ROSALES. Limited and limiting stellar portrayal.
In the course of his decade-long show biz career, Jericho Rosales has proven his exceptional sensitivity and power as an actor in dramatic showcases like “Santa-Santita,” but he’s similarly adept at playing it light and wistful.
It is this lighter side to his performing persona that Jericho brings to the fore in his latest starrer, Mark Meily’s filmization of Bob Ong’s nostalgic teen tome, “ABNKKBSNPLAko?!”
Readers and viewers readily relate to the movie’s pop “survival” scenario because its protagonist isn’t the usual true-blue movie hero—he’s an “ordinary” guy who just wants to be happy, live a good, simple life—and be loved by his Special Someone!
Most of those little dreams and ambitions are eventually attainable—except for his Special Someone (Andi Eigenmann), who is so beautiful and thus un-attainable that, for “Bob,” she’s destined to be the one who breaks his heart into a million pieces—and gets away!
Valuable life lesson
Even in utter defeat and humiliation, Bob still learns a valuable lesson about life (and dreaming within one’s means!), that turns out to be the last step in his awkward, arduous progress toward real adulthood.
Empathetically, the movie’s viewers also learn those lessons, or are retroactively reminded of them, so everybody wins (or at least survives). —That’s a pretty good deal for everyone concerned, right?
Unfortunately, Jericho’s stellar portrayal, while deft and involving, ends up basically limited and limiting because—dare we say it?—he’s too mature for the nostalgic film’s high school scenes, which take up a lot of its total running time. Due to the film medium’s penchant for closeups, movie actors have to look acutely believable as the characters they play, and Jericho, despite his best efforts, now looks too mature to play a midteen, so the credibility of his portrayal is compromised.
At the other end of the age spectrum, Andi is palpably too young to be believable as the lawyer her character becomes at film’s end. So, the movie is adversely affected by “age issues” both coming and going, and that isn’t a good thing.
On the other hand, the film is enlivened by some performances that are exceptionally fine and insightful. They’re contributed by supporting players Bing Pimentel as Bob’s mother and Meg Imperial as his tomboy best buddy, with Vandolf as the third member of their really tight barkada whose love for one another sees them through life’s assaults (we should all be so lucky to have BFFs like them)!
Kudos to director Meily for his astute casting acumen which results in his actors’ scenes feeling absolutely real and right.
We were particularly bowled over by Meg’s rare combination of beauty and complete commitment to her unconventional role.
Where has she been all these years? She’s been flying under the show biz “radar,” and yet she’s so promising and gifted that she’s unexpectedly hit a homerun with this first, extended role we’ve seen her in.
It isn’t even a lead role, yet the actress fills the screen with the winning completeness of her portrayal. Somebody should cast her in an even more challenging and stellar role—soonest!