“My Fairytail Love Story” is lovely. It’s a sweet reminder of the fondest romance stories we all love and aspire to be our own. Teeming with winking references to classic fairy tales like Cinderella and Little Mermaid, the film is brisked with pop culture sensibility that turns an overused plot into a high-spirited teen-fantasy.
The princess in the story is Chantel (Janella Salvador), a spoiled brat whose life turns upside down when she wakes up one day, with a mermaid tail. The only person who knows her secret, is her best friend, Noah (Elmo Magalona), whose hidden admiration is put aside, when he decides to help Chantel finding her own Prince Charming.
It is hard not to fall with this kind of love story, and while it’s admittedly not a perfect one, there’s a charming energy that motivates the film to get it to beautiful places in its simple plot.
Visually appealing, the film brights up with enchanting camera work that captures romantic moments in breathtaking frames. Magic is conjured from Chantel and Noah, whose onscreen chemistry naturally explodes, regardless of some deficiency in their respective characterizations.
The script is arguably weaker than what can still be done, but there is an enough compensation generated in the handsomely showcased visuals and endearing musical inserts, giving the film a sense of mystifying allure and a distinctive lightness.
Janella Salvador is a charming performer, lighting up the screen with her natural affinity to the camera. She illuminates with a contagiously exhilirating energy, making it easier for her to establish chemistry with Magalona’s character.
Kiko Estrada, as Ethan, radiates with an inherent prince charming appeal, but there is something else more exciting about him that the narrative fails explore.
Elmo Magalona maintains his endearing appeal as a loyal bestfriend, who sacrifices his own feelings just so Chantel can find her prince, but whether she’ll realize she’s been looking in wrong places, that’s for you to find out.
“My Fairytail Love Story” indulges in a picture-book romance filled with delightful goofiness and irresistible lightness. There are some flawed choices that hamper the narrative from making it to more exciting places, but the film’s quirky mood and the brisk visuals move this story about friendship and true love, to affectionate levels that audience would find difficult to resist.
That may not be a profound reason to remain in the film’s world of fairytale romance, but to be honest, it does not feel right, either, to dismiss the once in a lifetime sparkle it offers, no matter how ephemeral.
RATING: 3/5
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
‘My Fairy Tail Love Story’ is now showing in cinemas, nationwide.
