February 8, 2024
Jas (Julia Barreto) was a professional choral singer who lived in Baguio City with her father Danny (Nonie Buencamino) and younger brother Elijah (Ford Sandoval). One night after a traumatic breakup with her boyfriend, Jas was in a karaoke bar drowning away her pain in alcohol, while singing an off-key version of "Paano Ba ang Mangarap?" on the stage. Her awful singing was roundly criticized by a musician in the audience, Michael (Aga Muhlach).
Michael's marriage to his wife Leslie (Cindy Miranda) was on the rocks. Wanting to get away, he accepted the invitation of his friend Ferdie (Boboy Garrovillo) to be the arranger and conductor of choral concert featuring the songs of George Canseco that he was organizing. On the first day of rehearsals, Jas arrived 30 minutes late. She was surprised that the tough critic she told off the night before was actually going to be the conductor of their choir.
From the very first day that Viva Films published the poster online and debuted its trailer, this film immediately became controversial. The internet was abuzz with negative reactions about the huge age gap between the two lead stars -- 54 year old Aga Muhlach and 26 year old Julia Barreto. Netizens made a big deal about how Muhlach had actually played romantic lead to Julia's aunts Gretchen and Claudine Barreto in the 1990s, and now it is her turn.
It was certainly difficult to watch this film without this sticky age issue bothering you. The rather haphazard way writer-director Denise O'Hara told her story did not help. Their first meeting was predictably rough, as was typical of numerous rom-coms. However, it did not take long for Jas to be smitten by Michael's dimples, and actually tried to kiss him. Apparently, since it is the girl who initiated the first move, this awkward relationship was supposed to be okay.
O'Hara should have been more careful to show how this unlikely love developed. Instead she unwisely rushed through this whole process of moving on and healing, and suddenly it is them already, making their romance seem like a shallow rebound affair. It did not help that the script was generally banal and boring. The most memorable line for me was Michael's "I've always wanted a baby girl," though I am not sure if the irony was intended or not.
But then there were several problematic plot points which were used as defense for this relationship. Michael kept saying that he can already get a girlfriend because he's legally separated. But how can that be when they were still working on their annulment? The last thirty minutes was a slow slog through a surprise twist, which was unconvincing since Michael and Leslie were shown to had long been living apart even while living together.
How hard could it have been to cast real singers in the lead roles? No question that both Muhlach and Barreto can handle the drama aspects, but the music parts were obviously lacking. Muhlach could only mouth music jargon, but he did not even sing a single line or play any instrument. Barreto bravely sang the entire "Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan?" in her breathiest best, but we know her backup singers can do so much better. 3/10.
Super agree! Wala nga akong makitang maganda sa pelikula na yan e! Sayang na sayang talaga maganda pa naman sana yung konsepto kung nahandle nang maayos! Pati nga kanta ni Canseco nasayang e kasi even nga wala yun the movie can go on di naman na utilized tapos character pa ni CIndy dito naging props lang di natin alam bakit sila nag kaka labuan na mag asawa. Wala pang ka connection connection si Aga and Julia hayyss pilit na pilit e
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