Smiley: A beautiful love story that will keep you… smiling

Just in time for the holidays, Netflix brings us Smiley, a Spanish romantic comedy series that – as the title promises – will keep a smile on your face at all times. Starring Carlos Cuevas (Alguien Tiene Que Morir) and Miki Esparbé (Reyes de la Noche), Smiley tells the story of two guys from Barcelona, Álex (Carlos Cuevas) and Bruno (Miki Esparbé), whose paths intertwine after a voice message that Álex sends to his ex, Lolo (Carlos Noriega), reaches Bruno by mistake.

The series is based on the acclaimed play of the same name by Guillem Clua (National Award for Dramatic Literature 2020) who also acts as screenwriter and show-runner on the adaptation. Produced by Minoría Absoluta and directed by Marta Pahissa and David M. Porras, we can safely say that Smiley is the perfect binge-watch series for this holiday season.

This romantic comedy checks all the boxes of what is expected of the genre, with the added value that it is not just a 90-minute movie, but a full mini-series. Yup, you heard that right, folks! A 100% queer romantic comedy series. Can you believe it? It almost seems like a Christmas miracle, and maybe it is because this first season of the show is set on those dates.

But angays, unlike many stories in its genre, Smiley – being an 8-episode series – has more time to develop the story and its many characters. And they make the most of it, carefully weaving all the stories and making it worth all the waiting to reach the long-awaited climax of the main love story. Truly, if you need a good laugh, feel all the feelings, and get in the Christmas spirit along the way, then Smiley is definitely for you.

In the creator’s own words, “Smiley is my biggest love story, not only because Álex and Bruno’s story will reach millions of people more [with Netflix], but because the two of them will be joined by a whole new universe of LGBTQ love stories.”

But let’s get deeper into all those stories, shall we?

Smiley, when Álex met Bruno

There is a Japanese legend that states that when two people are destined to be together, an invisible red thread connects them through their little fingers. This thread is unbreakable and has the power to bind two people together no matter how far they are from each other or how different they seem. Álex and Bruno couldn’t be more different from each other, but the saying that opposites attract is as true as it gets in this case because these two are like magnets from the moment they first connect.

At the beginning of the series, Álex is going through a heartbreak. The guy he was dating and who he believed he had formed a real connection with ghosts him after some weeks, and Álex doesn’t know what to do. So in a desperate attempt to regain some of his dignity and get some kind of reaction from his ex, Álex decides to send him a long voice message from the landline at the bar where he works – the bar Bero. The only problem is that he ends up sending it to the phone of a complete stranger, Bruno.

Bruno, who is a successful architect, is both confused and intrigued by the random voice message, and after thinking about it several times, he decides to call the guy back so he knows that 1) the message reached the wrong person and 2) that, if he wants, he has the opportunity to reconsider what he said in the message and fix the situation with his boyfriend.

The call is exactly as you are imagining it to be: weird. But the universe has a surprise for these two because, for some reason, talking comes easy to them, and in the blink of an eye, they are having a conversation about their experiences with other men, Bruno’s belief in that Japanese legend, and how they are both looking for someone to be happy with. 

After such an instant connection, getting to know each other seems like a no-brainer, so Álex asks Bruno for his Instagram account. But Bruno doesn’t have social media accounts anymore and Álex is one of those guys who doesn’t go out on dates without seeing the guy’s face first, but nothing has worked for him so far, so he decides to do something different for the first time and agrees to go on a blind date with Bruno.

And that’s how Álex met Bruno.

Álex and Bruno’s love story

This is a romantic comedy so of course, almost everything in Smiley revolves around how Álex and Bruno navigate their feelings for each other despite the fact that they apparently don’t like each other and that their personalities seem to be completely antagonistic. It is very clear from the very beginning that if they had met in different circumstances, they would have never noticed each other – they belong to two very different worlds. But that’s the magic of true love and destiny, isn’t it? That when something is meant to be, it’s just meant to be and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

But it’s not easy, and Smiley is right to show us the ups and downs of relationships, the consequences of missed opportunities, and wasted time. It showcases the fears we all face when we truly fall in love, which makes the story feel real despite the fact that it uses comedy as a resource to lighten some difficult issues. Both Álex and Bruno want the same thing: a relationship that lasts, someone to share their lives with. So why can’t they have that together if the connection (and chemistry) is evidently there?

Because it’s easier said than done, and sometimes accepting that what you were looking for was in front of you all along is not easy. And these two are no exception to the rule. So naturally, they meet, hook up, ghost each other, and spend the entire series dancing around each other’s lives without actually being part of them. But what exists between the two is undeniable, and although they have some setbacks along the way, in the end, what unites them – that invisible red thread – is stronger.

The universe of LGBTQ stories

Something that pleasantly surprised us when watching this series was discovering that the story, despite being centered on Álex and Bruno, includes an assemblage of supporting characters who aren’t just there to accompany the main characters on their journey to each other, but who have their own paths to walk through and their own lessons to learn.

The story of Vero (Meritxell Calvo) and Patri (Giannina Fruttero) – our resident lesbians – is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. What we see happen to their relationship throughout the episodes is, sadly, something that happens to many couples who have been together for a long time regardless of their sexuality. So, even though it hurt us and we yelled at the TV many, many times when these two were on screen, we liked how it all ended between them. After all, love is – as wisely stated in the series – just the seed.

Ramon (Ramon Pujol) and Ibal (Cedrick Mugisha), while we know all along that they are there just to push Álex and Bruno’s relationship in the right direction, are not empty characters that can be discarded. They have, although in a lesser capacity, a story to tell. The same goes for Ramiro (Carles Sanjaime), whose story had us weeping every two seconds. Can somebody give this man a hug, please? 

But perhaps our favorite character of them all is Javi (Pepón Nieto) who, in addition to being the voice of reason, a guide in the narration of the story, and the comic relief most of the time, has an arc that resonates with many folks in the LGBTQ community. He is old and time has passed; he has missed many opportunities. But despite that, he, like everyone else, is looking for love. His positive and cheerful personality is always in contrast to his loneliness and his desire to find a life partner. So we immediately decided that if there was someone who deserved a happy ending worthy of a Hollywood rom-com movie (in addition to the main characters, of course) was him.

We say this half-jokingly, but Smiley feels like a breath of fresh air after a year in which the LGBTQ community has found itself at the height of many attacks. It is, to put it simply, a great story that comes at the right time to show us how that little four-letter word we all long for has many meanings and comes in many different forms.

Paying homage to many rom-coms of yesteryear, Smiley is a series that not only lives up to its name but does justice to the genre. With a solid cast across the board, and featuring leads that it’s impossible not to root for, Smiley serves as a reminder that no matter where we come from, what we look like, our age, our shape, or our orientation, we are all equally vulnerable to love.

🙂

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Smiley is streaming exclusively on Netflix. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!