Dishing out the painful truth in Etiquette for Mistresses

CEBU, Philippines - You don’t think of Kim Chiu as the bar-trotting, liquor-guzzling millennial girl, but here she is in her latest film, being just that and more.

The Cebu native wades into unfamiliar adult territory in Star Cinema’s “Etiquette for Mistresses,” acting alongside Kris Aquino, Claudine Barretto, Iza Calzado and Cheena Crab – all playing veteran illegal paramours who mentor Kim’s newbie kept woman.

Better known for her cutesy rom-coms and soap operas, the 25-year-old actress wasn’t embarrassed to admit that her acting didn’t initially pass muster with director Chito Roño.

Kim, who says she doesn’t drink and do the party scene in real life, was often called out for her phony attempt at seeming inebriated and for her “teleserye acting.”

“Kasi hindi naman ako party girl, so hindi ko alam ang nangyayari. Hindi din naman ako lasenggera…at may scenes na talagang lasing na lasing ako at nagtatawanan kami ni Miss Claudine,” she relates.

“Paano ba ‘to? Palagi akong napapagalitan ni Direk. ‘Ano ba Kim, fake! Fake!’ ‘Ang pangit ng acting mo! May pangit pa ba sa salitang pangit?’” shares Kim of her director’s admonitions.

After a few takes of still not getting it right, Kim just threw caution to the wind and downed two bottles of the tequila brand Patron. That did the trick.

“Naduling na talaga ako. Para lang mabigay ko yung hinihingi ni Direk sa akin,” Kim says.

Another particularly challenging scene for the PBB winner was one where she had to apologize to Kris’ character, the ‘mother mistress’ of the clique, so to speak.

“Isa yun sa mga mahirap kasi syempre, laking teleserye ako so ang laging sinasabi sa akin ni direk Chito, ‘Ayan na naman yang soap opera acting mo!’ Iniisip ko, ano ba ang soap opera acting kumpara sa movie, eh pareho lang naman ang camera?” she says, chuckling at her experience. “Medyo nahirapan ako na nakakaiyak na hindi ko kayang i-please si Direk.”

In “Etiquette for Mistresses,” the ABS-CBN star is a Cebuana lounge singer named Ina who packs her bags for Manila to be at the behest of a married man. Kris’ sophisticated Georgia – along with Chloe (Claudine), Stella (Iza) and Charley (Cheena) – teaches her the inner workings of the complicated life she chose, and how women like them should behave. Issues arise because not all mistresses conform to the ‘other woman’ stereotype.

Aside from filming scenes in Liloan, Kim here also performs two VISPOP winning pieces: “Duyog” by Jewel Villaflores and “Labyu Langga” by Jerika Teodorico.

“I have newfound respect for lounge singers, because it’s not easy what they do,” she says, adding: “Himas-himason sila pero dili sila pwede masuko kay pahawaon sila sa work. Nababastos sila kahit ayaw nila.”

Written for the big screen by Kriz Gazmen and Patrick Valencia, “Etiquette For Mistresses” is inspired by journalist and author Julie Yap-Daza’s best-selling book titled “Etiquette For Mistresses & What Wives Can Learn from Them.”

Claudine, who read the book, reveals there was actually a sequel to the bestseller, but this wasn’t published as it was too salacious and involved real people that readers could easily guess.

Claudine’s favorite mistress rule in the book? “I have many favorites, but top of my head is ‘Mistresses should have their own careers.’ And ‘Know when to give him back to his family.’”

Providing the film’s comic relief is character actress Cheena. Turns out, her comedic timing isn’t the only reason she was specifically handpicked for the role as the group’s wealthiest mistress.

“It’s the shape of her face,” Kim explained. “In the book, one mistress was chosen by the richest man in the Philippines because of her facial features, which according to feng shui, is considered good luck. Kaya kahit anong mangyari, hindi talaga siya iiwan.”

Rule-breaker

Last seen in the 2011 film “In Your Eyes,” and with no recent TV show to her name, Claudine was understandably an eager beaver on set. On her first day of filming, while her co-stars were worn out by 4 a.m., the former Teleserye Queen was still perky by 5 a.m.

“Apat na taon akong hindi nakasalang sa teleserye or movies. When this movie was pitched to me, I had the book which was written 18 years ago,” says Claudine.

“For a comeback, kailangan offbeat or out-of-the-box yung role ko para mas challenging. It shouldn’t be the typical Claudine movie. I enjoyed my role because it’s very challenging. This is also my second movie with Direk Chito, and we all know that if it’s Chito Roño, it’s bound to be a masterpiece.”

Claudine’s Chloe is the polar opposite to Kris’ well-mannered mother hen. “Iskandalosa yung role ko. Chloe is the mistress na, ‘Sana if magkaka-mistress yung asawa ko, huwag si Chloe.’”

While not glorifying mistresses, Claudine points out they also didn’t set out to demonize them. In fact, all five females are depicted as successful career women who don’t rely on their men for a living.

“We are all career-driven and our choices of careers are respected,” Claudine says. “My role is the head of an advertising agency, Stella is a lawyer, Georgia is a chef, Ina is a lounge singer. Kris will teach her how to behave, while I will teach her how to misbehave. She sets the rules, I break the rules.”

Moral compass

Iza, for her part, describes her role as “very strong, logical and sensible…unlike me.”

Asked what they can say to those who brush off their project as another mistress movie, Kim had this to say: “Don’t judge a book by its cover. Watch it first before concluding that it’s another typical mistress movie. This is about friendship. This is about how much one is willing to give in the name of love, ano yung kaya at hindi mo kaya, ano yung pros and cons sa pinasok mong isang bagay. Kung nagbabalak ka pang maging mistress, eto yung mapapala mo.”

Iza too, defended their film’s relevance, explaining that they would not have agreed to the project had it not offered moral lessons.

“Lately there’s been a lot of talk of the industry being at just this level because of ‘Heneral Luna’ and all these things that are happening now, both in television and movies. Perhaps this may be another mistress movie, but I believe this is the first mistress movie that tackles more than just the romance of the husband, the wife and the other woman,” Iza says.

“If you leave the cinema, you will consider the decisions you make in life…you might think about your moral compass,” she adds. “We all have a moral compass, and nobody can dictate what’s wrong or right for us.”

Painful truth

“Hindi kayo lalabas sa sinehan na, ‘Ay, gusto kong maging mistress dahil naka Birkin silang lahat at nagtatapon ng pera sa swimming pool,’” added Claudine. “Instead, it will make you realize that all of us make choices in our lives, and when you make mistakes, when is it enough?”

Their film, Claudine says, would serve as good warning for women who might be falling for unavailable men. “It’s hard to judge because there are many around us who are going through that. But it doesn’t mean that they’re bad people. Sa morals and values, syempre mali. This would educate every woman who’s in a relationship na may kahati. It’s not easy being number two. May kasamang guilt kasi yun. When you leave the movie house, you will think if it’s really worth it, since most of the time, they will really not choose you. That’s the painful truth. This will also teach the wives how to take good care of their husbands.”

Men too, should interest themselves in watching the film, as this could be an eye-opener of the consequences of their decisions. “I also think men should watch this, so that they will see that with one wrong or stupid decision, they can break their family just like that,” says Claudine.