Metro Manila Film Festival

Derek Ramsay and Jennylyn Mercado

(We are running this guide to help moviegoers plan their holiday cinema tour. The 40th Metro Manila Film Festival runs from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7, 2015.)

‘English Only, Please’

Directed by Dan Villegas; stars Jennylyn Mercado, Derek Ramsay, Tom Rodriguez, Kean Cipriano, Isabel Oli

In this simple romantic-comedy, Jennylyn Mercado plays Tere Madlansacay, a feisty but charming Filipino-English teacher who boasts that she has taught 142—and counting—American, Filipino-American and Korean students. She claims she almost became Sandara Park’s personal tutor.

Tere gets hired by Julian Parker (Derek Ramsay), a New Yorker whose intention is to have his angry letter to former lover Megan (Isabel Oli) translated into Tagalog, and then recite it in front of her without fumbling. Tere and Julian’s teacher-student relationship turns into romance.

Jennylyn, who finds doing rom-coms like a breath of fresh air, says she and Derek instantly clicked. Derek jested that this is perhaps the first film where he didn’t have to peel his shirt off. Allan Policarpio