Unofficially Yours raises the bar in rom-coms

The expertise of the ABS-CBN network in the area of love stories and rom-coms remains undisputed at present, although the two other networks are closing in on them. Star Cinema’s latest blockbuster movie Unofficially Yours reportedly earned P18.5M at the box-office on opening day, which may end up even higher than its No Other Woman of P220M after three weeks. Both films feature women who reject commitments.

These two movies exhibit the unspoken norm in today’s society, that of one-night stands. Not that this is an entirely new concept. Several films have already delved into this subject successfully: The hit Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis who both believed they could live together having sex without falling in love (which got into a controversy with No Strings Attached with the same plot); the local success No Other Woman with Anne Curtis as the no-commitment girl, Cristine Reyes, and Derek Ramsey. In Unofficially Yours, it is Angel Locsin who refuses to be committed to John Lloyd Cruz’s dedicated pursuit.

There are just so many plots about love. Those dealing with fear of commitment run the gamut of bad experience with an ex-lover, phobia from parents separating, fear of responsibility, and a weak and clingy partner. So how does one be accepted as better than the other? Going through reviews of Friends with Benefits (FWB), we find clearly that the saving factor of a hackneyed plot is the superiority of the performance. Rotten Tomatoes wrote: “FWB adds nothing new to its well-worn rom-com formula, but the chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is almost enough to carry the movie by itself.” Time follows it up by saying that despite the plot being predictable, “the film was elevated by energetic dialogue, the sexual chemistry between the leads.”

Unofficially Yours is similarly successful despite the plot because of the chemistry between John Lloyd and Angel, and their dedicated acting. Will Lloydie’s pursuit win Angel in the end? Of course it will, as she melts into his arms protesting love ever after. And of course, the audience already knows this even before they enter the theater, or else they would storm the box office threatening to get their money back. These are the limitations with which director Cathy Garcia-Molina has to deal with, that of working within the traditional rom-com while presenting something new. Which we happily could say she does with considerable aplomb. The Angel and John Lloyd we meet in this rom-com are different from their former personas. These are animals in bed, leaving much to the imagination, and the R-13 rating of a liberal ratings board. Their characterizations are sharp, their dialogue smart and modern befitting reporters working in a news office, but at home reverting to traditional manners of the oldies. We like the touch of having Lloydie disrobe as he never has before, signifying willingness to play whatever the part calls for. Our movie house seatmates find it amusing, as Lloydie is far from becoming a Bench model, but who says only those with abs are allowed to disrobe?

Our favorite funny scene is that of Lloydie’s housemates sitting in the sala watching TV while the banging is going on in the bedroom behind the screen. Our fave weepy scene is of mama Tetchie Agbayani confessing to Angel why despite the many heartaches she suffered from the many men she has had, she never gives up hoping that ultimately, the right one will come along.

Our least liked scene was when Angel goes into that kilometric retelling of her heartache when she left hearth and home for boyfriend, played by Patrick Garcia, who ultimately exchanged her for a career abroad. Now she is being persuaded by suitor Lloydie with his puppy eyes to do the same for a plum career offer in Singapore. We think a few hundred words less would do the job.

The monumental success of Unofficially Yours, however, would automatically include the audience expecting sexier leading men and women, smarter dialogue to up the ante on rom-coms. That means Bea Alonzo, Sam Pinto, Maja Salvador, Lovi Poe, Solenn Heussaff, Angelica Panganiban between the two leading networks. And that also means Sarah Geronimo taking a leave from rom-coms.         

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