What the Tabing-Ilog girls have in common

The moment she finishes Fine Arts, the course she plans to take in college, Kaye Abad, 19, would like to paint in the nude three actors she considers "perfect models" — Jomari Yllana, Jericho Rosales and Aga Muhlach.

Yes, Desiree del Valle, 19, has begged off from going to California for good with her mom (Lourdes del Valle of Lopez, Quezon) to join her 76-year-old father, Clois Harold Dunham, and her older brother Deny in the mountain town of Bacaville.

No, Paula Peralejo has no intentions of following in her sister Rica’s footsteps toward a "bold" career; she’d rather stay as sweet as she has always been — for the time being?

Besides becoming another Maricel Soriano or Vilma Santos, Jodi Santamaria dreams not of finding her father whom she and her kuya Juan Carlo haven’t seen since they were small (when their old man separated from their mom, Mercedita Africano, of Nagcarlan, Laguna) but of doing the psycho type of role played by Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

They are the girls from Tabing-Ilog, the ABS-CBN teleromance-drama seen by millions of teeners like them not only from Aparri to Jolo but in Filipino communities abroad reached by TFC (The Filipino Channel).

The older sister of "semi-retired" child star Sarah Jane Abad (who’s back in school), Kaye is the daughter of Noel Abad and Cecille Cosme who own and manage the Abad Homes Subdivision in Imus, Cavite. Kaye impresses people with her "understated" (read: not hysterical) style of acting, showcased on the big screen in the Maricel Soriano topbiller Mila where Kaye played a teenage prostitute and soon in the Star Cinema poignant romance-drama Kung Ikaw ay Isang Panaginip, directed by Wenn Deramas, which also stars Jolina Magdangal, Leandro Muñoz and Rafael Rosell.

A deadringer for Giselle Toengi, Desiree, an American citizen, changed her mind about quitting showbiz and going to the States to stay there for good when she took stock of her achievements (not that big yet but good enough for a starter) and realized what a waste it would be if she just threw them away. "I told my mom," said Desiree, "okay, I’d work there (in California) but as soon as I saved enough money, I’d buy a plane ticket and fly back home to the Philippines." Her mom relented, so Desiree is here to stay (seen next in Star Cinema’s Trip, a movie about today’s youth directed by Gilbert Perez of Kahit Isang Saglit fame).

Movie writers agree that Paula looks prettier than her Ate Rica and that Paula has the "it" to also go bold but no, thank you, said Paula, "One bold star in the family is enough." Instead, Paula aspires to be both a drama actress (as she’s trying to prove in Tabing-Ilog) and a comedienne (Home Along da Riles of which she’s a regular). Doesn’t she care that her Ate Rica seems to have overtaken her and is now miles ahead of her (even if they both started in showbiz at the same time)? "Not at all," smiled Paula. "To each her own time."

After three movies (Mystrio, Mahal na Kung Mahal and Anak), Jodi is dead sure that she’ll get serious attention in her current movie, Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Mindanao: Bagong Buwan (a working title), the Cesar Montano starrer where Jodi plays a pregnant young Christian girl who grew up in Muslim country. "It’s memorable to me because on the day the scene showing me giving birth was shot," recalled Jodi who’s a Via Veloso lookalike, "I was turning 19. That was last June 16. After the ‘take,’ everybody applauded and sang Happy Birthday to me. Joked direk Marilou, ‘Ka-birthday mo ang anak mo’." A product of a broken home, Jodi studied at the Chung Wa Chinese School in Pasay City. Her Chinese name is San Ma Li (she can write it in Chinese).

There. Besides being in the cast of Tabing-Ilog, the four girls don’t have much in common, do they?

More things in common

Funfare’s "international correspondent," Toronto-based Ferdinand Lapuz, has this interesting report:

Dear Ricky,

Hi, again! I have a tri-via for you and Filipino-film buffs. Aside from being festival hoppers (like me), what do the following exceptional Filipino films have in common: Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Muro Ami; Mel Chionglo’s Lagarista, Burlesk King and Sibak; Maryo delos Reyes’ Sa Paraiso ni Efren; Lav Diaz’ Kriminal ng Bo. Concepcion and Hubad sa Ilalim ng Buwan; Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes’ Diliryo and Gangland; Joel Lamangan’s Bulaklak ng Maynila and Pusong Mamon (co-directed with Eric Quizon); Gil Portes’ Saranggola; Rory Quintos’ Anak; Jose Javier Reyes’ Toro; Carlitos Siguion-Reyna’s Azucena, Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin, Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya and Kahapon May Dalawang Bata?

The answer? All these movies have been reviewed by US film critics in America’s leading trade paper Variety. Except for Sibak, all the reviews were written after 1997 when Filipino movies became active in participating in international film festivals. I won’t say which one got favorable, average and mediocre reviews but I think, good or bad, a review is still a review. And hey, this is Variety!

I would like to quote comments about the performances of the actors in some of the films mentioned above.

• Muro Ami – "Cesar Montano shows why he’s a marquee name, delivering a grand performance." – Robert Koehler

• Lagarista – "Beautiful Janna Victoria" – Emanuel Levy

• Kriminal ng Bo. Concepcion – "Hunky Raymond Bagatsing strikes a fine balance of chastised grace and plucky grit as the guilt-ridden Everyman." – Eddie Cockrell

• Diliryo – "The movie owes its success to the charisma and the good looks of its two stars, Giselle Toengi and Jomari Yllana." – Emanuel Levy

• Bulaklak ng Maynila – "Anchored by a swaggering, powerful turn from vet Philippine thespian Christoper de Leon and won him best actor kudos at the 1999 Metro Manila Fest." – Eddie Cockrell

• Pusong Mamon – "This formulaic farce scores with the winning lead performances (referring to Lorna Tolentino, Albert Martinez and Eric Quizon), sharply written character and a welcome generosity of spirit." – Joe Leydon

• Saranggola – "Good acting, particularly from the two leads (referring to Ricky Davao and Lester Lansang)." – Dennis Harvey

• Anak – "Veteran local star Vilma Santos is in fine form, while Claudinne Barretto lends impressive shading to what might have been a stock sexy ‘bad girl’ role." – Dennis Harvey

• Azucena – "Alessandra de Rossi is impressive in her first major role. Acting by all four principals is excellent, with Ricky Davao making his character Tomas an object of pity as well as revulsion." – Dennis Harvey

• Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin – "Rosanna Roces, heretofore a mainstay in Philippine exploitation flicks, is sympathetically persuasive as she maneuvers through Ligaya’s vertiginous mood swings. There are standout performances by John Arcilla and Chanda Romero." – Joe Leydon

• Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya – "Rosanna Roces is vibrant as the woman forced to choose between her need for sex and her need for a stable relationship, while Ricky Davao touchingly portrays the sensitive, decent Ramon." – David Stratton

– Ferdinand