KTX: Review of HELLO STRANGER THE MOVIE: Critical Choices

 February 12, 2021

"Hello Stranger" was a BL series released on YouTube by Black Sheep Productions during the height of the trend last year from June to August, 2020. Class nerd Mico Ramos (JC Alcantara) and basketball jock Xavier de Guzman (Tony Labrusca) were assigned by their teacher Ms. Tina Moran (Meann Espinosa) to be partners in a class project. Throughout their online interaction during the quarantine, their initial resistance to each other soon gave way to friendship and later attraction. 

This movie sequel picked up a few months after the series left off. This time, the students were all at at a beach resort attending "Paniticamp," a required writing camp at a beach resort. Mico came with his gang, Kookai (Vivoree Esclito), Seph (Patrick Quiroz) and Junjun (Miguel Almendras), while Xavier came with his girlfriend Crystal (Gillian Vicencio). As luck would have it, Mico and Xavier become roommates, and the two boys were given a chance to rekindle their lost bond.

There were flashbacks to establish the situation between Mico and Xavier was that way, to bring fans of the series up to date with what had transpired in the interim. During the camp, Crystal and Xavier reach a critical point in their relationship, while Mico was swept up with a new acquaintance, his favorite gay writer Simon (Markus Paterson) who was serving as special mentor. Mico and Xavier now have to make important decisions about their own relationship between each other. 

Since the web series, Tony Labrusca was right at home playing Xavier, with his innate manly confidence effortlessly coming across the screen. Xavier was put through a major emotional wringer here in the sequel, and Labrusca stepped up to the plate for it. He fearlessly put his macho reputation on the line by bravely playing this confused character who found himself in a quandary between his girlfriend and the boy he had learned to love. 

The casting of Jollibee commercial model JC Alcantara as Mico in the web series was a big revelation. It was quite a gamble for a potential matinee idol like Alcantara with his wholesome good looks to accept a gay role as his first lead role. With its success and now with a sequel, looks like he will be identified with being Mico for a while. Looking forward for this young actor to expand his range further in future projects.

Director Dwein Baltazar continued in the light spirit of Petersen Vargas's BL series. The beach setting with all the fun and games and the bright- colored costumes and sets created a relaxed atmosphere for the whole movie. Despite this carefree mood, the main character conflicts were faced squarely with frank and insightful confrontations between friends, between partners, and even with parents. The winsome chemistry between Labrusca and Alcantara made this one stand out from the other local BL pairings. 7/10.