It’s worth the long wait

As a box office queen, Sharon Cuneta had the wonderful opportunity of working on the big screen with practically all the top leading men in local cinema: Fernando Poe, Jr. Christopher de Leon, Rudy Fernandez, Richard Gomez, Robin Padilla, Cesar Montano, Bong Revilla, etc. The only exceptions must be Dolphy and Aga Muhlach.

With Aga Muhlach, it was really strange that they didn’t get to work together at once in the movies considering the fact that they are of the same generation and even work together in the same television station (ABS-CBN). Why, didn’t Aga start his film career in Viva in Bagets? And Sharon, as we all know, is the queen of Viva.

When I joined Star Cinema’s creative committee way back in 1999, I remember that one of our tasks was to come up with a Sharon-Aga project.

Unfortunately, until the group was dissolved, there was still no Sharon-Aga movie on the planning board.

Yesterday, the first Sharon Cuneta-Aga Muhlach movie – Kung Ako na Lang Sana – finally opened in Metro Manila Theaters. And this I must tell you – it was worth the wait.

In Kung Ako na Lang Sana, Sharon and Aga are part of a barkada (formed in college) that also count Christine Bersola Dominic Ochoa, Jennifer Sevilla, Shintaro Valdes and their respective partners as members.

But the closest in the group are undeniably Sharon and Aga, who strangely enough are like two opposite poles. Aga is the rich, irresponsible kid who does not have the initiative and the drive to succeed in life. Very good-looking, he is never lacking in women – although even in romantic relationships, he is still a failure.

In stark contrast, Sharon is driven and hardworking. With her business acumen, everything she touches turns into gold. In the affairs of the heart department, well, she had a serious relationship once with Reggie Curly, but this didn’t work out. Strong-willed and headstrong, she is the type of woman who scares off prospective suitors, whom she doesn’t entertain much anyway – maybe because deep in her heart, she loves Aga Muhlach. But is Aga also in love with her and would they eventually get together?

The movie actually works around this premise. Although the story of Kung Ako na Lang Sana is quite simple, it has several layers.

The Sharon Cuneta character, for one, could already be a movie by itself. Her story is like the female version of the Pio de Castro movie, Soltero (starring the late Jay Ilagan). Of course, Maricel Soriano already did a Soltera, but the Sharon Cuneta character is different from the one played by Ms. Soriano.

The spinsterish type of character played by Sharon in Kung Ako na Lang Sana actually represents quite a large sector of our society: Successful women who are happy and content with their respective careers and yet scared of the fact that their biological clocks are fast ticking away.

The character of Sharon in the film is actually well-loved. After all, she could be counted on for so many things – financial assistance, a shoulder to cry on, etc. And yet no one loves her – I mean, no man loves her in a romantic way so that she may at least have a spark of light in her life. Don’t we have a lot of people like that in our midst? So fulfilled and yet so empty deep inside.

Aga also has his own story to tell. But his is more on family – about how they couldn’t openly express their love for one another.

All the situations depicted in Kung Ako na Lang Sana are culled from real life and each and every viewer could easily identify with practically every scene and situation they see on the big screen.

The dialogues – crisp to the last period – are very real either. It’s just unfortunate that most of these lines had been dubbed and dubbed too perfectly that some come out artificial. No one stammers nor stutters and this takes out the realistic flavor of the film somehow. What a waste of good dialogues.

And yes, there is also this problem with photography – with some of the shots out of focus or misaligned.

Fortunately these technical problems eventually take the backseat and are set aside because the movie is really engaging.

To the moviegoer who just wants to relax, this is the film for you because here, everything you see on the big screen has been prettified and you see nice houses, clothes, pieces of furniture and everything about the good life. It’s a good film to see when you are unwinding.

Of course, there are no deep societal concerns here, but at the same time you see yourself or somebody you know in one of the characters in the film.

In the acting department, Sharon and Aga – award-winners both – deliver very inspired performances. On the part of Aga, he is at his best when he finally has a heart-to-heart talk his dying father.

Even the supporting cast does very well – particularly Jennifer Sevilla and Christine Bersola who is a wonderful revelation here. Ms. Bersola manages to prove in the film that aside from being a TV anchor, she can also be a fine actress on the big screen.

Mickey Ferriols, from her end, also delivers a very good performance as one of Aga’s many girlfriends (the most serious). With such lovely face (and so talented, too), Ms. Ferriols lights up the screen with her presence every time she is there.

Of course, still the most engaging are the scenes between Sharon and Aga. With such marvelous chemistry between them, I cannot for the life of me understand why it took this long for the two of them to be cast together in a film. But better late than never. And this Jose Javier Reyes movie with Sharon and Aga finally in it together more than makes up for the long wait.