Love teams make the movie world go ‘round

CRUZ AND ALONZO. Mark 10th anniversary of their love team.

Last Sunday, Aug. 26, a small but unusual event transpired in the local  entertainment world: John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo celebrated the 10th anniversary of their movie love team.

After not acting together for so long, they suddenly reminded everyone (including themselves?) that they were or had been a popular romantic tandem on the silver screen. Why the belated and retroactive celebration? What was going on?

Then we learn that their tandem is starring in a new movie, “The Mistress,” showing later this month. Oh, so that’s why.

We were caught off-guard and out of context, because the traditional concept of the movie “love team” in these parts suggest a more permanent linkup in terms of TV-film projects costarred in, as in “Guy and Pip” and “Vi and Bot.”

These days, however, stars are paired with a veritable rigodon of screen sweethearts—with a decided preference for a few, namely the screen partners with whom they have chalked up their biggest hits.

This more expediently “democratic” version of the traditional love team is more to our liking, because it spares the  actors involved from the more negative aspects of TV-film tandems’ relationships, like fans’ insistence that their screen faves should be lovebirds in real life, as well!

This “requirement” has forced some screen partners to pretend to be madly in love with each other, even as they secretly date other people—or are even married to them!

Equally messy are the fights that love teams’ fans get into with the supporters of other popular love teams, with the stars sometimes getting sucked into all of the attendant yuck and muck.

Mature thespians

Back to John Lloyd and Bea: they’ve had their share of hit costarrers, but the hope is that “The Mistress” will top all of them, because the lead actors are now more mature and presumably better thespians. They could also be more open to essaying more daring characters and scenes, so that could be an added plus, too.

And the comeback performance of Hilda Koronel, who flew home after years in the States just to shoot her scenes for the film, is a big bonus in itself! Thus, “The Mistress” has “potential winner” written all over it.

We hope, too, that aside from scoring a direct hit at the box office, the romantic drama will also end up as an artistically significant production. The fact that it’s being directed by Olivia Lamasan suggests that the film could “level up” in this direction, as well. Should that happen, that would be the best of all worlds!