Stellar transformations, successful and otherwise
CURTIS. Her sassy antics on “Showtime” proved that she could be “one of the boys.”
A few show biz seasons ago, some stars initiated moves designed to shake up their flagging careers, and surprise and delight their fans with their energized portrayals. For instance, Anne Curtis used to be regarded as a relatively sophisticated and thus inaccessible luminary, until her sassy antics on “Showtime” proved to everyone that she could be “one of the boys.”
For her part, Angelica Panganiban, has lost her baby fat and effectively transformed herself into a “sexy” dramatic actress, as the success of her concluding teleserye, “Apoy sa Dagat,” attests.
On the other hand, male stars have not been as successful at the chancy task of self-transformation: Coco Martin has gone “from indie to maindie” in a big way, but in so doing, he’s lost his thespic edge and has been “homogenized” into a younger clone of Piolo, Jericho, et al.
Drastic shift
CONCEPCION. Has kissed her sweet image goodbye.
Back on the distaff side, KC Concepcion has served notice by way of her “sultry” liquor ad that she’s kissed her sweet image goodbye—but, definitive proof of the drastic shift is still to be had.
As for Sarah Geronimo, her own make-over moves take the cake because, despite the fact that she’s now most definitely an adult, she’s still generally
playing it cute and kooky. “Blame” it on her family and handlers, who have made her focus so much on productively working instead of “dangerously” living that she’s had too few genuinely instructive life experiences to inform her portrayals as a young-adult star.
These and other attempts at stellar transformation prove that it’s definitely easier said than done. What’s involved is much more than just will power and savvy promotions, but a total re-evaluation of a performer’s personal and professional reason for being.
If a star’s emotional and experiential capital is severely limited, there may not be enough left to productively transform!
