Tag Archives: John Lloyd Cruz

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2010’s top TV (and showbiz) distractions / destructions

Now this obviously cuts across networks, so that is its limitation as well: I can’t quite watch two soap operas at the same time, though I will try all the time. There is no list that isn’t biased, and this one for Pinoy TV and showbiz in 2010 is also a measure of my own personal taste for that which is different, and new, and sometimes a  bit inane.

John Lloyd Cruz in a genre all his own. Because he can apparently sell everything from biogesic to fruit juice to crackers, tuna to pancit canton, and just might have singlehandedly brought back Greenwich Pizza in our lives. Of course he has a whole barkada in those commercials, but really now, that’s every other barkada we have. What works in the end is that John Lloyd is so willing and able to make a fool of himself, and to create this image of being the every guy in a co-ed barkada. And even when we hear him admit to girlfriends, and we hear rumors of vaginal locks in his life, in the end all that remains really is John Lloyd as the every boy, like a Juan dela Cruz without the indio or the konyo, and just a whole lot of middle class charm.

An Aljur seems to be in order. Aljur Abrenica opened the Cosmopolitan Bachelor Bash for 2010, with the confidence that we still rarely see in our men after Richard Gomez decided he could just row his way in an ad and wear briefs in a fashion show. Sam Milby just lost so much luster compared to Aljur, also because the former just seemed so darn uncomfortable the whole time he was on stage; it also didn’t help Sam that the new and improved Christian Bautista came before him, who undoubtedly new to strut his new, uh, assets. Aljur meanwhile, had us asking for more, and we wanted to see him on that stage again. After seeing what seemed like hundreds of topless men, that can only be a measure of Aljur’s presence. He’s playing Machete in a GMA soap for 2011; you know what channel I’ll be on for that timeslot.

The Currency of the Kantoboys. If you don’t know who they are, then you are missing something. Composed of Luis Manzano, Vhong Navarro, Billy Crawford (without the Joe), and John Lloyd, and an ASAP XV original, the Kanto Boys go against the grain of on the one hand the now defunct Hunks, and on the other just the standard metrosexual. There are no perfect pretty boys here, instead there is imperfection, one that’s borne of silliness, and these four boys’ willingness to make fools of themselves, with poker faces throughout any performance. It’s an anti-macho creation that just works. That they remain cute — if not become cuter — is well, just their luck. (more…)

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Missing Popoy and Basha: or What Do You Take Me For? Crazy?

Of course I Miss You Like Crazy had everything going for it. We still remember Popoy and Basha of One More Chance, even know some lines from the movie, and even now speak of UST’s soccer field in relation to it. The three-month rule of breakups has now become law, seeing as Popoy invoked it when he thought Basha had found another guy (and kailangan talaga si Derek Ramsey and mapagsususpetsahang bagong boyfriend). And their barkada, really, was what made that movie. They were macho and bakla, serious and funny, judgmental and liberal, all at the same time. All these were only allowed by the movie’s well-written script that was real to us all, middle class and unapologetic.

Suffice it to say that One More Chance was enough reason to step out and watch I Miss You Like Crazy. But in the first conversation that Mia and Alex have in the movie, something is so obviously off right away. I look at L who’s watching the movie with me, and we realize, it’s Mia’s laughter. It was uncomfortable, obviously put-on, and undoubtedly lost in translation. It wasn’t trying to be ironic, i.e., hiding the sadness through laughter; nor did it sound like real laughter.  Parang bad acting lang? (more…)

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the enterprise of the impossible

their first movie, A Very Special Love was anything but believable. Laida, Sarah Geronimo‘s character, was too giddy, too pa-cute, too over the top, for comfort. And Miggy, John Lloyd Cruz’s character, was so confusingly inconsistent: one moment he was a scary boss, the next he was someone who would go to an employee’s birthday party; one moment he was singing videoke, the next he was downright mean.

the love story was also such a stretch, given the fact that Laida was a new employee in the office where Miggy was boss, and she does look younger (no matter the clothes and make-up) than him. given Miggy’s general attitude towards his employees, it was unbelievable that he would even be remotely interested in this girl who obviously had the hots for him.

it is in this sense that You Changed My Life was an interesting sequel, because it had to have more than just the kilig factor and John Lloyd’s laglag-panty looks — both of which are on overdrive here. while Laida’s character had evolved and matured, Geronimo’s take on her was still on “I love you John Lloyd!” mode. it was clear that Laida here had very little sense that love doesn’t equal dependence, and that she couldn’t save this man from messing up his new job as head of one of his family’s businesses, even with more love for him. even more interesting is the fact that Laida, even when in her head she could always help save Miggy from self-destruction and shame, had no idea what kind of help Miggy actually needed.

he, who wanted to revive the business by taking on the challenge of an account that would require more than the company’s standard quota. he, who decided that the only thing he could do was overwork his employees, hire more contractuals, and remove all incentives so that he could have more money to go around. he, who screamed at the workers, without realizing the kind of work they were doing.

it was clear here that what Miggy needed was a change in ideology — not just Laida saving his ass by, well, becoming his employee (which was what she wanted to do). when the movie dared allow for the workers to stage a rally and stand by their refusal to work, i couldn’t help but be hopeful that there would be a spiel on workers’ rights. instead, all the movie did was talk about the value of the worker in the context of this particular family enterprise. instead, all they talked about was the universal liberal notion of “our company is our people” and we must “care for them” — without realizing that this sounded more about charity than about valuing the worker.

without Laida’s help, Miggy is forced to take responsibility for the company and its people. meanwhile, Laida was kept in the dark about how horrible this man she had fallen in love with was, a tragedy in itself given that she comes from a working class family and is in fact an employee of Miggy’s family.

which does make it almost impossible that this rich, super guwapo, yummy young man — an eligible bachelor as he is wont to be created by the movie — would fall in love with this spit of a girl, who barely knows herself and is obviously of a different social class. in reality, someone like Laida would dream of a man like Miggy, but never get him. in reality, Laida’s social class would dictate a particular ideology, the kind that would allow her to take stock and realize that she is an employee and he is the boss, and nothing else.

but this is a Pinoy love story after all. the kind that wants us to believe that the impossible is possible, that we can all be Laida and have someone like John Lloyd take us on a helicopter ride, pick us up at work everyday, do the sundance with us, and will want our powerhug. and yes, when I shift from Geronimo’s Laida character to the real John Lloyd, i mean to say this: that like the images of real and true workers’ empowerment, in the context of capitalism, this remains as fiction. and it is almost entirely impossible.

p.s.: Rayver Cruz‘s acting here was priceless as Macoy. as the third member of a love triangle that never happens, his longing looks should be put in a bottle for the enterprise of the forlorn. this kid will give many of those hunks on ABS-CBN a run for their money — and i’m not even talking about his dancing.

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why say sorry?

or the dynamic of women’s choices.

the romance as a genre in philippine movies has, since the turn of the millennium, been common and surprising in turn. the surprises i personally trace back to regine velasquez’s foray into her julia-roberts-type of romantic films, where situations are perfectly created for both her limited acting skills, and for the middle class women that she portrays (and has as audience). although it can be said that much much earlier than that, judy ann santos and piolo pascual, as well that ricoyan-claudinebarretto-dietherocampo movie were the beginnings of more interesting takes on the romance (hello, boksingero si judy ann? naman). (more…)