In Happy Times, sports celebrity Ricci Rivero appears in his first lead role in a film and leaves an impression that’s enough but can still improve a lot.
Reality MM Studios
Actors: Heaven Peralejo, Sharlene San Pedro, Ricci Rivero, Kimpoy Feliciano
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Premise: Infatuated high schooler Toni gets close to her crush, the varsity stud Kim, only to find out that he only wants her help in winning the heart of her older sister, popular influencer George. (Upstream)
Running Time: 90 minutes
Director: Ice Idanan
Watch it on: UPSTREAM.PH
Why You Should See It:
Happy Times follows siblings Toni (San Pedro) and Georgina (Peralejo), who lost their mom when they were young. The latter is a social media star who feels the other is the one to blame for their mother’s demise. Toni, the academic achiever, makes her older sister jealous for being his father’s favorite. Their growing rift gets to another level when the school’s star player, Kim (Rivero) asks Toni to help him win her sister George over.
You probably need to tone down your expectations when you see this movie. Ever got the chance to catch one of Maynila episodes? Yup. It’s that Saturday drama anthology presented by Lito Atienza, on GMA-7.
Happy Times feels like an episode of that show, only more visually appealing, and you have slightly bigger stars. It’s a romcom, and like its predecessors, it is perpetually vulnerable to tropes and formulas. That does not necessarily need to feel a bad thing, and in Happy Times’ case, it has something better to offer than a mere TV drama anthology episode. For starters, it has Heaven Peralejo and Sharlene San Pedro, two of the most talented young actresses of their time.
It’s unfortunate, however, that Happy Times, isn’t something the two can flex their acting chops on. Although there is this one heated exchange where the two Kapamilya actresses had the chance to deliver emotional punches, the scene fell flat and did not come authentic at all. Appearing on his debut film in a lead role, Rivero felt as if he should have worked harder to impress, although it’s hard to miss the potential in him.
It’s a shame the film didn’t succeed in its bid to explore the dynamics of a broken family. The script has a lot to work out to become more tangible, but for the effort alone, it’s worth noting that that somewhat prevented the film from ending up being empty.
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
Stream ‘Happy Times’ on UPSTREAM.PH now for only PhP210.00. Watch the official full trailer below:
