A Love Story

"Puro ka-dramahan naman ito!" ("This movie is filled with drama.") -- the man in front of me and my friend exasperatedly exclaimed right after he had sat through a screening of A Love Story, a movie presently showing in local theaters. The movie is produced by Star Cinema, is directed by Mario J. de los Reyes, and stars Maricel Soriano, Aga Muhlach, and Angelica Panganiban.

My friend couldn't help but tell me: "E ba't kasi ito ang pinanood niya -- dapat Surf's Up na lang." ("He shouldn't have watched this movie then. He should have gone to watch Surf's Up.")

You know what? My friend is absolutely right. I mean, what do you expect from a movie which stars Maricel Soriano and Aga Muhlach and has A Love Story for its title?

Well, my friend and I had some sense to spare our husbands the thought of having to sit through a movie that was filled with ka-dramahan so we decided to declare a "moms' day-off." We met at a mall to have lunch, chatted to our hearts' content, and then moved on to the movie -- which we discovered had already started. "Nag-umpisa na po ng 12 minutes. Hindi nyo na po puwedeng ulitin." ("The movie has already started for 12 minutes. You cannot repeat the movie to see the start anymore.")

We had no choice but to go inside as we could not wait for the next screening which was at 4:40pm. The price we had to pay for being so talkative. =) Anyway, back to the movie. It was interesting and entertaining enough. The writer, Vanessa Valdez (my friend and I waited for the credits to see who had written the story) weaves an intriguing tale by starting in the middle of it all. As you go through the movie, you may find yourself confused, or asking certain questions (this is a movie best seen with a companion) as you try to explain the story to yourself. Who was the wife and who was the mistress?

Maricel (as Joanna, a doctor) and Aga (as Ian, the man torn between two women) are their usual selves as competent actors. Angelica Panganiban (as the flight stewardess Carin or something that sounds like that name) holds her own in her scenes with the two experienced lead characters and proves again that she is more than a pretty face and a "healthy" body. All the actors and actresses in the movie are perfectly cast, particularly Dante Rivero as Aga's sick father and RS Francisco as Maricel's gay-doctor friend.

The movie is engaging enough -- with its main love story, interspersed with sub-plots of Aga's relations with his father and his family, as well as Maricel's past relationship. My friend and I particularly liked Carin's game which involves questions. In this movie, we learn that everything is not as it may seem and that we can be swayed by stereotypes; that opportunities come to those who are in the right place at the right time; and how doing the right thing may be the only choice we have.

If you have time and would like to support the Philippine movie industry, do watch this movie. It is actually not A Love Story but talks about Love Stories -- about loving someone, loving your family, and loving yourself.

Make sure to go to the bathroom though before you sit down and make yourself comfy. You wouldn't want to leave the theater in the middle of the movie and miss the story's twists and turns. We wouldn't want you to get sick either. =)