getting married and having kids because a woman’s value in the marriage market will decrease as they reached this age. The first factor is the biological reason for running out of active eggs in the ovaries as you woman age. How will Ms. Ja handle this life nuisance?
Mr. Perfectly Fine

I learn in this movie, Fabulous 30, that having a pilot boyfriend is complicated. haha! But seriously, there are times regardless of profession that breaking up from a long-term relationship happens. As they say, it is the most painful one because you have a lot of pictures to burn – I mean memories together that felt like came to waste. I feel bad for Ms. Ja here because she expects and waited for them to settle already. Why is it easy for him to say that and be perfectly fine?
Why he would break up with me now? I am not getting younger. Who would like an old lady like me?
Ja
Persistence is Rare
Of course, the catch in this story is the potential part-time lover named Por. He is young and sweet like a puppy who keeps following Ja around the place if possible. This is not really a stalker story but probably just to give emphasis on how madly attracted Por is to Ja ever since. Take note: Ja is the older lady. It contradicts the romantic stereotype where men are only attracted to younger girls or the same age as them.
As you continue watching this movie, everything will be revealed about Por’s pursuit of love to Ms. Ja. It felt so moving and unexpected. With that, I came to admire his persistence. In real life, it is so rare for men to go all out for women today when he has a lot of options on social media. hehe. Hence, committing to persistence is a hint of genuine love.

“..If one million people are missing you, I would be one of them. If one hundred people are missing you, I would still be one of them. Like a pearl that is one with the heart of the sea.”
Por
I highly recommend you to watch Fabulous 30. It will surely give you laughs, heartbreaks, and a feeling of newfound love – all in one. Just a trivia: Ms. Aum became my favorite Thai actress because of her stunning appeal, classic Asian beauty, and natural humor.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
If you have any thoughts to share about this film, feel free to leave a comment below.
~~~~
Support this blog by leaving comments, sharing this post on social media, or buy me a cup of coffee.
All photos are taken from Google Images. The review and rating for this movie are only based on the opinion of the reviewer.
Fab review! This sounds like a great movie, I love how persistent Por is and how it explores the expectations for women in their 30s. Will have to check this one out, thank you so much for sharing!
Hahaha, thanks. This is one best Thai movie I’ve watched. 😀