She still reigns supreme. But this time, her queenship is in her home, where Nina Ricci is mother to a three-year-old boy and wife to Michael Flores (remember him in many a TV show?).
Marriage has done wonders to Nina Ricci. "It has put my life in perspective," she reveals. "It made me appreciate what’s important and discard what’s not."
Her choice of a husband was no split-second decision. Nina Ricci already had her son by Michael when they tied the knot.
Michael grew on her because of "his transparency and the fact that he has no dark past." He is, in other words, as wholesome as a GP movie. And Nina Ricci decided he’s the guy she wants to grow old with.
Besides, they communicate. This way, half the battle is won.
Motherhood also had the same positive effect on Nina Ricci. It made her shift to overdrive.
"I used to be laidback. I’d live one day at a time. I had no goals. But now, I follow a system. I cook, mostly Filipino dishes, I change my son’s diapers, give him a bath, solve puzzles with him, etc.," she says.
The former beauty titlist was never afraid of ruining her hourglass figure by breastfeeding her son or a couple of months.
Nina Ricci is so hands-on she was never at a loss whenever the nanny had to leave because of varied reasons ranging from falling in love to death in the family. No wonder she has to hide from her son whenever she leaves the house. He runs after her as if there’s no tomorrow. Mom, indeed, means the world to the little boy.
"A yaya is just there to assist. I’m a hands-on mom," says Nina Ricci.
Figures why the former beauty queen is "not actively campaigning for a job" these days. Having someone call you with an offer is better than telling the world you have to get a job — any kind of job.
"This way, I get better, more challenging offers," Nina Ricci explains.
One of them is play one of the contestants in a bikini contest (along with Diana Zubiri, Francine Prieto, Alfred Vargas, Rafael Rosell, JE Sison and newcomer Roxy Ramirez) in Seiko Films’ Bikini Open. Director Jeffrey Jeturian (Bridal Shower) called Nina Ricci up one day with this offer for her movie comeback. It’s a good role, the director promised.
Four years is a long time to be away from the movie scene, and Nina Ricci knows her comeback has to be a good one. Knowing Direk Jeffrey’s reputation for being a meticulous director, and Bridal Shower’s record of winning the critics and ordinary moviegoers over, Nina Ricci said yes.
So one day, she had to hide from her son again to leave the comforts of home and report for shooting at the bar where the movie is set. She has no regrets.
Beyond the parade of beautiful bodies a bikini contest offers, the movie is also a satire. It digs beyond the surface of public affairs shows on TV and unmasks some of them for being what it really is: a venue for entertainment rather than truth.
Direk Jeffrey casts Urian awardee Cherry Pie Picache (remember her in Bridal Shower?) again, no longer as a lonely single woman but as a TV journalist. In her quest for TV ratings, Cherry Pie’s character not only covers the events in the beauty tilt, she also manipulates them. She lays the contestants’ private lives bare for all to see.
"Cherry Pie’s character is a composite of the news people in our midst," says the director. "She’s just like a TV reporter who, assigned to make a story on the environment, dirties a place after discovering that it’s clean after all. She does it all in the name of getting a story."
Bikini Open therefore, direk Jeffrey insists, is not just a flesh show. True, it starts off with the oh-so-familiar bikini contest coming out of our ears this summer. And it makes you laugh and escape from daily cares. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Direk Jeffrey says he conceptualized his latest film to make it go beyond sex comedy and serve as eye-opener. He even calls it a "mock-cumentary (false documentary)."
Is this a sign that things are changing over at Seiko, known as the maker of daring films? Does this mean that while we will still see some flesh in producer Robbie Tan’s films, we’re also in for less naughty viewing fare?
"Bridal Shower started the trend (of having less steamy scenes). After that, we started on Bikini Open right away," replies direk Jeffrey.
Yes, he sees a new Seiko Films coming up. It’s the kind that’s veering away from sexy films. Which is just fine with the director.
"My fear was that we’ll go back to where it all started (read: sexy films). I’m thankful my producer has realized there’s another market out there to explore; that those who go for sexy films are not the only market there is," muses direk Jeffrey.
The award-winning director has every reason to feel upbeat. The signs are encouraging, indeed.