Since Filipinos are also fond of romantic comedies and it has proven many times in the many box-office films produced by Star Cinema with the film company’s long list of romantic comedy hits; and the film ‘English Only, Please’ takes pride in its fresh casting—the Jennylyn Mercado and Derek Ramsey tandem; playing the meant-to-be-couple—Tere Madlangsacay and Julian Parker, respectively.
Frankly speaking, the formula is no foreign to any avid fan of romantic comedy flicks but it has a lot of promise. It utilizes a simple guide for the ‘foolish hearts’ like the characters portrayed by Mercado, Ramsay, and Cai Cortez (Mercado’s best friend).
Though the film is the ‘less-likely favored’ by the moviegoers during Christmas season especially the whole family—I must say it is the most decent movie that is running in a very limited list of theaters as opposed to its big rivals, but it provides something that is very familiar to all—and that is love.
Its Basic Formula—Love.
Yes, at first glance—people would easily snub this film since it is limiting in its theme—targeting the ladies, the gays, and even those lovers or married couples that can identify the struggles of the lead characters.
However, let us not forget that ‘love’ is the most effective topic anywhere and whatever it maybe—be it in books, in television series or even to everyday conversations. Love is indeed a many-splendored thing as depicted in the love story of an English tutor named Tere who eventually stumbling online the man of her life—Julian, a bitter and a stalker to his ex-Filipina girlfriend.
Treated in a light romance setup, the film’s weak point is not hitting the needed ‘kilig’ moments between the attraction between Julian and Tere.
The simple humors injected in the film like highlighting the ‘lingos’ that are being used in everyday Juan in Philippine setting were quite successful, but not enough to ‘hook’ the intended audiences. Yes, love is the basic formula, but the writers should have capitalized more on the ‘kilig’ moments.
Mistaking Jennylyn, Derek with Angel Locsin, Sam Milby.
There is no denying that both Mercado and Ramsay do look together onscreen, surprisingly; but while listening to them as they delivered their lines—I couldn’t help but mistake on Mercado to sound like Angel Locsin and I couldn’t stop imagining Ramsay’s character to be breathed into by Sam Milby.
If this flick was probably done in Star Cinema—a perfect pair could be a reunion of Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby or see Angel Locsin and Sam Milby as Tere and Julian.
In this film by Dan Villegas, Mercado stood out even if without finding herself doing heavy dramatic scenes. Her scene where she recited the hate letter that his student Julian asked her to translate was already moving enough for her to win a nomination and perhaps win the best actress award. Ramsay on the other hand, seeing him tackling a role that is far cry from his sexy roles in his previous strings of hits—the wife-themed flicks, where he was the object of desires by women is a refreshing sight, but there were moments he doesn’t sound natural as the FilAm with an American accent.
Humor in Colloquial Terms Work!
What actually makes the film endearing are the colloquial terms or ‘beki’ lingo used in everyday Filipino conversations as incorporated in the characters’ lines. Maybe, the insertions of such words and defining the words like a dictionary proved to be more humorous.
Words like ‘hoy’, ‘motmot’, ‘beh’, ‘momol’ and even the ‘chikinini’ (other word for hickey) were quite humorous when Derek uses such terms in his speaking lines. The word ‘Don’t Ask’ was effective enough in making the audiences understand what both characters were trying to convey in their conversations.
My only concern is that there were scenes that should have been really, really funny, but were lacking in comedic timing especially when delivered by Mercado and Ramsay. Despite that, the ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Actor’ were still for them. I couldn’t imagine the jurors giving it to Robin Padilla and Vina Morales of ‘Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo’.
‘English Only, Please’ is not an ordinary type of romantic comedy flick, but I would like to believe this is more relatable to its audiences. It doesn’t need too much high-tech animations or heavy scenes to impress; but the words taught by the English tutor Mercado were sort of entertaining.
When audiences have too much fill of slapstick comedies, horror-themed flicks—‘English Only, Please’ is a much needed ‘breather’ and a more ‘saner’ movie treat.
Rating: From Five Stars – Three stars
