LizQuen tandem moves up to young-adult status

SOBERANO. Summons up sufficiently “deep” emotions when required.

In their latest costarrer “Everyday I Love You,” the romantic tandem of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil moves from TV (“Forevermore”) where it first made its mark, to the movie screen, where hit love teams are more definitively “affirmed.”

In this follow-up bid, the “teen” stars are clearly trying to move up to “young adult” status, hence the greater “weight” and gravity of its central plot conflict:

Liza’s boyfriend (Gerald Anderson) has been in a coma for months after a car crash, but she remains fiercely loyal to him, even after meeting Enrique, a hotshot TV producer. He’s been sent to Bacolod to create a hit show that will result in a big promotion for him in Manila.

The Manila to Bacolod seconding sounds rather improbable, but we make a determined effort to move on and focus instead on how Liza will remain loyal to Gerald, even after he wakes up, which seems to be just a matter of time.

True enough, when Gerald does regain consciousness, Liza and Enrique obviously like each other a whole lot—but she “happily” goes back to Gerald’s loving and grateful embrace.

But, the situation has changed, because Liza now realizes, after her more “liberating” experience with Enrique, that Gerald was a “controlling” boyfriend who didn’t allow her to be happy her way!

Resident love team

What to do? Which ardent beau to end up with? Liza and Enrique being the movie’s resident love team, it’s a no-brainer that the time would have to come for Gerald’s character to go on noble, “mapagparaya” mode—in time for the film’s roseate, final fade!

With May Cruz-Alviar’s movie’s plotting format so predictably clear-cut, we can more productively focus on its stellar performances: First, Gerald’s best thespic efforts are compromised by the passive nature of his role. Even after his character wakes up, he comes off as sour and grouchy, especially relative to Enrique’s much more dynamic and friskier take.

However, even Enrique fails to come up with a completely winning portrayal, because his role is given its own conflicted back story intended to give it added texture—a ploy that doesn’t work, because he’s unable to sufficiently feel and actualize it.

Thus, the film’s least compromised characterization is turned in by Liza, who’s not just bright, blithe and lovely, but is also able to summon up sufficiently “deep” emotions when required.

Yes, her love team with Enrique is popular with tween and teen fans, but she should soon attempt a solo starrer, or be paired off with different leading men, so her stellar potential will continue to be developed, and fulfilled.