Boots is never too old to try something new

In the spirit of fun, here are my “Dollyisms’ on the buzz du jour:

Onemig Bondoc courting Aiko Melendez after being rejected by her 29 years ago: Ain’t no “bundok” high enough to keep him from proving that he’s “The One” for Aiko.

Power couple on the verge of splitting up: Love is blind. When love ends, it becomes a blind item.

Marian Rivera says that Dingdong and she are not the troubled power couple in the blind item: No “Dantes’ Inferno.” Their home front has not turned into a battlefront.

Juliana Gomez and Ricci Rivero spotted holding hands: HHWW à la Gen Z.

Boots on lesbian film with Charo

Is there something Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo cannot do? Never heard. Even at 81, she dares to step out of her comfort zone by portraying a lesbian role, alongside Charo Santos-Concio in Brilliante Mendoza’s “Until She Remembers” (USR). Tita Boots is living proof that we must not let our age be a cage. We should refuse to feel too old to try something new.

Viva La Vida de Bida à la Roa.

Here’s my chat with Tita Boots:

What makes you excited and nervous about playing a lesbian role?

“Playing a lesbian is something I did in UP Dramatic Club, under National Artist Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero in 1962, at 17, for Tennessee Williams’ one-act play, ‘Something Unspoken,’ with our Theatre Diva, Heidi De Peralta. The middle-aged lesbian lovers’ relationship was very subtly and sensitively treated by Guerrero.

“Looking back to my all-girls high school days, some lower classmen took a fancy on me as I was the tallest in (the) honors class, a sports leader and lead player as a priest, father, Virgin Mary and in operettas as a male gypsy minstrel.

“What excites me is playing the ‘USR’ role as an 80-year-old in an era when LGBTQ issues have taken on an entirely different perspective: more open, better accepted, transparent, daring and even counterculture to some extent. The portrayal stretches my limit as an actor in an out-of-the-box rendition.

“With direk Brillante Mendoza handling our sensitive scenes, Charo and I breezed through our sequences. I am not nervous about how the film and its plot will be addressed by our audience in particular and the public in general. I hope the mindset we create in them is that we are respected professional actors who are portraying different characters.”

Please share what you can say about the story of your movie.

“‘USR’ narrates a unique, pure and pristine love story between Concha, a student, and Catherine, her teacher. They parted ways when Concha’s parents vehemently objected to their relationship and forced them to separate. Catherine remained single and pursued her teaching while staying out of reach.

“Concha married and bore a daughter (Angel Aquino who married Albert Martinez). The couple bore a daughter, Angel (Barbie Forteza), who left their dysfunctional home to live with her Lola Concha. During her stay with her Lola, she chanced upon love letters and poems between Concha and Catherine. Angel initiated the search for Catherine. They found her in a home for the aged suffering from dementia. They brought Catherine home to take care of her ‘Until She Remembers.’”

How are Ms. Charo and you preparing for your movie?

“It helps that Charo and I have forged a strong friendship over the past 50 years. FPJ and I ‘discovered’ her for the nationwide Green Revolution as its ambassador of goodwill in 1974. Her late husband, Cesar Concio, was also a family friend. We have since maintained a meeting of the minds and hearts even if we have not done a film together. She often refers to me as her role model, for that I am grateful. I’ve often stated that puwede palang magkaroon ng role model kahit mas bata sa iyo. That is Charo to me. This friendship helped us largely in our scenes in ‘USR.’ May instant chemistry. Our minds and understanding of the scenes and lines at hand ran on the same wavelength. Of course, it helped that direk Brillante guided us and Barbie Forteza contributed much to our execution of sequences. Hindi namin kailangang pag-usapan ng matagal ang pag atake sa eksena.”

Just for fun, who are your girl crushes?

“Through my youth and onto my later age, my crushes were all men: Romeo Vazquez, basketball star Ed Ocampo, my UP professor and mentor Nestor Torre. My English professor in UP, Kit Santos, and my OB-gynecologist Dr. Efren Vasquez. Ultimate crushes in my list are Robert Redford, Richard Gere and Piolo Pascual.”

‘A Werewolf boy’

To paraphrase Julia Roberts’ famous line, Rabin Angeles could have said to Angela Muji, “I’m just a werewolf boy crawling in front of a girl asking her to love me.”

The RabGel tandem need not cry wolf because their portrayals in “A Werewolf Boy” do not seem like make-believe at all. They nailed it. After watching the premiere of Viva Films’ initial offering for 2026, I must say that Rabin and Angela are ripe for full stardom.

The fantasy-romance, megged by Crisanto Aquino, is now showing in cinemas. It is the Pinoy adaptation of the Korean blockbuster, top-billed by Song Joong-Ki and Park Bo-Young. Rabin and Angela take on the challenge of reimagining such iconic roles for a new generation, bringing their natural chemistry to a story that has captivated audiences.

As Sara (Angela) teaches Boy (Rabin) to behave like a human, they form an unusual bond which will hit your heart bullseye. Can an extraordinary kind of love survive in a cruel world? “A Werewolf Boy” shows us that just because love is not easy does not mean it isn’t right.

Rabin Angeles and Angela Muji need not cry wolf because their portrayals in ‘A Werewolf Boy’ do not seem like make-believe at all. They nailed it.

Here are quotes from Rabin and Angela:

Rabin: “I did not watch the original Korean version. I just checked out some clips of it. That’s because I wanted to do my own interpretation of the character I portrayed. I did not want to imitate Song Joong-Ki’s acting. Our adaptation has a Pinoy twist.”

Angela: “Viva gambled on Rabin and me by entrusting us with this big project so that means they believe in us. That helped me get rid of my self-doubts and have enough confidence to pull it off.”

Rabin: “I will never let fame get into my head. Whatever I achieve is God’s gift. So, He can take it all away if I don’t handle fame the right way.”

Angela: “The P-pop girl in me will always be there. So, I incorporate my talents in singing and dancing during mall shows. I’m torn between acting and performing. But after shooting our movie, it made me love acting a bit more than singing and dancing.”

Rabin: “Putting on prosthetics was such a long process, but it was such a rewarding experience. It’s a different kind of thrill to portray something I can never be in real life, which is a werewolf.”

Angela: “Rabin is charming in many ways. So, it’s impossible not to feel giddy when I’m with him on- or off-camera. It comes naturally. When he admitted in public that I’m his longtime crush, sobrang kinilig ako.”