Chismosa

(disclaimer: once again, the image was taken from Google Images)

I saw the DVD of the indie film Umaaraw, Umuulan in Astrovision some weeks ago. The cover looked simple with only Ryan Agoncillo drenched in the rain and holding a book over his head but he looked absolutely hot and all, so I started looking for it online. The reviews weren’t too good so I didn’t feel like watching it anymore but I still wanted to watch Ryan Agoncillo in a movie that did not involve Judy Ann Santos (although I know she still had a cameo in Umaaraw Umuulan). I mean, I do believe they’re very happy together and I support that but I still don’t think they look good together. I appreciated Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo and its sequel because they were good movies. Anyway, it was too bad that Umaaraw, Umuulan kind of sucked because even though I don’t really like Precious Lara Quigaman (his leading lady there), I had a feeling they would be “aesthetically pleasing” together. To try and satisfy my Ryan Agoncillo craving, I searched his name in crunchyroll to see if he had other movies uploaded. Then, I saw My Kuya’s Wedding. I remember telling my sister when we saw its poster before, when it came out, that Maja Salvador and Ryan Agoncillo look more like lovers than siblings. So I had a feeling it would probably bother me watching them as siblings in the movie. Pauleen Luna played his fiancee and I was also thinking they did not look good together. I saw all the comments in crunchyroll, which were mostly positive. They all said it was good, relatable, and even cry-able. So I decided to try watching the first part at least, JUST for Ryan Agoncillo. Hehe!

The first part was kind of disturbing, with Jeff, the brother, and Kat, the sister, as kids. Kat poured water at a girl who wanted to date her brother. It was then mentioned that she did that with all the girls who liked him. Later on, they grow up into Maja as Kat and Ryan as Jeff. Kat throws water at the girl who, again, wanted to go on a date with Jeff and tells her that he can’t go because he’s taking her to the prom. I was thinking “Why would she actually, really WANT her brother to take her to her prom? Maybe she likes him a little too much…” It felt scandalous but I kept watching. I’m going to admit that I might have a thing for incest stories too (it started with Peter/Claire in heroes and Justin/Rebecca in Brothers and Sisters) but it’s only interesting in fiction, not real life, eww. I mean, why the hell do they make actors with sexual chemistry related in shows? Anyway, going back to the topic… The story actually seemed nice and I really felt for the characters. I felt the bond and the pain their going through. I planned to only watch the first part but I couldn’t stop watching once I started.

It was actually a lot like My Best Friend’s wedding. They based a lot of stuff from that film and My Best Friend’s Wedding was probably done better but My Kuya’s Wedding definitely affected me more. I guess it could be because I related more with it. I DO have two brothers, who are both married now, although I never tried to ruin their weddings. I did feel sad, however, when I realized they were actually leaving our house. I felt like I was losing them then. The film was also able to show the closeness and the love between the siblings. I was excited along with Kat when she found out her brother was coming back from abroad and I was annoyed along with her when his fiancee, Heidi, showed up with him in the airport. How come he never even mentioned anything over the phone? It really pissed me off too. And then Heidi was acting as if she knew him better, loved him more, etc. (I really hated her). Jeff was being completely neglectful of Kat too. So even though it was wrong to try and destroy their relationship, I really understood what she was doing and I would’ve done it too.

I never expected it, but the third part really brought me to tears… a lot of tears. Believe me, that does not happen often. It’s surprising that it was even from a movie that’s supposed to be light and fun. I was so affected by the dramatic moments that even when they tried to move on to the funnier scenes, I was still crying and sobbing so much. Everyone got mad at Kat, of course, when she admitted what she did and she never even fought back to defend herself. She was just really sorry and taking all the blame. I wanted to fight for her, in fact I wanted her to succeed in her plans (nyahaha!). Well, the ending was still nice and happy so it’s all good.

I just have to say that I really respect Maja Salvador as an actress now. She was very good and full of energy. I never thought she would be awesome in comedy as well, I was very impressed. She does deserve the lead role. Ryan Agoncillo was also good. I don’t think his character required much from him though. Pauleen Luna wasn’t bad either. She was super nice as her character was supposed to be and it was annoying as hell, which I think might be the point. I STILL think she has no chemistry with Ryan Agoncillo. Jason Abalos’ was kind of blah… his character was kind of, as I would call it in Filipino, “epal,” which means like someone who’s unnecessarily butting in, but it was funny how they made his character into this completely conceited jerk in a not-too-cliche manner. Like when people were asking for his autograph he asked one of them, “Crush mo ko? (Do you have a crush on me?)” He was supposed to be an evicted housemate from a Big Brother type of show. He was voted out because people hated him even though he’s “hot.” I guess he was important too when he was trying to help out and talk to Kat. What made him unnecessary was that he seemed to be included in the movie just to give Maja a love interest.

To sum up, it’s sort of a rip off of My Best Friends Wedding but I think it’s still worth it. Well, just for the Maja or Ryan hotness, it’s worth it but I think the movie is really good too so I highly recommend it. So watch now!