PBB winner makes her thespic bid

MIHO Nishida

LAST Jan. 9, “Maalaala Mo Kaya” gave “Pinoy Big Brother” winner Miho Nishida a chance to show what she can do as an actress. It was an important step in her fledgling show biz career, if she wants to become a performing artist rather than just a contest-winning celebrity.

So, what’s the verdict? Does she have what it takes to top-bill a dramatic showcase?

The challenge was made easier for Miho, because the MMK episode dramatized her own life story—so, she could more easily “understand” the emotions required, because she’s lived through them!

Ironically, however, Miho was patently too mature-looking for the drama’s early scenes, which required her to pass for a teenager. Now 23 years old, she had a hard time looking and acting awkward and gauche.

However, the problem eventually went away as Miho aged, became a single mother, auditioned for PBB and won the title, due to her unusual “backstory.” So, we could focus more clearly on her acting talent, per se.

We were heartened to see that Miho had the honesty to face up to her own difficult emotional challenges—and the willingness to share her once-private feelings with many viewers.

Some newcomers are unwilling or unable to do this, so this is an advantage for Miho and her fledgling career.

On the other hand, she has some evident limitations that need to be worked on and eliminated: One flaw is her sometimes monotonous or sing-song delivery of dialogue.

In addition, she occasionally sounds like she doesn’t care all that much about the weighty feelings she’s expressing.

Her acting coaches should have helped her address these problems before she went on-cam—to make her first thespic showcase and challenge more successful and effective.

Fact is, Miho’s performance was not the triumph it should have been, to definitively “prove” that she deserves to have a long stellar career.

In some scenes, she was inadvertently upstaged by Andrea del Rosario, who played her mother. Miho’s mom had her own bittersweet experiences in Japan to dramatize, and Del Rosario pulled off her assignment better!

This was great for her, but it showed by contrast that Miho has to work harder to catch up!

The episode should be cited for trying to credibly set many of its scenes in Japan, with all of the additional location and casting considerations involved.

The production wasn’t consistently successful in that regard, but it should be credited for giving the tough challenge a really good try.

So, what’s the verdict on Miho’s stellar chances? Her “not young” looks could be a problem, but her “life experiences” have given her an aura of “bruised vulnerability” that could interest and fascinate some viewers.

But, she will definitely improve her stellar chances if she works harder on minimizing or eliminating her perceived thespic drawbacks—with the help of better and more demanding mentors!