The new Maricel

Maricel Soriano is a changed woman – for the better. Her disposition these days is so much sunnier, even sweeter. Not so long ago, she was detached and unapproachable – particularly to members of the press who lost no time giving her the tag "Taray Queen."

Looking back, it is now easier to understand the kind of temperament she had then. Robbed of her childhood, her life was never easy. The poor girl, after all, had been working since age six and actually never had a rest – except maybe to give birth to her son Tien in the early ‘90s.

And so we saw her grow up before our eyes and even witnessed her accept her very first acting award: Best Child Actress for Alaala Mo, Daigdig Ko in 1974.

To a whole generation or two, she was Shirley Puruntong in John & Marsha and Jacqueline Pusit in Kaluskos Musmos.

Then in 1980, when she was still in her teens, she tried testing the bold waters of show business by putting on a two-piece swimsuit in Underage. (That was the farthest she went in the skin flick department.) Although this film made money, it was clear that her followers (and they were a growing legion by this time) preferred to see her more in musical comedies (especially with William Martinez) where she could wisecrack at the flick of a finger and dance to any type of pop beat. (In my list of Top 10 Filipino dancers in mainstream entertainment last week, Maricel Soriano was one of them.)

Eventually, she started carving her niche in drama – mostly in the Mother’s Day presentations of Regal Films. Ironically enough, she won her first acting award (for FAMAS Best Supporting Actress) as an adult not in a Regal movie, but in a Viva production – Saan Darating ang Umaga?

But her turning point as a young dramatic actress was in Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit, where she plays the role of a girl born on the wrong side of the tracks, but eventually schemed her way to material comfort. (She earned a Best Actress nomination from the Film Academy for that one.)

Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit was obviously komiks stuff. Remember that memorable line from this film? "Ayoko ng masikip! Ayoko ng putik! Ayoko ng mabaho!"

A year later, she made a socially relevant film with no less than the late Ishmael Bernal as director: Hinugot sa Langit, which tackled not only the sensitive issue of abortion, but other social ills as well. (This film was done during the uprising against the Marcos administration.)

Although she gave a creditable performance here in Hinugot, Maricel had yet to reach full maturity as an actress at that point of her career. She achieved this after years of doing the weekly drama series on ABS-CBN, Maricel Drama Special.

In 1992, she gave one of her most memorable performances in Ikaw Pa Lang ang Minahal, Carlitos Siguion Reyna’s adaptation of The Heiress (which in turn was adapted from the stage play Washington Square).

In my book, however, her best performance was in Minsan Lamang Magmahal for which she won a FAMAS Best Actress trophy and a whole slew of acting nominations in the other award giving bodies. Then, there was Mila where she excellently fleshed out the role (inspired by a real-life character) of a teacher who became a vagrant after choosing to fight for her principles.

In last year‘s Metro Manila Film Festival, I personally liked her performance in Mano Po as the strict and unbending eldest daughter of a conservative Chinese family.

This year, she is again part of another Metro Filmfest entry, Viva Films’ Filipinas. Directed by Joel Lamangan (from a script by Roy Iglesias), Maricel is once more cast as the eldest daughter in a family whose members have their own stories to tell. Her name here is Yolanda, a spinsterish teacher who has to stop working to be able to care for her sick mother (played by Armida Siguion-Reyna).

Unfortunately, I have yet to see Filipinas as of this writing, but I hear that all the performances are above average. This no longer comes as a surprise because practically 90 percent of the cast members who play key roles in this movie had already been crowned with various acting awards and nominations in the past: Armida Siguion-Reyna, Richard Gomez, Dawn Zulueta, Aiko Melendez, Raymond Bagatsing and Wendell Ramos.

Of course, I have complete trust in the performance of Maricel Soriano. Now fully matured and developed as a performer, you can throw her any role and you can expect her to give a fine – if not great performance.

Physically, haven’t you noticed how much she has become even younger looking now?

In terms of temperament, she has definitely mellowed, which is why I’m telling you she has changed. And I like the new Maricel more. Oh, so much more.