Alex (Jane Oineza) was an ambitious, career-oriented young woman. Needing to prove that she more than just a pretty face, she became demanding, abrasive and defensive. Carlo (JC Santos) was Alex's creative and laid-back graphic artist who was trying to move on from a painful breakup. One night, the two were working on an advertising project in Alex's apartment. Aside from discovering their common fear for cockroaches, the two also realized that there was something there between the two of them after all.
Jane Oineza did well portraying a strong driven woman. She was supposed to be smart and brilliant at what she did, but unfortunately, this was all talk but not shown. Alex was never really given a scene to display her talents, so we don't know what she really does well at all. Instead all we see a disorganized slob, evident both in her messy apartment and her rushed morning routines. In yet another variation of a fool in love, I felt this was a thankless role for Oineza, who gave it a good effort nevertheless
JC Santos just portrayed a sort-of similar role in the recent film "Open," where his character wanted to break from the traditional set-up of relationships. His Carlo here got along very well living together with Alex, going to the extent of cooking for her and ironing her clothes. However, even if he was deep into the relationship, he just did not want to formally call it a "relationship". This illogical mindset defied definition. The choice of Santos with his appealing screen image made such a incorrigible character into a sympathetic one.
The plot of a man unable to commit to a relationship is a very familiar staple in local rom-coms, so there was nothing really new here. Alex and Carlo had a good thing going romantically it seemed. It was just that Carlo did not want to label their relationship as anything, and they just go on as is, something Alex could not easily accept. The etiology of his insecurity was so obvious, even Alex was able to predict why he was acting that way. Maybe it would have been more innovative if the inability to commit came from the bossy Alex instead, the situation would have been less commonplace and probably more interesting -- or maybe not.
Once again, this film reinforced the reality that casual sex is indeed an integral part of a millennial relationship. After a night of supposedly work-related discussions, Alex and Carlo ended up in bed even after barely knowing each other. The very first scene of the film was about Alex trying to get a one-night stand going with a himbo (Victor Sy) who cared more about his gym routines than the girl he was with. My old-fashioned sensibilities are wary of the signals this may send to young women, since this was written and directed by a woman Denise O' Hara, in a rather disappointing follow-up to her stunning directorial debut feature "Mamang" (2018). 5/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment