“Does someone like me even deserve happiness?”
I spent the last few days ruminating on my review for this film because there were so many aspects I wanted to comment on and very little time (and energy, tbh) to actually write something down. So here’s an attempt to encapsulate all of my feelings for Song Joongki’s latest film.
WARNING: Mild spoilers ahead.
On the first week of the new year, I watched two Filipino films on Netflix back-to-back! Here are some of my thoughts about A Very Good Girl and Monday First Screening. There will be spoilers ahead—read at your own risk!
“Just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re alive.”
I watched #Hopeless, a Korean noir film by debuting director Kim Changhoon starring Song Joongki, Hong Xabin, and BiBi.
I had been planning this series of posts for a while now, but never really gotten around starting it because these past several months have been h e c t i c. But things are beginning to wind down for me now—I finished a manuscript! But that’s a story for later!—so I wanted to get the ball rolling on this new segment: Pinoy Movie x Book Match!
So basically, it’s like this: I introduce a Filipino movie I really like (it doesn’t matter if it’s old or new), tell you a little bit about it, and recommend books that have a similar vibe to it! And because I’m a romance author, expect to see more rom-coms than any other film genre. You have been warned. v^_^v
For this first edition of Pinoy Movie x Book Match, I’m going to start with one of my most favorite 90s rom-coms ever: Labs Kita, Okey Ka Lang?
Labs Kita, Okey Ka Lang? is a 1998 romantic comedy that featured one of the hottest loveteams of their generation—Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin. In this Star Cinema classic shot entirely in Baguio City, Jolina and Marvin play Bujoy and Ned, best friends and neighbors who have known each other all their lives. Early in the film, we see the dynamic between Bujoy and Ned and know for sure there’s no way these two don’t have any non-platonic feelings for each other. When Bujoy’s friend, Mary Ann (Vanessa del Bianco) enters the picture and Ned falls in love with her at first sight, he asks Bujoy to introduce them. At about the same time, Cenon (Gio Alvarez) joins Ned’s band and impresses the members with a cover of a popular song, unintentionally steamrolling Ned and his aspirations of playing an original song at their gigs.
Bujoy eventually gets around to introducing Mary Ann to Ned, and they hit it off well, much to her chagrin. Meanwhile, Cenon asks Ned to set him up with Bujoy, and they end up going on a couple of double dates. While spending more and more time with other people, the best friends slowly realize their feelings for each other but refuse to acknowledge them. Until of course, it’s a little too late.
Or is it?
You can watch Labs Kita, Okey Ka Lang? (again) on iWant.
(You will need a Premium membership, though. It’s P129/month I think.)
Oh, yes! Kaibigan mo ako! Kaibigan mo lang ako. And that’s all I ever was to you, Ned. Your best friend. Takbuhan mo ‘pag may problema ka, taga-sunod, taga-bigay ng advice, taga-enroll, taga-gawa ng assignment! Taga-pagpatawa sa iyo kapag nalulungkot ka, taga-tanggap ng kahit na ano—
And I am so stupid to make the biggest mistake of falling in love with my best friend. Dahil kahit kailan, hindi mo naman ako makikita eh. Kahit kailan hindi mo ako kayang mahalin nang higit pa sa isang kaibigan.
—Bujoy Santillan, 1998
Oof.
Looking back, I’m fairly confident I owe my love for the friends-to-lovers trope to this film. And if you’ve seen the movie and loved it, or if you’re a sucker for this trope like I am, here’s a few #romanceclass titles you need to check out:
Zack and Jasmine never dated, but no one else knows that. That story started in college, because she was being a good friend, and he needed help with something. The friendship and affection that followed were very real, but the lie kept causing trouble.
Years later, after a falling out and real relationships with other people, the lie resurfaces to bother Jasmine one more time–when Zack’s exes ask her to stop him from marrying someone they think is totally wrong for him. She’s the only one who can help him, they say, because she’s his best friend. They also believe that Zack loved Jasmine the most—and maybe still does.
Seventeen-year-old Alexa Zamora looks as if she’s always been the beautiful and graceful center of attention. If you knew her in grade school though, you’d remember a sad little girl, who had lost her parents, and spent most of her time on the martial art arnis—a rough sport, not something girls were supposed to like. If you knew her then, you might have ostracized her for it.
She learned from this mistake, and has done her best to hide all traces of her sport and skill in a new school, and now she’s New Hope Academy’s It Girl. But transfer student Theo Guevarra, who happens to be her old arnis buddy and first love, arrives and makes her question the life she’s been living. How long can she keep up appearances, before it all falls apart?
Rain De Castro has been in love with her best friend, Mark Velasco, for almost the entire time she has known him, but she’s clearly in the friend zone because he’s happily in a relationship. Or so she thought, until the news of his break-up reaches her. Now that Mark’s single again, she decides that it’s time to get out of the zone. But when her cousin Lissa comes into the picture and sets her eyes on Mark, Rain feels troubled when he gets a little too friendly with her. Rain is determined to fight for what she feels this time, but is it worth the effort if it’s a losing battle from the start? Will she back off to give way for her best friend’s happiness, even if it means losing him to someone else again?
At twenty-three, theatre actress Erin Javier has yet to fall in love or kiss a boy offstage, away from the klieg lights. She is the perfect leading lady—whose heart men would fight for, win, and protect—unfortunately, only until the curtains fall and the lights go down. In real life, Erin is a certified NBSB whose heart has been hoping for a song to dance to.
But when two (two!) men enter from stage left and right, Erin is confused. Who deserves to take center stage in her heart—Mr. Theatre Royalty whose attention and displays of affection make her pulse race, or a good friend whose steady support has helped steer her to success and fulfill her dream?
When she was nine-years-old, Katie knew she wanted Chris to give her her first kiss. It wasn’t because she was in love with him (no way, he was her best friend! Besides, she was in love with his fourteen-year-old big brother), it was because she could make him do anything she wanted.
Besides, it didn’t really mean anything. It was only a kiss after all.
But then things started to change. They grew up. They parted ways and went to different high schools. And other girls and boys—well, just one particular boy—came into the picture, throwing their lives upside down.
Told from the alternating points of view of Katie and Chris, this love story between two best friends will tug at your heartstrings and leave you thinking how the simplest things can mean so much.
And there you have it—my first Pinoy Movie x Book Match post! <3 If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I really hope you’ll be able to soon (what’s taking Netflix so long to get the remastered version, I wonder), and if you already have…well, no harm in watching it again, right? I also hope you’ll try any of the titles listed above, and hey—maybe drop a line in the comments if you’ve decided to read any of them! Let me know what you think of my recs! ^_^
Till next!
What is #romanceclass?
#romanceclass is a community of:
- Authors who attended #romanceclass, #romanceclass2016, the steamy reads, YA classes organized by Mina V. Esguerra
- Readers of the books by those authors
- Readers of English-language romance books by Filipino authors
- Actors and artists who are part of the event and publishing process
We are a community of Filipino writers and readers who gather together to do what we love.
Check out our website for more books and information on where to get them: romanceclassbooks.com
I’ve been noticing how iWant has been producing new and original streaming content for the past year, but it’s only this year I’ve actually tried watching them because Bagman was really good. I’ve yet to try John en Martian too, but last week, I was able to watch their latest offering, MOMOL Nights, which starred Kim Molina and Kit Thompson.
iWant didn’t have to work hard to sell me this because 1) I adore Kim, and; 2) the trailer had rom-com beats, which I really liked. <3 Did I want to watch it? HELL YES. But was it a romance? That remained to be seen.
In case you’re wondering why the second question was important, here’s a quick explanation: As a romance author, I am very particular about certain media (books, movies, etc) being branded as a romance when they are very clearly not. Romancelandia’s rule is simple: If it doesn’t have a happy ending, it’s NOT romance.
So is MOMOL Nights a romance? Yes. And here are some things I liked about it:
And now for the things that didn’t quite work for me:
At a happening music festival north of Manila, Miss No-Room-For-Love Jett is asked to play five-minute girlfriend to band leader Adrian, who recently had his heart broken.
AJ doesn’t know the name of the girl she last had a one-night stand with, but damn if the Universe wasn’t a prankster, bringing Jackie back into her life and throwing in AJ’s ex-boyfriend in the mix, too.
Isabel, a CEO-in-training and heiress to a cosmetics company, needs to hire an assistant, stat. What happens when the eligible applicant in front of her is the same man she was in bed with the night before?
MMA fighter Niccolo and snarky feminist Rose have nothing in common. Save maybe for that insanely hot night in Vegas.
All of the book recommendations may also be found on romanceclassbooks.com and are available for purchase in print during our events and straight from the authors. For questions on any of the books, feel free to leave a comment below.