Talent discovery tilt gives hopefuls more time to prove their worth

The ongoing “StarStruck” talent tilt took its sweet time coming up with its official list of 14 finalists. It opted to give some talents more time to prove that they deserve a crack at its proffered gift of stardom. OK, fine—as long as at least a couple of real stars are produced this season, talents good and durable enough to match previous stellar “graduates” like Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras.

Any clear prospects in that regard? We watch the show from time to time to keep tabs on its contenders’ progress, but thus far, no single talent has rung our bell, and proclaimed his or her unmistakable “star value.” Well, maybe it’s still in the process of being distilled, defined or divined?

At any rate, the daily performing challenges that the semifinalists are being made to undergo have shown who have more “K” than the rest. In the acting tests, a general observation is that the female bets have a clear edge over the guys. The last time we caught an acting challenge on the show, most of the girls were at least able to pass muster, while their male counterparts fell short of the thespic mark.

They had one inhibition or another: One of them had a less than photogenic mouth, the next couldn’t speak Filipino well, the third came up with a performance that was nervous, unfocused and shallow, etc. Let’s hope that they can iron out those debit factors before the tilt’s decisive axe finally falls to “decapitate” their vaunted dream of stardom!

On the plus side, we found the scenes that the pairs of players were made to perform quite well-written and entertainingly staged (by Adolfo Alix Jr.). They did more than just give the young hopefuls a chance to show what they could do as actors; the scenes were diverting in their own right, and viewers enjoyed themselves watching them. In addition, most of the young actresses acquitted themselves well enough, even if no single performer clearly stood out.

Pert, natural

The best pair of players we saw “in thespic action” that day was made up of Ara and Jay. She was pert and knew what she was doing, and he did better than the other guys that day because he was more natural and came up with a better-felt portrayal. In addition, there was more believable and organic “give and take” between them, so their scene came alive.

Other challenges and tests we’ve caught on “StarStruck” have revealed key limitations that could compromise some semifinalists’ chances of success—not just in the competition, but as performers in general.

First, it’s disturbing to see that so many young hopefuls simply can’t speak well enough to succeed in Philippine entertainment. There are too many tisoy imports who think that producers and viewers will “forgive” them for having not bothered to learn how to speak Filipino well. The sooner they disabuse themselves of this fantasy, the better!

Second, too many young comers bank on their good looks, period. Yes, stellar looks are an advantage, but they can’t assure stardom—just look at the many beautiful has-beens and never-weres littering the highways and byways of show biz!

You start with beauty, but you enhance it with the ability to come up with a natural and believable portrayal that will make it easy for viewers to empathize with what you’re feeling. That’s the sign and touchstone of real stardom!