A Love Story (2007)

Best movie ever!

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A Love Story is not your typical Filipino film. It was told in a non- linear fashion and the plot consisted of many ironies but still it is lacking in terms of plausibility as well as character development. Aside from that, there was a lot inconsistencies in the lead protagonists and in the plot. I just hope that the scriptwriter should have looked more into the story. There are just too many inconsistencies in the main characters and questions that should be considered about their traits and the story such as the following:1.Why would a woman who already suffered from a failed marriage due to adultery would enter another affair? 2.Why would an eligible bachelor of who states that he wanted to marry the "perfect girl" would marry somebody after a one-night stand and a younger, immature and loose woman at that?Obviously,she isn't her so- called "perfect girl".3.Is it just right that a married person would have an affair because his wife works a stewardess,who is away from the country most of the time and not seeing each other often?I just hope they got more creative with their marriage problems rather than the requirements of the plot alone.4.Why does the two woman have to resolve the issue of the affair and not the wife and the husband?Also,why should both women compromise? I don't agree that is the best resolution that the movie needed.5.Finally,the most intriguing one.Does the scriptwriter know the difference between DEMENTIA a.k.a Alzheimer's Disease and AMNESIA? Apparently,the father of the lead male has signs of amnesia when he could not remember one of his sons.I consider that they did this for dramatic purposes.But it looks fake and unrealistic since the father's level of dementia has no reason to forget one of his sons.Its either he forgets ALL HIS CHILDREN or BARELY REMEMBERS EACH OF THEM.In his case,he should barely remember each and everyone and NOT FORGET ONE and BARELY REMEMBERS THE OTHERS.If that's the case,the father should have been stated to have BOTH amnesia and dementia.Obviously,the film suffers from the poorly written screenplay.As far as the cast is concerned,the performances is far from memorable. Aga Muhlach remains stereotyped in handsome roles which he portrays with perfection.Maricel Soriano never fails to deliver. While Angelica Panganiban is a sexy but so-so actress.Nevertheless,this film does not fall short in entertainment as far as being a drama is concerned especially for viewers who are more concerned about who is starring on the film rather than what the story is all about.

A Love Story is basically the same old trashy filipino soap style movie being serve by Star Cinema. We can see the usual stuff like heavy on dialog, over the top crying scenes, and all those melodramatic cliché being thrown into the screen. This movie is all about Ian (played by Aga Muhlach, acting cute as always) who have to decide which two chicks his hooking up his going to end up with. Is it the bitch Karyn (Angelica Panganiban) or the mature and caring Joanna (Maricel Soriano)? Basically, its a contest between these two lousy women on who gets the grand prize(Ian the womanizer).The story was presented in non-linear and boast itself with a plot twist not common to filipino movies. Unfortunately, the direction was gawd awful its messy and confusing. The scene editing was horrible you get lost between transitions to different location and time. All sorts of supporting casts appears right at you.... you just unable to keep up knowing each one of them.The problem with this movie is that we really don't care about the characters we are seeing. It doesn't show the true values of a filipino. Like Karyn for example, mind you.... a woman who met a guy in the elevator then ends up having sex on the same night will always be a woman of bad reputation in Christian Philippines. Then there's this Ian who broke his leg on a pathetic skiing stunt who cries like a girl eventually going gaga over Laura because she was the one nursing him till he gets well. Its unbelievable..... and when they finally reveal the over hype twist in the story, I'd say oh yeah..... big deal.

I really want to like A Love Story, but I was just bothered by how the entire movie took its course. Film-making-wise it's above par, but I just don't feel sympathetic with the characters and the story. I must say that the animation movie Ratatouille has more emotional weight and character arc than the characters in this movie! To begin, all the characters that we should care about here are rich and well-off. Now, how can most of the majority in the country, who has more low-mid income class than mid to upper class relate to them? I felt that it's alright that they should be beset with all the problems in the world just to balance out their privileged status in society. Anyways, among the three leads, I find that the character of Angelica Panganiban is at least, the most believable one. She's the one who changed the most in the end. From a slutty party girl in the beginning, she evolved into a mature, often paranoid (which is expected as she was cheated upon), forgiving and wise mother in the end. That scene in the hospital where she begged Maricel to leave Aga is really good. And even though she was quiet in the next scene wherein Aga and Maricel (as the doctor) pretends that they don't know each other, she clearly stood out. Her quiet and subtle performance was the strongest among the three.As for Aga, I don't really care for him. I would've been more satisfied if he ended up with nobody in the end. He's selfish. He has all the money and success in the world yet he takes that for granted. At his age, at 38, he hasn't grown up and still towards the end he's still the same. He's afraid of making choices and standing up with it. In the movie, he even said, that he will leave his wife just to be with Maricel, now, what kind of a man is that? Then, later, when he learns that his wife is pregnant, he stays with her? If he truly LOVES Maricel, like what his character says, he should've made a choice and be with her. I know, people will react, well how about, the kid? Well, he made the choice of pursuing a relationship with Maricel in the beginning, so again, it's all about choices.His monologue wherein he had a fight with his brother-in-law where he revealed all his angst is just so poorly developed. Again, i don't care with all the crap he said, he's rich, his family's rich, and nobody can have all the things in the world. If he had an unhappy childhood, well, that's fine, he's rich anyways, lol.The subplot with Aga's father having Alzheimer's is under researched. His illness is Alzheimer's not amnesia for goodness sake!As for Maricel, again, it's not believable in her character to be with Aga, who after, was left by her husband for another woman, is now the other woman. I know, people will say its LOVE, but, if Aga's character was YOUNGER, like that of Angelica's, it would at least make sense and we could use the argument that she was just attracted to him and she fell in love later on. But, they're almost the same age, and at her age, and after all the relationship mishaps she has experienced, would she be much WISER and EXPERIENCED now?And what's with the random opening shots? Like, "5 YEARS LATER", we open up to a cheesecake? What's that? I don't see the connection? Film is a visual medium, and sadly, it wasn't used much in this movie. They could've staged the "accidental meeting" of Angelica and Maricel (which is a common thing in Pinoy movies) some other, more visually logical way. I also find that the intended CONCEIT on who's the mistress or the wife thing in the beginning of the movie didn't work. C'mon! Again, we the audience, as the filmmakers wanted to, were supposed to believe that Maricel is the wife to shock us with the twist that she is in fact the mistress. But, they show scenes of her, being the IDEAL and LOVING wife that she should be to Aga, and the next scene, we see Aga and his family having a gathering, minus his "WIFE" and all he could reason out was she's busy? AGAIN, THIS IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH MARICEL'S CHARACTER AS EARLIER SHOWN. If they showed her as a loving and ideal wife, shouldn't she be in those gatherings despite her busy schedules? But of course, its a PLOY so that they can lead us on to believe that she's the wife, and later on be shocked that she's the mistress. This I believe back fired, because in their attempt to make it unpredictable, it ruined the twist in the end.And i know I should not complain about the often and unnecessary musical score that's prevalent in pinoy movies, but thought I should just mention it.

Finally, a mainstream Filipino flick that experiments with non-linear storytelling, uses an excellent cast (not reliant on the upcoming star of the moment), and doesn't insult the moviegoers' intelligence with overly explicit explanations.Direk Maryo J. de los Reyes does an excellent job with A Love Story: the plot is complex enough to hold a more discerning audience's attention. The sound engineering was consistently solid, the wardrobe and make-up were expressive of the characters' personalities, and the acting was mostly spot-on. The cinematography is subtly symbolic, thoughtful and well-motivated. The first establishing shot is a bird's-eye view of the Alabang Town Center fountain, done ala Gaudi with fragmented tile pieces, foreshadowing the movie's theme of broken relationships, and ends with the lead characters walking over a rocky shore.Ian Montes (played to the hilt by Aga Muhlach) is the classic Pinoy male who feels he's God's gift to women; unlike most men of this strutting ilk, at least he comes equipped with dimples, a well-maintained bod and makes oodles of money. Joanna (sympathetically performed by Maricel Soriano) is the doctor who finds new love in Ian after recuperating from a cheating husband and showers him with attention. Karyn (believably portrayed by Angelica Panganiban) is the stewardess that Ian is drawn to because of her youthful spontaneity. The characters are complex and offer facets the audience can relate to.Absurdly fascinating yet true is how these independent, strong-willed women are reduced to mindless martyrs whenever the object of their affection throws another testosterone-filled tantrum. What is ridiculous is while both women are shown to have depth beyond their looks (which is supposed to complicate the choice further); there is nothing beyond the superficial that Ian offers other than what is apparently great sex. His father's words of wisdom apparently did not impress upon him: Flowers are like women; do not pick a flower if you will just throw it away. You have to take care of it because there will never be another one like it again. There is nothing more satisfying than right triumphing over wrong, no matter how difficult. Those who indulge in adultery really set themselves up for inevitable pain. This is really a good example of while we all have a choice, it takes two to tango! All in all, a good movie, but if I had to nitpick, I'd change the title (why in English? And why so plain and non-descript?). Some of the supporting cast could've been reconsidered because they were painful to watch (Karyn's bestfriend/fellow stewardess was OA, Karyn's OB-Gyne and her son Jacob were also camera-conscious), some minor technical flaws (what must be a handsfree microphone set is visibly tucked behind Maricel's jeans; the reflection of the hand holding the non-glare shield is visible on the windshield in the scene where Karyn is sitting in her car). Also, cut out the draggy parts and reshoot some of Angelica's speaking lines in English because they distract from the dialogue. And okay, rehashing the Joey Albert song "Tell Me" is cheesy with literal lyrics as a compromise-trademark of Filipino films, which could've been tolerated except whenever it played in the movie and the lady beside me would burst into heartfelt song. Each time!