A movie that gives Pops reason to rejoice - STAR BYTES By Butch Francisco

Since I’m no music buff, I don’t get to follow Pops Fernandez’s concert series. But I’ve seen almost all her films – which isn’t really a tough feat since she hasn’t really done that many.

No, I never got to see her first movie – the one she did with Rowell Santiago in 1982. But from what I know, even Pops herself is embarrassed by this film.

However, I saw practically all the movies she did for Regal in the mid-’80s – most of which were bad. No, it wasn’t Pops who was bad. She just happened to get stuck with those awful projects.

To her credit, she even managed to rise above some of those horrible materials. In one comic trilogy called Stupid Cupid, she was able to breeze through the entire movie without living up to the film’s title. In the story, she plays the spinterish Upeng, a sari-sari store owner left behind in their barrio by her boyfriend, Martin Nievera, who has opted to live in the United States. When Martin returns, he tries to woo her back, but she remains combative toward him. In the scenes where she exercises her authority over younger sister Manilyn Reynes (who flirts incessantly with Janno Gibbs), she displays great comic timing – with the punchlines delivered right on cue. Maybe if she didn’t become the country’s concert queen, she could have become a wonderful comedienne on TV.

But the path Pops seems to be taking now is toward drama. Last year, Linlang opened to mixed reviews. I personally liked it, however – especially Pops’ performance.

Currently showing is the suspense drama Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya, Pops Fernandez’s second movie with Maryo J. de los Reyes after Linlang.

Written by Lualhati Bautista, Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya casts Pops as a guidance counselor married to a rotten-to-the-core presidential adviser, played by Albert Martinez. When one of her students (Bojo Molina) commits suicide in her presence, she begins to fear for her and her family’s reputation. To make matters even more complicated for her, Albert has her trailed by a private eye (Diether Ocampo). And tough luck for Pops. Her one night of indiscretion with swimming coach Anton Bernardo is photographed by Diether – copies of which are later turned over to Albert. Pops, of course, survives all these crises and even comes out triumphant in the end.

Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya is a rather difficult movie to piece together. No, there are no gaping loopholes in the story. This is really the way the script is constructed – which is quite clever because it really holds the viewer’s attention.

The flashbacks, however, are just too much and too many. If you’re not patient enough to piece all these scenes together, you’ll probably just walk out on this movie. But if you stay behind and work everything in your mind, your efforts will eventually be rewarded in the end.

This is what makes Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya different from other local films: It makes you think. Watching it is like solving a puzzle. Your mind may get exhausted, but there is a great feeling of satisfaction afterward.

The performances of the stars in this movie are also quite satisfactory. Anton Bernardo and Allyson VII had already proven in last year’s Sa Paraiso in Efren that even bold stars are capable of fine acting given a sensible material and under the guidance of a good director. Anton still does a good job here in Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya, but Alysson VII fares even better as a macho dancer implicated in the death of Bojo Molina.

In the case of Albert Martinez, ever since he won various awards for playing a wicked dance instructor in Segurista, he has done nothing but play bad guys in most of his movies. There’s really nothing wrong with that, except that his performances were already starting to be as bad as the evil characters he portrays on the big screen.

In Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya, however, he uses a more refreshing approach to his bad guy role. He’s far more effective here than in Sidhi.

Bojo Molina’s role as a closet queen is the most challenging among all the male stars in this film. It’s a difficult part which he does quite well – although he does go overboard in some scenes where he has to play it swishy.

Diether Ocampo did a fine acting job in Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin. Playing a detective here in Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya, he isn’t asked to do much. The most we can say about his performance therefore is that it’s just competent.

Pops Fernandez’s role as a physically and emotionally abused wife in the movie is complex and difficult. Fortunately, she has already matured as a performer and is able to give justice to the part – marvelously, if I may say.

Thanks to this film, Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya, Pops should be happy that she is being recognized as a bona fide drama actress – at last.