One More Chance

Thought this movie would be very slow but I am glad to give it a chance. You should too. I was quite curious to see this movie before I can watch Second Chance on a popular movie streaming site. The love story seems to be quite common dating scenario in the Philippines. If you are not at least Fil-Am, understand Tagalog and have lived in the Philippines, you may not be able to relate; so ignore some of the negative reviews. I can see why there are memes and quotable lines from this movie. One of Cathy Garcia-Molina's better earlier-in-her-director career movies. There are worse CGM movies out there.

One of the few Filipino films that is really great. Storyline is very good! It's a romantic movie that would melt your heart and also sometimes break it :-) It shows the in's and out's of a relationship and the couples struggles to work it out.

Life is all about second chances which this movie truly proves. Sometimes we don't see the good in people unless we let them go. I remember reading an old saying "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, its yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be."

What can I say? Love is definitely sweeter the second time around!

Very heartbreaking movie, I shed a lot of tears on this movie. Even if you though you've already moved on one glance of that person all of the heartbreaks are coming back. I wanted to watch over and over.

A really heartwarming movie with huge heartbreaking scenes, wirh two great actors that deliver the love and pain between their characters, in the beggining you will feel Basha (Bea Alonzo) is the typical woman that doesn't know what she wants but as the movie advances, you understand her and even Popoy (John Lloyd) understands it, and you feel probably that was the real way to saving the relationship, yes she needed to find herself first, love herself, etc, and Popoy needed to learn to listen and not to be selfish, its a great leason for today couples, and an amazing movie, no wonder is a Filipo cult movie.

Basha (Bea Alonso) is an architect in the same firm as her fiancé Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz), who is an engineer. They belong to the same close-knit group of friends and have been together for five years until Basha gets fed up with Popoy's controlling but well-meaning ways and opts out of the relationship, building a new life for herself. Popoy goes on self-destruct mode but is later able to recuperate in the kind arms of Trisha (Maja Salvador). Basha realizes that he wants him back but things have already gotten too complicated.

Executed Hollywood-style, One More Chance would have ended when the leads parted ways while revisiting their alma mater, leaving it up to the audience what happens next. The Hong Kong version would have ended with everyone dead. But since this is a Filipino movie, you pretty much know how this ends that won't merit a spoiler warning.

And so movie theaters were packed, and rightfully so! I admittedly didn't expect much of this movie, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a local romantic comedy that delivers. I've never seen a Bea-John Lloyd starrer, but now I can agree with the general populace that the two have undeniable chemistry and are pretty natural actors. Despite John Lloyd not up to par in the looks department as Bea, he is likable, charismatic and adds sincerity to his role. Bea complements and does not overshadow John Lloyd despite her beauty because she doesn't seem too uptight about it; so, she is able to become the character she plays. The supporting cast, especially Salvador and the impossibly hot Derek Ramsay, helped fortify the story.

Without a doubt, it was Popoy's bitter line, "You had me at my best; she loved me at my worst" that resonated with all those who has ever had their heart broken that filled the theaters; so memorable, it could probably even join the ranks of immortal lines ever uttered in Pinoy movies. While the trailer pretty much shows the entire movie, more welcome surprises await moviegoers as more unforgettable scenes and power lines are revealed. Sure, it's not original (note the rip-off/homage to Romeo+Juliet's Leo Dicaprio and Claire Danes' under-the-sheets action), and it had its melodramatic moments, but director Cathy Garcia-Molina injects humor in the nick of time.

One More Chance is one good reason Pinoys should give the pelikulang Pinoy another chance at redeeming itself in its own context, on its own terms, without having to show the seedy side of Manila just to be taken seriously.