Who will get the ‘Binondo Girl’?

When “Binondo Girl” started telecasting, it looked promising because it intimated that it would boost gender equality and female empowerment, aside from the usual teleserye’s diversionary tactics. It’s done that to some extent, so that’s a good thing. At the moment, however, its major focus is on the answer to the kilig question: Who will get the (Binondo) girl?

The young woman in question is Jade, played by Kim Chiu, the daughter of a wealthy taipan. True to standard TV-film romance lore, she’s been given three suitors to choose from. It’s enough to make a girl—and the show’s empathetic female and gay fans—deliciously dizzy!

First to pledge his troth was Jade’s childhood buddy, played by Jolo Revilla. Very early on, he loved her but couldn’t come right out with it because he felt unworthy, and was afraid that it would ruin their all-important friendship.

In his past TV portrayals, Jolo has come across as awkward, skittish and trying-hard. He still hasn’t come into his own as a performer, but he’s less awkward here, so the series has been a positive career move for him.

For his part, handsome comer Matteo Guidicelli plays a wealthy suitor who forthrightly loves Jade, but can’t get on her good side. To date, it’s Matteo’s character who has come across the fuzziest. What seems to be the problem? With looks, wealth and so many other things going for him, he still has to “find” himself.

Too bad for Matteo, that “confused” kind of character hook is neither here nor there, so he doesn’t register strongly in the show. To make things worse, aside from fuzzy scripting, Matteo’s performance is phlegmatic and unfocused. The young actor needs to get his act together before the series ends, so that it won’t be a step backwards for his otherwise promising career.

The third suitor, a wealthy Chinoy, is played by newcomer Xian Lim and he’s the actor who’s benefiting the most from his exposure in the series. In fact, at the moment, he and Kim’s character are “on”—but, it isn’t clear or likely if they will still be together at the show’s all-important final-fade.

Even if he doesn’t end up still in Jade’s arms and heart when the series ends, Xian can thank the show for giving him a good and potentially star-making showcase.

His portrayal comes across as natural, sincere and relatively unencumbered by the usual “pa-cute” and “pa-pogi” slicks and shticks that make many TV starlets’ performance so embarrassing and cheesy.

Xian is Chinoy himself, so he’s perfectly cast in the show, which is more than we can say for Matteo, who’s too tisoy and thus feels “shoehorned” into his role.

We also like the fact that Xian is shown playing “serious” music on the piano in some scenes. Whether he plays the piano that well in real life or not, ability gives his character an extra edge in terms of unusual texture and quiet flair.

So, who will get the Binondo Girl? Given Jolo and Matteo’s bigger stellar clout, it may not be Xian. But he’s clearly the show’s most promising discovery.