August 7, 2025
Architect Ryan Canete (JC Santos) had been a "good boy" all his life. He never smoked, never drank. After his father suddenly passed away from a heart attack when he was a teenager, Ryan was raised in conservative traditions by his loving mother (Ces Quesada), a die-hard romantic and fan of K-dramas on Netflix. Therefore, Ryan never had a serious girlfriend up to his present age of 35, so he was still very much a virgin.
Meg Zamonte (Rhian Ramos) grew up hating her rich philandering father (Cris Villanueva). This hatred grew more especially after the death of her beloved mother two years ago. She found solace in getting drunk with her girlfriends who shared her destructive vice. When her gang got together, they engaged in reckless challenges, like one called "Kisslock," or kissing the first cute guy they see in the hotel corridor.
So the Kisslock challenge was Meg and Ryan's first physical encounter with each other. However, they would not know each other's names until a full year later because of another chance encounter which brought them together again. These coincidences would then suggest that they are fated for each other, as what usually happened in K-dramas, perhaps those that inspired writer Gina Marissa Tagasa to come up with this formulaic story.
As typical romance stories went -- boy meets girl, they fall in love, someone does something foolish, they have a major disagreement. Then, the audience just waits for the ending to see whether they end up together or not. Actually the first two acts of this movie were actually not so bad. However, that final challenge went too far in its craziness, I simply cannot suspend my disbelief enough to accept that someone can actually do something that stupid.
I felt that the title being based on the actual name of a real Hollywood actress was contrived and corny. JC Santos and Rhian Ramos may be good actors individually, but their romantic chemistry together did not crackle. Meg and Ryan's personalities were too contrasting with each other to be believable that they even clicked as a couple. The ending was also executed and wrapped up in too much of a rush, a letdown given all the buildup. 5/10
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