"Babe I Love You" owes its charm to Anne Curtis

“Babe I Love You” is no different from the formulaic vehicles custom-made for today’s young heartthrobs. The story is straightforward, and the direction is creditable but not outstanding. Yet the film somehow acquires a charm of its own, thanks to Anne Curtis.

Anne does justice to her character, a streetsmart, gregarious girl who, by her own admission, is far from being flawless. She failed to go beyond high school, her hips are too wide, her lips are too thick, her manners are atrocious. Yet she has a sincerity that shines through and manages to win over Sam Milby, a prim and proper university professor who is up for promotion as vice dean.

Sam, on the other hand, stumbles in the emotional scenes, particularly during the confrontation with his mother, played by Laurice Guillen. But I’m sure his fans will hardly notice, since their attention would be fully focused on his washboard abs.

 “Babe I Love You” may be predictable but it still is enjoyable.

* * *

Ricky Martin is gay and is proud to be one.

The ex-Menudo teen heartthrob and the man who popularized the sultry “Livin’ La Vida Loca” made the admission via Twitter last week. “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am,” the 38-year-old Puerto Rican said.

Funny but nobody seems to be surprised. Rumors had long been circulating about Martin’s sexuality. He said he finally come out of the closet because he is writing his memoir and wants to come clean.

 “From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside,” he said.

He kept his homosexuality secret because some people had warned him admitting it would hurt his career. “Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.”

He also felt he has to come out now that he is a father. The singer is the father of two boys born via a surrogate mother.

Master Showman German Moreno couldn’t care less if Ricky Martin is gay. “If many were surprised by his revelation, there were also many like him who were happy because he has finally cut the chains that have shackled him for so long,” Kuya Germs observed.

* * *

Maria Venus Raj is a checkmated beauty queen. It seems like only yesterday when she basked in her moment of glory as she was crowned the 2010 Binibining Pilipinas-Universe.

Last week, Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) stripped Ms. Raj of her title, citing “inconsistencies contained in her birth records, in contrast to her personal account of her birth.” It was a diplomatic way of saying that she was not completely honest to the pageant organizer. The birth certificate “is indeed authentic. The information in the document, however, is fabricated, it being filed three years after Venus’ birth by her mother’s cousin who, at the time, worked in the civil registrar’s office.”

The organizer said it discovered the discrepancy “accidentally after the coronation, the admission coming straight from the mouth of Ms. Raj, and later on, her mother.”

There were also issues with her father, Vincent Raj, who was found to be an Indian national and is not married to her mother, which was not indicated in her birth record.

The crown was turned over to second runner-up Nicolette Henson because first runner-up Dianne Necio is, at 17, too young to compete for Miss Universe.