The only other John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo movie I have ever watched in my whole life was One More Chance. While it wasn’t a classic or anything, I was actually entertained and it didn’t feel, like a lot of other Filipino rom-coms, like a formula movie where you can almost faultlessly predict the next scene while a scene was still unfolding.
The atmosphere at the cinema should have been an omen. While there was a long line at the ticket counter, we didn’t have a hard time getting choice seats. It was relatively early, a 7:30 p.m. showing, so I began to wonder why it wasn’t as jampacked as I thought it would be. The huge cinema was 3/5 full but I expected even the front seats to be occupied since this was, after all, only the second day (editor’s note: according to ABS-CBN, The Mistress already earned Php 23Million on its first day alone, breaking box office records.).
After two hours, I wondered no more. Unless you’re a die-hard Bea-Lloydie fan, you can miss this movie and you won’t miss anything.
I guess I expected much from the movie since the hype was sooo overwhelming and the trailer was a real come-on.
It started interestingly enough and I relished how the camera loved Bea Alonzo’s face and the appealing angles used did not give you any doubt why John Lloyd was smitten with her at first sight. After a few minutes I was charmed at the line “Hinde porke’t gusto mo, makukuha mo.”
Yeah, it was charming at first. But after being repeated ad infinitum throughout the movie, it lost its charm. Really.
In fairness, the movie tried to be upbeat and exciting but some scenes just didn’t work. After some minutes, it felt like it was starting to drag and even the cute scenes of an 8-year old chubby boy trying to profess his love for Bea Alonzo as successfully as any 8-year-old can was starting to feel like a smile on one’s face that got left behind after hearing a stale joke.
When the dramatic scenes came on, I was still stone cold and unaffected. I reacted a bit after John Lloyd Cruz discovered that the one his flirting with was his dad’s mistress but the signs of life within me fizzled out after that.
Then we go to the la-di-da scenes of John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo enjoying their time together and boy! I’m sorry but they really really felt CONTRIVED. These scenes did not feel as if they all came naturally. In fact, they seemed like … just that – scenes from a movie. I could almost hear the director say, “Cut! Okay let’s go to the next location for the next scene.”
The next parts of the movie that were supposed to provide the impetus to the climax were a tad inconsistent, thus a bit confusing. It’s just that there were parts of the story that seemed incredulous. For the sake of people who still want to watch it, I will not go on a spoiler alert.
I will mention some bloopers like one scene played indoors in one place yet the outdoor scene was not consistent with how the indoors looked like. Or the time Bea Alonzo was cleaning a window while talking to John Lloyd Cruz with traces of soap on the window. After a few seconds she turns and the soap is all gone.
I am also disappointed that outstanding actresses like Anita Linda and Carmi Martin were sadly so underutilized that any extra could have played their part. It was fortunate that Anita Linda is the type of actress that makes any role loom large and memorable.
Admittedly though, I did cry at some scenes and snickered at others. But that is just wrong. A good movie is not a compilation of some good scenes here, some bad scenes there, some memorable, some rubbish. You can’t say a movie is good just because it made you laugh or cry at some point.
A friend, Jessie, who watched with me also had his take, to wit:
“The movie tried so hard to come up with a new story or twist or a better version of “No Other Woman”. They did not maximize Carmi and Anita Linda’s characters. Inconsistencies with the scenes. Bea and John Lloyd lost their spark. Walang kilig moment. Not even a moral lesson. Bottom line is however good she is as a person, she’s still a mistress and it’s a sin you shouldn’t commit.”
If I were to use analogy, The Mistress would be a very pretty woman, dressed well and sexy but with no sex appeal.
Sayang. I thought this movie had the makings to dethrone No Other Woman, the 2nd biggest blockbuster in Philippine cinema history.
Well, we just have to wait for another pretender to the throne.
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Movie review by Peachie Urquiola for Orange Magazine TV.
