A Very Special Love

RATED 3/10 Language: Filipino Source: Netflix

Run of the mill story and wooden acting. I was tempted to see this movie based on the reviews but its total let down. The story and scenes are seen in multiple movies in multiple countries, but this one felt very uninteresting.

I agree with top 2 reviews. Also, i am like many pinoys who barely watch pinoy movies because they've been exposed to the romantic-action/ romantic-comedy with rehashed script/massacre film type cinema. TBH i saw this because a friend of mine wrote the script. And I was not disappointed BECAUSE it was so well done.

i think it wasn't the scripts fault. Both lloydie and sarah g are natural actors and extremely charming on screen individually. i dislike bea alonzo, whose forte is limited to drama, and/or juday whose staple acting skills is limited to that of a palengkera...even if shes a really good one. Sarah G is a happy medium, except she doesn't have the sexy factor -- which renders the script useless because, character-wise, a model-dating rich boy like lloydie's character will probably be shallow enough to dismiss his EA just because she wasn't attractive enough. She is too wholesome to be in this role.

(you can imagine sexy scenes with bea and lloydie... how about lloydie and sarah? *crickets*) i just didn't think SarahG and Lloydie suited each other, period. if you've ever seen The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, or Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds in the Proposal, it's was kind of like that. A really good love story should have passion and sex (not necessarily sex scenes) exploding from their eyes.

STRANGELY ENOUGH, despite that fact, i found the scenes endearing-almost cringe-worthy, "kilig" and relatable. THey had NO sexy scenes nor did they have kissing scenes... and that is EXTREMELY CLEVER DIRECTING / ACTING / SCRIPT considering it is a love story. The director put in this very short dream sequence during the meeting which I find to be inspired by anime. I literally chortled. it was refreshing. Sarah's character was refreshing. And sometimes, well sometimes you don't really need sex scenes (or kissing scenes, for that matter) for a good love story.

Everyone just wants to live out their own inner Cinderella, and they don't have to be of the poor class to dream.

Every local film pitched with a romantic theme will never escape this harsh pre-judgment; it is a copycat, 'baduy' or trashy. As the saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." But in reality, not all of us are critics, who have a lot of time in their hands to check out this "chick flick" to reassure the relevance of this adage.

A Very Special Love is a romantic comedy film produced by Star Cinema, directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina and written by Raz dela Torre. The story is about a moody Editor-in-chief Miggy Montenegro who is in the verge of losing his staff as well as his men's magazine, Bachelor. Laida, a naïve young girl, applies as an Editorial Assistant hoping to be close with the man she dreams of every night. The plot is fairly identifiable to the movie The Devil Wears Prada wherein a recent college graduate gets a job as an assistant to a powerful magazine editor. But this time, it is a love story. Although originality in the story is not a strong quality nevertheless the basic necessities of a Romantic Comedy were all addressed.

Geronimo's performance in particular was quite a revelation. From her quirky antics, and humorous lines, to her on-screen charisma, the audience can't stop laughing and crying and giggling and laughing again, a metaphoric state just like the theme, Love. On the other note, Cruz's character was made complex and was wisely portrayed. He plays a not-so-likable character you will despise at first sight. But as the film thoroughly progress, you will sympathize with him and be captivated with his charisma. I don't want to elaborate any further as to how his character was layered as this might reveal the twists.

The probably advantage in having Star Cinema produce a film is the technical quality will not be compromised. Although I have qualms in certain dialogue scenes that were dubbed and its live recording needs to be improved. Too much musical scoring is what I loath in most mainstream local films. Moderation might ultimately be the cure.

Romantic comedy films are movies with light-hearted, humorous plot lines, centered on romantic ideals such as true love being able to surmount most obstacles. This is what this film offers. It is simple in definition, but hard to attain. It is a rare treat to watch a film in this genre and be able to say in the end, it was pleasing… and funny indeed.

rating: 3.5/5 stars

A Filipino comedy romance film starring John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo. The film was directed by Cathy Garcia Molina.

Geronimo plays a cute young woman who lands the job of Editorial Assistant to a young handsome, but tyrannical boss played by Cruz, who runs "Bachelor", a magazine for men. Our editor gets more tyrannical and insensitive to the feelings of his staff as he is pressured by his corporate bosses to come up with a winning anniversary edition of the magazine, or lose his job.

To complicate matters, our young editor is the illegitimate son of the magnate of the publishing house that owns "Bachelor", whose legal son is also an executive director. The character played by Cruz, was adopted into the upper crust family when his mother died. He continues to visit her grave.

The young new hire editorial assistant succeeds during the duration of the movie, in breaking down her bosses hard-nosed attitudes and helps him discover his concealed sensitivities.

This story formula has been told countless times on the big stream in every corner of the world.

Surprisingly, however, this 105-minute long film grabs your attention from start to finish, albeit with the ending being predicted from minute 5. Not an easy job for moviemakers.

Geronimo and Cruz very convincingly perform a series of rollercoaster emotions that fluctuate from sadness to romance to glee; and back again. Good actors with a strong screen presence.

A man that publishes a failing men's magazine who has a lot to prove to his family and himself loses most of his staff. Yet he has to get an issue out in weeks with the remaining staff. A girl who fantasizes about that man gets a job as an editorial assistant at the magazine. They all struggle to get the magazine together in time and a better issue than they've done before. And will love develop between the man and the young woman?

First, must say that much of the story lacks the believability factor. If you need that, stop reading my review and find another movie. The story is decent but much is very farfetched. Though not everything is predictable which is good. This was a a romance drama. There are a few comedy moments but I never actually laughed. Kind of different for a Pinoy film.

The acting is very good. The characters interesting. As a love story it is very strange there is no kissing. The no sex scenes is okay for a romance movie. But no kissing is just strange. The romance is almost missing from this movie.

Even with several faults, I still enjoyed this movie. Sarah Geronimo who plays the female lead also sings the theme song. She has had a prolific career in both acting and as a singer. Good movie, but definitely not great.