Wenn Deramas' This Guy's in Love With U Mare - Gender Bending Triangle

On their third anniversary, Lester Reyes (Vice Ganda) plans a scheme that would have boyfriend Mike (Luis Manzano) pop the big question. The ambiance has been fashioned for a romantic night - with the help of Lester’s gay posse’ (Ricky Rivero, Ricci Chan, Lassi and IC Mendoza). But while Lester has compiled his anniversary gifts (wrist watch, a pair of shoes, a new cellphone) for his lover, Mike is empty handed. What’s worse, the latter breaks up with Lester. He says he’s turned “born-again Christian”. Their relationship doesn't quite make the equation with regards to his religious belief. Lester is nonplussed and hurt, even mildly suicidal. He may not take Mike's excuse hook, line and sinker, but what can he do?

One day, he learns that Mike is actually engaged to toothsome bank clerk Gemma (Toni Gonzaga). So Lester devices a ruse to make Gemma fall in love with him. He conceives a staged mauling that would have him defend Gemma against some assailants. In this incident, Lester valiantly wins against the masked marauders (played by Lester’s gay friends). He adheres to the unwritten rule book on diligent courtship and showers Gemma with time, attention, and gifts. He deposits P5 million at Gemma’s bank. He ups the charm offensive. After all, he knows what girls want – and he’s pulling all the stops to break Gemma and Mike. Lester even successfully insinuates his presence on Gemma’s fractious parents (Buboy Garovillo and Carla Martinez). Gemma relishes Lester’s seemingly boundless devotion. After all, which girl isn’t flattered by such generous display of affection? Mike isn’t pleased. Why is his girlfriend even entertaining a suitor? They are engaged. Or is she falling for him?

When Lester invites Gemma for the “back to back to back” show of her favorite performers, Aegis and April Boy Regino (a show that Mike dismisses rabidly), she accepts the invitation which Mike eventually learns. Jealous and infuriated, Mike vows to meet this mysterious guy; only to learn that it’s his ex-lover Lester. How can she tell Gemma about his past and warn her about Lester’s real intention? He could lose her for this. What to do?

Director Wenn V. Deramas uncharacteristically delivers an ouvre with substantial cinematic flesh. The narrative is focused, and seems to adhere to a written script, thus Vice Ganda’s improvisational proclivity is less exploited here than his previous starrers. This is good news. The end-product is an engaging story that could be an authentic human experience which can’t be said about “Praybeyt Benjamin” or “Petrang Kabayo”.      

Of course there are jokes that didn’t quite work: like when Vice suddenly referenced Madam Auring and Zenaida Seva, the punch line wallowed in decumbency. His impression of Gollum was similarly flat. His constant reference to Lassy’s “repugnant” features eventually gets overbearing – and churlishness is never funny. In fact, in time it seems analogous to the humor that bullies get whenever they intimidate others. But I am nitpicking.

The scenes where Vice mimics Vilma Santos’ scenes from “Darna and the Planet Women” are almost a stroke of genius. Reference to Darna in relation to character definition for homosexuals isn’t lost in us.

This is clearly Vice Ganda’s vehicle. He moves with effulgent rhythm and motivation, almost never missing a beat. His effortless comic delivery is unmatched, and he’s a joy to behold when he drips with sarcasm. Toni Gonzaga, on the other hand, is enthusiastic. Like most of her romcoms (where she reigns supreme), Toni is a magnetic presence. Her self-deprecating ability successfully figures in most of her scenes. She doesn’t mind looking silly, making her comic scenes funnier than they should be.

Meanwhile, Luis Manzano’s efforts are a hit-and-miss. It’s obvious though that Luis has developed a degree of comfort and camaraderie with Vice Ganda (they’ve worked together five times in the past). However, Luis sometimes dives into obsequious territory, making his punch lines more academic than visceral. This tendency deflects humor.

There’s much to relish in “This Guy’s In Love With You, Mare”. I like that Lester is surrounded by a bevy of supportive friends – though they could only be servile since they all work for him. But the message of friendship is strong. The film also cursorily underlines the existence and/or validity of a male-male relationship. Unfortunately, this is comedy and there are limitations of genre, thus getting into the nitty gritty of things goes beyond its nature. But it could be interesting. After all, Mike was a guy who took advantage of Lester’s bounties in exchange of sleeping with him. Who’s prey and who’s predator?

Sam Milby is a delightful presence. He cameos as the anonymous soul who saves a character in the story, one who nearly drowned.

“This Guy…” boasts of a compact narrative, brisk pacing, hilarious situations and inspired performances. It’s easy to see why people flock to see it. This is evident even on its first day of commercial release. This boundless energy is virulent. It electrifies all the way down my seat. So darn funny.

Forever And a Day - KC Concepcion Impresses in Cinematic Jewel

Eugene Silvero (Sam Milby) stands at the fork of a road. As product developer of a shoe company, he is suddenly missing target sales from his ambitious and expensive new product. And his company is pulling its plug. Meanwhile, Raffy Salvador (KC Concepcion) is facing her fears head on. She has a Stage 4 Lymphoma (a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system), but has had enough of the crippling effects of chemotherapy. To escape from each of their dilemma, they separately head to and find each other in dreamy Bukidnon’s recreational camp where they gradually fall for each other. But Raffy has reservations for an impending relationship. Would Eugene back off if he knew of her condition? Would he be able to convince Raffy to give chemo another go?

In Cathy Garcia-Molina’s “Forever And a Day”, the answers take a rather pragmatic route, and much like real life, the repercussion of some decisions doesn’t always end in “happily ever after”. The film is an exposition on acceptance more than it is about dealing with grief, and in more ways, this is an unusually brave project for a mainstream production bent on concessions that usually dumb down their audience.

KC Concepcion sheds off her theatrical affectations, the vicarious habits that used to underline her distracting enthusiasm displayed in Joyce Bernal’s banal effort “For The First Time” and Joel Lamangan’s “When I Met U”. In Maryo J. de los Reyes’ “I’ll Be There”, KC was able to flaunt flashes of controlled brilliance, but “Forever and a Day” ushers an inspired chapter when the Megastar’s daughter is finally proving her worth as an actress in serious contention. And though it doesn’t seem so, Concepcion is really just three years in the business, though we presume to have known her forever. Her mother wasn't this proficient on her fourth film (Eddie Garcia's "Cross My Heart"). Can you imagine what she is capable of doing on her 10^th year in the business?

As the suffering Raffy, KC pulls away from the usual broad strokes integral in Filipino melodrama. There was a degree of subtle constancy, an unwavering dedication to her character. She never faltered. In fact, her inherent ardor is quite palpable from her facial expression to her body movement. If you’ve never heard of graceful grief, this is how it’s done. And if Raffy fails to tug you in the heart strings, then there is something very wrong with your affect. Suddenly, KC is doing something right.

Sam Milby does well himself as the embattled corporate planner. His motivations were quite understandable, and his concerns thrusted the gravely battered “male ego” to the fore. Gone are Milby’s heavy handed, ultra-emphatic deliveries. He has truly evolved into one of his generation’s most dependable actors (see "Third World Happy" for proof). It also helps that he generates a simmering chemistry with KC.

Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro provide a dreamy backdrop to the emotional predicaments experienced by the protagonists. They perfectly provide a tableau that helps move and highlight the narrative. After this, who wouldn’t want to visit that side of Shangrila?

Director Molina is truly the modern-day exponent of cinematic quotations, but there’s a line in the film that doesn't sit well with us. While Raffy sits beside Eugene, she then looks down, gazes at her shoes and says, “Shoes are the least appreciated things in this world,” which I beg to disagree. We're aware that she was spewing commentary on the seeming expendability of life. But shoes? If that were true, we wouldn’t have an Imelda Marcos. I wouldn’t be buying a pair once a month. Moreover, there wouldn’t be a Eugene Silvero in a movie like “Forever and a Day”. Shoes are indeed much appreciated; people slave away just to plan on buying one. Despite this minor quibble, there are other note-worthy lines. When Raffy talks about the helplessness of her condition, she likens this to “Parang nananakawan… nadaya, even if you’ve done everything right.” Bad things indeed happen even to good people.

The movie is chivalrous in many levels, and we have to tip our hat to Molina’s audacious foray into movie world’s Neverland. Yes, you won’t find a Filipino movie as indomitable in its commitment to delve into the realm of mortality, bereavement and acceptance! It has moments of unabashed mawkishness – the protracted spiels at Raffy’s bedside, but we understand its exigency. More than anything, the film dispenses lessons that most cinematic stories omit or decide to ignore. When life threatens to make a sudden halt, we still try to make the best of our remaining hours. Regardless of its brevity, life is still a precious gift.

For a change, I won’t complaint about the film’s B-rating from this dubious organization called C.E.B.

"Forever And a Day" is clearly a cinematic jewel!

Sam Milby is Eugene Silvero.

Sam Milby's "Third World Happy" – Powerhouse Emotions in Understated Storytelling

It’s in the idle chatter that you realize the mind set of the people behind the film “Third World Happy”, Sam Milby’s sophomoric foray into the indie film scene.

In fact, one of its most crucial scenes ends up in an “ellipse”, a move that took us by surprise.

CAPSULE

Thirteen years after Wesley (Sam Milby) has cryptically migrated to the States, he returns to attend the funeral of a relative. But it isn’t the grief that’s wearing Wesley down, but the deluge of questions from friends, more importantly from Aylynn (Jodi Sta. Maria), his erstwhile girlfriend whom he abandoned without much of an explanation.

When Aylynn learns of Wesley’s homecoming, she gets anxious and dismissive. These days, she is the single mother of a smart child who’s 13 years old. She obviously has disceptive issues with her ex boyfriend with whom she had nurtured a 7-year relationship before he up and went… without a word. And everyone has been hounding her of Wesley’s palpable presence. Without much fanfare, the pertinent questions beg to be asked: Has Wesley sired a child? Will Aylynn finally get the closure she deserves? Why does Wesley keep to himself? Is he staying for good? More importantly, isn't happiness possible in a third world existence?

The film tackles a simple story on (dis)contentment and finding happiness, on the repercussions of abandonment and closure in a very laidback manner. You won’t find flagrant emotions on display. No livid confrontation scenes, not even when bullies attacked one of Wesley’s friends who had fallen victim to the wiles of a loan shark.

There’s the impossibly delectable side story involving the funeral parlor owner’s daughter Achi and her intermittent verbal tussle with Wesley. She’s US-bred and wanted to write her masterpiece but, for some reason, she’s stuck in narrative abyss. She’s also come home to help out in her dad’s morbidly droll business. I thought for a while there was something humming in the undercurrent of her intimate conversations with Wesley. But nothing about this film is all that predictable.

Wesley, now 32, is in a relationship with a Fil-am doctor in New York where he works for an art shop instead of producing his own masterpiece as a painter. He initially kept dodging her calls but this homecoming has taught him a lesson or two about the pitfalls of realizing dreams that don’t quite come true; what it does to us, and how it affects the people around us. Each of us dreams of our own masterpieces. Unfortunately, a great deal of them don’t quite make the canvas. Real life happens, and bits and pieces of these aren’t always the savory food we’re meant to digest

I specifically remember both Sam Milby and Jodi Sta.Maria appearing together in Milby’s first indie effort in 2008’s “Cul de Sac”. Director EJ Salcedo’s “Third World Happy” is an even more realized ouvre that spotlights Milby and Sta.Maria’s undeniable chemistry and thespic chops. In the scene where Jodi’s Aylynn first visits the wake, we witness how Sta.Maria conveys silent anxiety and understated volatile agitation in delicious emotive splendor. Sta.Maria is truly emerging as one of this generation’s most insightful performers. In fact, we picked her performance as the year’s best (in supporting category) from 2010’s short list. How Urian can even pick Rosanna Roces for her mediocre role in Alix’s “Presa” is a big mystery to me; a testament to the gradual decline in the quality of the Manunuri’s once discriminating preference. After all, how can you keep a straight face when one of their big wigs (Butch Francisco) can easily pick out Marian Rivera’s batya-carrying superheroine role as “best performance” from a recent local film festival? But we’re deviating.

Stripped off his matinee idol countenance and those cumbersome teleserye lines, Milby carries an understated elegance as an intuitive performer. He has an immersive style that allows him a very consistent characterization. He’s even more effective in his silent moments, the way he exploits the facility of the eyes to express emotion. Sam Milby is indeed very proficient, and he rightfully belongs to a career in front of the camera.

In a classy artifice unheard of in Philippine cinema, Director Salcedo successfully experiments on his use of an “ellipse”. We’re not even sure if he’s aware of this. Ellipse, in cinematic narrative structure, is the elimination of a major event in the cinematic frame, popularized by Japanese master film maker Yasujiro Ozu. In “TWH”, the audience has been prepped up for a huge and loud confrontation scene when Aylynn finally meets Wesley again, the boy who abandoned her without an explanation. We were waiting for fireworks, but all we witnessed was their muted conversation. I was frozen stiff. In awe.

Beautiful.

Achi and Wesley share their frustrations. She can't write her novel. He can't paint his masterpiece.

Sam Milby: Proficiency.

Jodi Sta.Maria: One of this generation's most insightful actresses.

Sam Milby takes on his 2nd indie work after the dramatic thriller "Cul de Sac" (2008).

Sam Milby

Babe, I Love You - Bland Formula Flick Hits Box Office Gold

In the last few years, Star Cinema has suffered stark gauntness in their materials. Their films have become extensively hyped but emaciated drivels that somehow inspire dejavus - you've seen them before, but they're peopled by different actors! Mae Cruz's "Babe, I Love You" is no different!

Anne Curtis is promo girl Sasa Sanchez (referenced to KC Concepcion's "promodizer" in "When I Met You"), a peculiar character who has no qualms making a scene in front of a congested university. She meets eternally brooding Nico Ibarra (Sam Milby), a brilliant architecture professor who's a shoo in for his university's vice dean position! One fateful night, Sasa witnesses Nico's run in with some thugs. She maneuvers her car towards Nico's assailants - and the rest, as they say is history!

This movie shamelessly adheres to a very basic Star-Cinema-formula that could be divided into 4 chapters:

Chapter 1 - boy meets girl

Pretty poor girl Sasa meets rich and pretty boy, albeit tortured soul Nico. He seems to dislike her but we see him constantly making reasons to see her! That he is an ambulatory guilt-tripper is thus an understatement!

Chapter 2 - they either constantly bicker or constantly enjoy sappy moments, a process that leads to a relationship

The first one exactly fits the bill. Guilt-ridden Nico offers to drive her around while she recuperates from her whiplash injury brought on by his encounter with the baddies. He even drives her for a fly-by-night beauty pageant in Zambales! I didn't realize it was a lot easier to drive around someone you loath than just pay her up to get rid of her!

Chapter 3 - they separate: this is the part where all those memorable kilometric lines are dropped like bombs in Pearl Harbor!

While Nico is slowly forsaking his work over her activities, he then learns of her past indiscretions. At a family dinner where Sasa is invited, we bear witness to Sasa's ultimate embarrassment when - aw, shucks! - she encounters the wife and duaghter of a married man (Ricardo Cepeda) she's had an affair with! And they happened to be Nico's family's close relations! How convenient, right? Such dramatic coincidences write itself into the story! Phew! Nico confronts Sasa, and they spend their time apart from each other!

Subchapter: This is the narrative's version of a song's coda where each of their family members console the inconsolable. She gets a heart-to-heart with her mama; he gets a dramatic moment with his mom or dad. (Referenced to Gerald Anderson and Zsa zsa Padilla's heartwarming moment in the moronic "Paano Na Kaya".)

Chapter 4 - epilogue to happily ever after (a week later, 2 years after, 25 years later, and so on...)

One year after they separate, we see the lovely Sasa make sawsaw a stick of qwekqwek somewhere in the vicinity of Morayta. Nico drives by and spots the woman of his dreams, the same woman just a year ago he accused of being untrustworthy! In true Star Cinema fashion, Nico turns the wheel over to his friend Guji Lorenzana. He then stands amidst human traffic, never even bothering to first cross the street which, if you've been there, you would know that it won't take him 5 steps to do so - and then he is beside Sasa who is immobile, busy with her qwekqwek-dunking techniques!

But no! It should be cinematic! Nico has to shout above all the noise to get her attention! She turns around. The music swells! The crowd is otherwise oblivious to all the romantic shenanigans happening around! She beams her Diosa smile, he unfolds his CloseUp grin! He crosses the street and they catch-up as though he was never an accusatory dick of universal proportions, and as though she was never a concubine! Life is easy in this vast universe called Star Cinema! End credits roll! Aww, I feel better already. At least they only had to contend with 1 year, unlike Bea and John Lloyd who did 5 years worth of Noel Trinidad psychic meddling!

Now, use this formula and get back to Star Cinema's filmography in the last two years - and I am pretty sure you can apply the aforementioned formula in most of their romantic comedies!

It's hard to find fault when you have a very likable and charming actress like Anne Curtis! She is extremely easy on the eyes; she's perky and healthy, a bundle of sunshine, and she possesses a sincere smile that warms your heart. But it also underlines the incontrovertible - she isn't quite in the league of Angelica Panganiban or Bea Alonzo! Not yet, anyway! Not where emotions are mined! But she is undoubtedly a star! She's never awkward or mediocre, but she probably needs a heartache that's more gut-wrenching than Sam Milby to acquire a bit more gravitas to make an unforgettable romantic heroine! Her undeniably delightful take as Sasa Sanchez is easily forgettable in a few month's time! Having said this, I can't wait to see her in a role that's worth more than a decade of her showbiz career!

Sam Milby, on the other hand is robotic at best! He has mastered this type of fury-inside characterization that has defined him in teleseryes like "Maging Sino Ka Man" and "Only You". In his confrontation with Anne ("I just can't trust you..."), he grapples with his paragraphs, dividing them in grouped phrases while he tries hard to enunciate with heavy syllabic cadence. It was painful listening to him! Aside from this, Sam's characterization is heavily flawed! Sure, such flawed characters make nonpareil cinematic heroes, but there has to be logical lucidity to such shortcomings. Take for example, when he gets a call about Sasa's arrest (he has to bail her out of jail), he could have sent his friend Guji while he finishes his academic presentation, couldn't he? After which, he can follow. Why would you jeopardize a career-making appointment over something that could be taken cared of later? For someone who's supposed to be brilliant, Nico moves around like a dumb jock.

It is hard to pick brilliant moments here. When the movie starts, the screen opens with a dark and fuzzy scene, I actually though "ah, flashback scene siguro". Lo and behold, it wasn't a flashback scene. Then we see Guji Lorenzana calling Sam to join them at the dance floor - and he was out of sync! These days, not only is Star Cinema churning out retreads, they have compromised technical quality too! There was a time when each of their movies was, at the very least, technically superior - with glossy cinematography, great production design, musical scores that help move their stories, etc. Obviously, those were days gone by.

In the movie, Nico's relationship with his mother (Laurice Guillen- who looked constipated and morose 98% of the time - the other 2% she spent looking dazed and busy enumerating lists of "original copy" of books - Considering how brilliant she was as Cory Aquino in "A Dangerous Life", what a waste) is strained after an unfortunate accident that killed his father! When Nico loses the position as vice dean of the university, she joins Nico at the patio and we are taken back to Gerald Anderson and Zsa Zsa Padilla's mother-son bonding scene in "Paano Na Kaya"- one of the very few positive points in the brain-dead Kim Chiu starrer! Yes, Jose, we've seen it just a few months back - and we are seeing it again with a different Fil-Am actor!

Now, the title: Why "Babe, I Love You"? This puzzles me. One, the song isn't even popular with the current generation. Two, I am not aware that the characters call each other "babe" even as a term of endearment. Three, Piolo Pascual's version is karaoke-quality warbling at best! Gesh, whoever gave Papa P the illusion that he will ever be taken seriously as an excellent singer should be taken to the gallows! Off with their heads! Pronto! Papa P is such a cutie pie, but he will never qualify as a world-class singer. Never! His vocal quality just doesn't suffice, unless you're deaf! Or maybe you equate "gorgeous male species" with "great singer" - which should naturally make you an idiot, doesn't it? The only barely-acceptable song from his "Decades" album is "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" - and it's mainly due to the finger-snapping arrangement! THAT could have been a more appropriate title! Fourth, never make remakes that's inferior from the original. Styx can vocally run rings around gorgeous Papa P so this was a really bad idea!

The good news from all these, which would probably cancel out all of my observations is: that this movie is raking moolah at the box office! I guess that's what matters to Star Cinema. Forget giving the people fresh cinema because idiots queue at the tills to watch retreads like "Babe, I Love You" anyway! Yes, I watched the film when it opened Saturday. Despite the early 2nd screening, SM Megamall's theater was almost full! Consider that they had 2 cinemas showing "Babe, I Love You". This has triple the crowd that I've seen in movies that were hailed as "breaking box office records on their first day" - like "For The First Time" (which had a crowd of 10 when I saw it), "Love Me Again" (which had a crowd of 12), "Paano Na Kaya" (which had a crowd of 15) and "BFF" (which had a crowd of 4)!

As the credits rolled when the movie ended, I noticed a growing list of Script Consultants. Wow, it takes all these people to tweedle-and-tweak a movie like this? My maid can write a story as mediocre as this one - easily, and she gets minimum wage! I should recommend my maid to Star Cinema - she is after all, cheap labor!

Congratulations for such a successful generic movie!