Monday, July 10, 2023

Netflix: Review of SEASONS: Platonic Problems

July 10, 2023



Charlie (Lovi Poe) worked in post-production of films, and also sang acoustic sets in bars. Her best friend for the past 14 years was Kurt (Carlo Aquino), a businessman who was in the process of opening his own bar. Calling each other "Pangs" (short for "pangit" or ugly), they always went to parties and events together, and were in constant touch. However, despite what others thought, she insisted that their very close friendship was strictly platonic.

One day, Charlie decided to set Kurt up with Jane (Sarah Edwards), a baker who whipped up a killer carrot cake, Kurt's favorite. However, when Kurt and Jane hit if off and started going out regularly, Charlie began to miss her daily interactions with Kurt. It eventually came to a point that Charlie realized that she was actually in love with Kurt. Now, she was willing to swallow her pride and do whatever it takes to get Kurt to love her back.

The title does not refer to climate or spices. According to Charlie's mom, a "season" was a type of man who only entered her life for limited periods of time -- longer than a "fling" and shorter than a "lifetime." For a part that was supposed to explain what the title meant, that montage where Charlie talked about her various exes and classifying them into these types was written and executed in a very disorganized manner, even its subtitles. 

This story was by Lovi Poe and developed into a screenplay by Dwein Baltazar. Despite the rom-com treatment of director Easy Ferrer at the start, the film would soon go to very sad places. We only hear the story from Charlie's point of view, never Kurt's -- so we only know her flawed insights. This whole story only came about because of Charlie's unexplained friend-zoning of Kurt, but we don't really know what Kurt felt about her at all. 

Fortunately for this movie, the charisma of the lead actors save it from being a total loss.  According to Charlie, Kurt was always the ideal guy who did everything right. Romance movie staple leading man Carlo Aquino can definitely play Mr. Perfect effortlessly. Despite her character's very uncomfortable insecurity and self-loathing, the lovely Lovi Poe still managed to give a sympathetic enough portrayal that sort of redeemed Charlie at the end. 5/10. 


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