The most decent cinema moved 30 minutes of driving (15
minutes by a drag racer, jeepney driver in our case last weekend) from me and yet I can’t manage to have the
time to allot and see movies at the cinema. When I come to think of it, the last movie
that I saw was Twilight Breaking Dawn in Trinoma Mall last year. Bff got the
tickets reserved so that we’ll have the best seats in the house (read: full
frontal of Jacob’s abs).
Last weekend, out of spontaneity and in between running errands and buying necessities, my sister and Kuya Stew had the chance to watch a Pinoy local film: Unofficially Yours. My sister and I were plotting the ultimate
checklist that he needs to do while in the Philippines (that deserves another
post of its own) , we dragged him to watch a local Romantic Comedy eventhough
there’s 50 percent chance that he wouldn’t understand the dialogues since it’s
in Tagalog. ( Hey, Pinoys sing to Korean songs so let’s see if Brits can do the
same with movies).
Warning: This contain spoilers, so if you are a die hard “lloydie”
fan who haven’t watched the film, click the [X] part of your browser.
Movie: Unofficially Yours
Characters: Commitment Phobic, modern day woman (Angel
Locsin) and a squeaky clean, good romantic guys (John Lloyd Cruz)
Nutshell:
Hooked up on a one night stand, guy was ready to get back
on his feet after a major break up by getting a new job as reporter and finally
finding passion in writing only to find out that the girl he hooked up with
turned out to be his trainer for the job. They’ve been hooking up every now and then,
relationsihp status undefined, no commitments and strings attached, but ended
up getting hurt at some point until they had to sit down and try to talk about
why can’t they define and give love a chance for someone’s fallen in love with
the other...blah, blah, blah, the usual.
What to expect:
- Series of hook up scenes, I guess tastefully done in
Pinoy conservative culture.
- John Lloyd (though I’m not a fan) makes sure your money
is worth it by playing the character well.
- Some pretty good lines.
- Angel Locsin’s really good hair color (and she’s pretty
in the movie)
- Angel Locisin’s fabulous pumps (sky-high heels).
What I didn’t expect:
- The lesbian roommate of John Lloyd’s character was
disturbing in a certain sleep-walk get up.
- Patrick Garcia’s lame appearance (they could’ve picked someone
better, but I guess, they got Patrick
since it’s a small role)
- Another character in Angel’s household that was not smoothly
introduced ( Mom’s boyfriend? Cousin?)
What they could’ve done better:
- How they started hooking up again (how brave of John Lloyd's character to just literally jump and start kissing angel, knocking over the computers and stuff)
- Clarify what “accident” exactly that happened to Angel’s
character during the stating of conflict.
- The ending of the story is realistic – though they could’ve
ditched the duet song. (C’mon!)
What I liked best:
- How John Lloyd’s character/lines did not configure its
way to traditional endings or expectations of what a man should do for his lady
love. Run after Angel Locsin’s Singapore-bound character.
- How Angel Locsin’s character did not alter it’s plans of
going to SG just because she already found love.
- Funny "Trasier" jump of Angel Locsin to John Lloyd Cruz when she congratulated him for a job well done.
Suggestions for a better ending:
Film could’ve shown them skype-ing and trying to make the
relationship work and how it’s worth a try, blah, blah, blah.
Over-all rating:
3 out 5. I could’ve waited for it to be
shown on PBO or Cinema One, but hey, spontaneous nga eh!
And believe it or not, my half-brit cousin Stew liked the movie and was able to totally understand it. He said that it's best to watch Pinoy films to get better understanding and he said he thinks he can learn Tagalog fast by watching these Tagalog films.
Prepare to watch the cheesy ones, Stew!
