Till There Was You

Among the long line of Piolo-Juday rom-coms, Till There was You is arguably the best.

With witty dialogue, Till There Was You stands out among other Filipino rom-coms because it is fresh, enjoyable and has an array of fabulous supporting actors from a reliable but semi-rebellious Matet de Leon to a cute Eliza Pineda. Piolo Pascual seems miscast, playing a smarter version of himself. Anyway, the film is effective in evoking laughs, at the same time show off sentimentality that is not over-the-top. Above all, Till There Was You benefits from a strong, spunky and funny turn from Judy Ann Santos who portrayed a clever and ambitious twentysomething. She is off to give better performances but I guess she could always look back at herself here and give it a warm smile.

This film is pretty good. The exposition was done well so as to capture the interest of viewers. Judy Ann Santos is excellent in the portrayal of her role - and in showing the rigors of working hard to earn. The movie showed how it was for a single parent father (Pascual) to raise a daughter with the 'guidance' of his own mother. This movie also showed that some plans and secrets are meant to backfire if it covers the truth for so long.

Overall, the plot was OK and it had the right amount of reality in it but with the 'happily-ever-after' ending. The actors and actresses were relatively good. The child who plays 'Pipa' tends to have an irritatingly high voice though.

I also thought it rather odd that the plot of this movie is vaguely similar to a foreign movie called "Dear Frankie". So if you liked this movie, maybe you can check that one out.

The movie was very refreshing, although I know there can be a more apt title for it. I just don't think it fits the whole story. I have seen most of the heroine's movies but almost all of her works with the hero in this movie were good. Or maybe, its just me, because I hated heavy drama stuffs. The existence of "Pipa", the little girl in this movie was, initially, very irritating. I almost lost my motivation in watching it, but, hey, the movie gave a new twist to this genre. Pipa turned out to be very entertaining and I know movie-watchers can't help but adore her. The plot was new and interesting, too. I never got bored with this one, which seldom happens when I'm watching a local movie. I recommend this movie to all.