Eugene leads cast of Star Cinema's Wedding Tayo

MANILA, Philippines - Directed by Joey Javier Reyes, Star Cinema’s latest offering Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi brings together stars who submerge themselves in their characters as if their second skin. Perfect casting.

“I could never think of actors more suited to the roles,” said direk Joey who is back to his forte — witty, wacky comedy.

Wedding Tayo is Eugene Domingo‘s first movie outing after her victory as Best Actress in the recently-concluded Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival for Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (which was released in the “mainstream” circuit by Star Cinema). The movie marks the first big-screen team-up of Toni Gonzaga and Zanjoe Marudo. The main cast also includes Wendell Ramos.

The movie is about cousins Precy (Eugene) and Belay (Toni) and the affairs of the heart they are enmeshed in. Precy wants out of what she perceives as a bad marriage while Belay, fresh from her three-year stint as a cultural dancer in Japan, wants to jump into a marriage hatched up more in her fantasy than in reality. Wendell plays the husband Precy’s characher is fed up with and Zanjoe plays Oca, Belay’s reluctant groom-to-be.

The movie also stars Irma Adlawan, Lou Veloso, Vangie Labalan, Miles Ocampo, Paul Salas, Wendy Valdez, Nikki Valdez, Sylvia Sanchez and Ramon Christopher.

“I love Belay,” said Toni of her character. “Colorful siya.”

During her three years as Japayuki, Belay has changed from an innocent, simple and soft-spoken dance teacher to a boisterous, flamboyant and skimpy cultural dancer, something that turns off her boyfriend Oca and his conservative Catholic mother.

“Type ko rin ang character ko,” Eugene said of Precy who has qualities reminiscent of her Septic Tank character. “I identify with her. Mayroon kami pagkaka-pareho in the way we look at relationships.”

Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi — which sounds like “puwedeng tayo, puwedeng hindi” — is a comedy, all right, but it tackles a very serious and very real situation and tries to sort out very common issues people of any age can learn from.

“Eugene is Eugene. We have known each other like forever.” That sums up the deep friendship and professional relationship between Eugene and direk Joey.

“Eugene has been around since my second movie, Emma Salazar Case. We know each other inside-out.”

The movie is right down direk Joey’s alley. He’s noted for this kind of genre. Among his best-remembered films are Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo and Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo which star the husband-wife team of Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos as initially sweethearts and then married couple going through the ups and downs of their relationship.

“Wedding Tayo is a movie about getting a life together and getting out of one,” said direk Joey. “It’s about the heavy cost of getting married and the more costly process of annulment. It’s a movie that points out that getting married and staying together needs a lot of working out.”

Asked about Toni, direk Joey said, “Toni is always a joy to work with, one of the most down-to-earth people in the business. No airs, no pretenses.”

Even if it’s his first time to work with Zanjoe and Wendell, direk Joey said that he felt right at home with them starting on the first shooting day.

“Zanjoe’s charm is that he’s such a regular guy and Wendell is such as Tatay. Hahahaha!”