April 11, 2026
This story is set in Romblon, in the early 2000s. Rose (Xyriel Manabat) is about to turn 18 years old, and she wanted a grand debutante's party to rival that of her favorite actress Mara (Kira Ballinger). To spare her parents (Cris Villanueva and Yayo Aguila) the extra expense, she was saving up her own money earned by working as the manager of their town's only internet cafe with her gang (VJ Mendoza, Timothy Castillo and Kenken Nuyad).
One day, there was a new boy in school Jordan (Kyle Echarri), son of Tess (Nikki Valdez), whose American father had been ghosting him for the past 10 years. He did not want to be in that small town, and was being angry and petty about it. His first meeting with Rose was an unpleasant accident that got the two off on the wrong foot. However, Jordan still needed to use the computer at Rose's internet shop to check if his father responds to his emails.
Xyriel Manabat was the most popular child actress in the 2010s after her iconic turns in TV drama series "Agua Bendita" (2010) and especially "100 Days to Heaven" (2011). This is her first lead film role after a series of ensemble roles in 2025. As Rose, she was funny, gutsy and lovable, and her flair for restrained drama was very well-showcased here. She can effortlessly make us teary-eyed as well she did before as Young Anna Manalastas in "100 Days."
Kyle Echarri entered showbiz via "The Voice Kids" in 2015. After a series of TV work, he made the transition to headlining films in 2025 in films like "100 Awit Para Kay Stella" and "The Ride." As Jordan, he was able to show off more of his dramatic acting range -- from abandoned kid angst to supportive boyfriend sincerity. The one-foot plus height difference between him and Manabat was distracting at first, but they managed to make it work.
This Dolly Dulu film followed a very familiar rom-com formula, from "stinky" meet-cute in the school garden to eventually falling in love with each other. Of course, there would be a wrench thrown in to complicate matters, and admittedly, this was just that type of melodramatic subject matter that I do not particularly like. Anyhow, the two lead actors and their unexpected chemistry carried the bittersweet story well to its teary resolution. 7/10
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