CHEMISTRY IS a tricky thing—either it’s there or it isn’t. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy had it, but Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp didn’t. Sarah Geronimo has it with John Lloyd Cruz, and so does Gerald Anderson with his erstwhile partner, Kim Chiu. But, what happens when Sarah is paired up with Gerald?
We’re happy to note that Tinseltown’s newest “love team” has what it takes to make the screen sizzle. In “Catch Me…I’m In Love,” director Mae Cruz makes full use of her lead stars’ fresh rapport to ignite some romantic sparks in her contemporary fairy tale—about Roan Sanchez (Geronimo), a “commoner” who fights, then falls in love with “royalty” Erick Rodriguez (Anderson), the Philippine president’s irresponsible bachelor son.
Development
Roan helps run the First Couple’s (Christopher de Leon, Dawn Zulueta) foundation, which boosts rural community development. After she embarrasses herself in front of the eligible presidential son, she learns to her horror that the president has assigned her to monitor and assess Erick’s “immersion” in public service—in the fields of faraway Isabela.
Instead of getting Erick to toe the line, however, Roan ends up falling for the scruffy charm of her unpredictable “ward,” especially after she exposes the latent kindness hiding underneath the guy’s rough exterior.
But, she is grease to Erick’s water, and it doesn’t take long before Roan succumbs to her insecurities and imagined inadequacies—especially after she meets the “other” girl, the beautiful but bland Nicole (Sam Pinto). Where is the fairy godmother when you need her most?
Sarah and her dutiful consort, Gerald, gamely acquiesce to the movie’s galit-bati premise, a storytelling tack that’s as musty as the rom-coms of the ’50s and ’60s. Surprisingly, the gimmick works for the most part, due to Sarah’s idiosyncratic comic timing—especially in the scene where she first tells her family about her relationship with Erick.
The film further amps up the kwela quotient by having Sarah burst into girly giggles when she reacts to Gerald’s affectionate teasing—or when she sees him in various stages of shirtlessness. It’s this unspoken tension between the two that makes their onscreen exchanges engaging and unpredictable.
Emotions
She’s less comfortable in highly-charged emotional scenes, however. But, at least, Sarah is now learning to access her character’s hurts and manages to display spurts of dramatic inspiration—though, she’s still unable to seamlessly string conflicting emotions together to make her portrayal truly satisfying.
We see potential in the charming Matteo Guidicelli, but it’s a little premature to judge him beyond his character’s kooky lines and silly rapping. We’re also glad to see a more subtle Christopher de Leon sans the flaring nostrils-style histrionics he’s been known for lately.
But, the best thespic treat is the gorgeous Dawn Zulueta, who gracefully demonstrates how to make the most of her limited screen time. When she tells her son that true love entails some compromises, you believe her—and take her advice to heart!
ANDERSON AND GERONIMO. Fresh rapport.