Don’t quit your day job
A number of celebrities best known for one kind of activity or performance have been venturing into new territories of late, perhaps due to boredom, or to prove their real or imagined “versatility.”
While some have succeeded in making the public see them in a new, more positively expanded light, most of them have ended up embarrassing themselves. To them and the rest of their ilk, our blanket advice is, “Don’t quit your day job!”
Victories
Boxing champ, Manny Pacquiao, is truly impressive in the ring, where he’s racked up big-deal victories that other pugilists can only dream of. Trouble is, he apparently fancies himself to be a sort of Renaissance Man from and of the masa, and thinks that he’s also quite a versatile entertainer, who’s great at singing, hosting, acting in a sitcom—etc.!
Alas, the proof of the pudding, evident on his many TV outings, belies his extravagant estimation of his abilities. He’s a so-so singer, an enthusiastic but amateurish comedy actor, and a loud but generally clueless game show host. With all his money, however, he’s disarmed many people into thinking otherwise.
If Manny must scratch his show biz itch, he should be kinder to his viewers, and to himself, by taking singing, comedy and acting workshops to hone whatever latent talent he has. All else would be prolonging the communal agony.
Anne Curtis should also stop trying so hard to transform herself into a really good singer. Yes, she has a hit album that’s gone platinum, and yes, she has big concert lined up early this year, but there are limits to what super-duper will power and sheer gumption can accomplish.
Truth to tell, Anne’s time would be better spent on improving her ability as an actress, a field in which she still needs all the help and honing she can get. That’s her day job, so she should more productively focus on it.
Sensitive actresses
Why do popular comediennes like AiAi delas Alas and Pokwang insist on also occasionally transforming themselves into sensitive dramatic actresses? To prove that they aren’t shallow? Hey, good comedy performances are difficult to pull off and can call for great acting too, as the august likes of Charlie Chaplin and Dolphy have proven.
Dramatic mode
Besides, the way AiAi and Pokwang look presents too many visual distractions for viewers to focus on their emotional expressiveness. In addition, they don’t have the eyes for drama. So, why try to prove their worth in the dramatic mode, when the “proof” isn’t all that compelling, anyway?
Other botched initiatives: Richard Gutierrez does well as a fave romantic matinee idol, but falls short of the mark when he hosts a physical reality challenge or plays an action-adventure-fantasy superhero. He’s too phlegmatic and laid-back, that’s why.
And other star-hosts like Jennylyn Mercado, Dingdong Dantes and Iza Calzado have similarly failed to measure up to the tough demands of their new sideline, embarrassingly proving that they aren’t as versatile as they think.
