It was the 2018 Maharang Festival in Naga City. The program host was asking the audience for contestants to vie for Chili King and Queen. Tourist from Manila Zy Angeles (Julia Barretto) was very enthusiastically volunteering herself, but the host wanted her to have a male partner. Zy just grabbed the cute local guy beside her Juancho Trinidad (Joshua Garcia), and pulled him to the stage with her. They won the title.
Presently, Juancho is the chef of their family-owned Casa Rosa restaurant, specializing in Bicolano cuisine. He was now planning to opening a branch in Manila. Zy is now a writer for an American publication based in New York City. She was assigned to Naga to write an article about Bicolano cuisine. Juancho and Zy, who had been lovers until 2 years ago, run into each other. Juancho invited her to Casa Rosa, and Zy agreed.
The story and screenplay was written by Kookai Labayen and Crystal San Miguel, with additional dialogues from Simon Lloyd Arciaga and Jen Chuaunsu. The cutesy rom-com parts may feel clichéd, but those angsty dramatic lines during arguments can hit very hard. We have all been in arguments with people we love, but it's different when we are the third party hearing valid points from both sides of the fence
At first, we see the story of their bad breakup from Juancho's point of view, so we side with him initially and consider Zy as the bad guy. When we finally get to hear Zy's side of the story, only then do we see the full picture. We are obsessed about staying together no matter what, but sometimes we have to step back to recognize that the relationship can already be toxic. Should this be fixed, or should they just let go?
Director Petersen Vargas is very well-versed with rom-coms, and he handled this one expertly. Now on their sixth film together, JoshLia looked great, with an electric romantic chemistry as a screen couple, from heatedly eating spicy delicacies to catching crablets on a rowboat. Individually, they can deliver those dramatic arguments and monologues in a way that could move audiences to tears. Surely, a crowd-pleaser! 7/10.
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