It is not your typical Pinoy love story AT FIRST. The trailer was very promising that I was really excited to finally watch it. However, it all changed when the film finished rolling and the end was finally revealed. The second half of the movie was kinda disappointing.
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| L-R: Angel Locsin (lead actress), Cathy Garcia-Molina (director), and John Lloyd Cruz (lead actor) |
The story is all about two individuals, Mackie Galvez (John Lloyd Cruz) and Ces Bricento (Angel Locsin), stranger to each other, who had a one night stand after such long debate on 'laman versus sabaw.' I haven't really followed the arguments. The conversation just came with an exchange about choosing one thing over a thousand others. They were drunk, and did it by the shore. The first half of the movie was like bed scenes every five minutes. It was so awkward because I was watching with my family. I am comfortable with my sister being there, but with my mom and my dad, come on. Anyway, the beginning of the movie was not really Pinoy movie material. After a while, Mackie and Ces bumped into each other coincidentally because Mackie was a newbie in the publication where Ces is working. Their boss made them team up for several articles and the conflict began there. They became f*ck buddies. You know, being 'friends with benefits' leads to one thing - one falling in love with the other. In fairness, the movie did a great job editing such not-so-intense bed scenes; just fitted to Pinoys' tastes I guess. Hello, bed scenes are somewhat a no-no to a conservative culture like ours, except for pervs and jerks out there yeeha! The ending's better be good, I told myself. IT WAS NOT.
The ending was typical. Boy meets girl and they lived happily ever after. So uh, so uhmmm... Where's the "unofficial" there? ÜnOfficially Yours's the title if I'm not mistaken. The ending could have been better if their relationship ended just like how it began - casually next to nothing. However, by the end of the movie, it tackled what the other Pinoy romantic movies had tackled before - how it is so scary to love when you were hurt so much in the past. Pfft. Typical typical typical. Hasn't it occurred to the writers that we know that kind of scenario already? It is the very history of every Pinoy love story I have watched ever since I've remembered. I am not against happy endings. I love such, but not with this movie. Sadly.
What I loved, however, in this movie is the character Mackie. Why? Well, duh, I can relate to his character. Typical blog topic, yes; I relating myself to everything. The irony of me not liking typical things, right? Anyway, from the career shift he has (from a dentist to a writer, which I think will happen to me five to seven years from now) to the way he thinks about love and sex, Mackie is exactly I are in real life. The love stories are somewhat different, of course; and I'd not be going into details with that one. One of Mackie's friend once said to him in one of the scenes, "Alam naming marunong kang magmahal." One of my friends said that exact same line to me couple of years ago. I can really relate to him, in every single bit of its character... such as not giving up (for the one they love), or so I thought. *wink*
I will give the movie a rating of 2.5 out of 4.0 (La Salle grading system). It could have been a 3.0 if the ending was also not the typical one, if it just gone with the main plot of the movie - casual, unofficial relationship.
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| Movie's Promotional Ad |
Here are the following lines which I thought were sort of impact-ful to me:
Bakit dyaryo? Bakit hindi na lang TV o kaya radyo? Dahil ang gusto ng tao, 'yung may mahahawakan, may hahaplusin, at higit sa lahat, may aamuyin. Ayaw niyo ba 'yun? Mahahawakan niyo ang history. - Mel Kimura's character
Kailangan niyong ipaintindi sa mga sarili niyo kung anong setup niyo. - Edgar Allan Guzman's character
Mackie: What if sabihin niyang hindi ka niya paiiyakin?
Ces: Edi sinungaling siya.
Ces: Hindi mo naman kasi kailangang gawin.
Mackie: I know, pero gusto ko 'tong gawin.
Bakit ako magagalit? Wala naman akong karapatan 'di ba? - Mackie Galvez
'Yan kasing setup niyong ganyan, hindi pwedeng walang mai-in love. - Mel Kimura's character
Alam mo naman na sa normal na relasyon, nagsisimula kapag mahal mo na ['yung tao]. Sa atin, dun natatapos, kasi nagkakasakitan na. - K Brosas' character
Mamahalin kita... payagan mo lang ako. - Mackie Galvez
Sa tuwing nararamdaman ko kung gaano kita minamahal, nararamdaman kong nadadagdagan 'yung takot ko... na masaktan ulit. - Ces Bricento
Kahit gaano kalaki 'yung pagmamahal na ibinigay mo, hindi nun mapipigilan ang isang tao para saktan ka. - Ces Bricento
Pati respeto ko sa sarili ko, tinangay na rin niya. Ang tagal kong bumangon, gumapang. Pinilit kong tumayo, buuin kung ano pang natitira sa akin. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, hindi na mauulit 'yun, pero heto na naman, may isang tao na naman sa harap ko na hinihiling na mahalin ko. Gusto kong mahalin ka, Mackie, pero natatakot akong masaktan ulit, [at] wala nang matira sa akin. - Ces Bricento
Hindi ko nga siguro maaalis 'yung sakit at takot na nararamdaman mo, kasi ikaw lang ang makakagawa nun. Ako, ang pwede ko lang gawin [ay] ang mahalin ka at ang maghintay hanggang sa kaya mo nang magmahal ulit. - Mackie Galvez
Techie Agbayani's character: Hindi naman sa nagsasawang masaktan, hindi lang ako napapagod magmahal. Pero paminsan-minsan, napapagod din.
Ces: Eh bakit hindi ka tumigil?
Agbayani's character: Bakit ako titigil? Pwede naman akong magpahinga sandali.
Paano ko makikilala 'yung taong nakalaang magmahal sa akin nang totoo kung magsu-surrender ako sa bawat sakit na mararamdaman ko? - Tetchie Agbayani's character
Sa bawat isang bagay na pinipili mo, may isang libong bagay kang tinatanggihan. - Ces Bricento/Mackie Galvez
Higit ka pa sa isang libong bagay na pwedeng tanggihan... ng isang taong katulad ko. - Mackie Galvez
Pwede pa bang maging tayo? Alam ko, sobra kitang napagod. Pero gagawin ko lahat para mawala 'yung pagod mo. - Ces Bricento
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I'd recommend you to watch the movie, but do not expect anything One More Chance or No Other Woman in the film. It is a different plot, and it is good as it is - no more, no less.
Images taken from Google