My Amnesia Girl

Apollo (Pol) and Irene were the best, sweetest couple around, but fate had them drift apart. When Pol stumbled upon her again, he was surprised that Irene could not remember him; she then explains that she had amnesia. Pol is now bent to make Irene fall in love with him again. From the simple synopsis the movie presents via its trailers, this movie had many of my friends guessing that this is a rip-off of (the Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore movie) "50 First Dates" or the more cerebral (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet film) "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". No. This is not a rip-off of those movies. Sure, it may have some aspects of this movie here and that movie there, but not enough to constitute a blatant rip-off like some Tagalog mainstream films do. This is actually not much of a surprise because this movie was directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina. And I have watched quite a number of his movies to say that this is one of those rare Tagalog mainstream directors who exercise quite a degree of originality, and such a large dose of respectable quality in her movies; the kind that is capable of commercial success and an excellence that ensures her film's timelessness. "Mabenta sa Masa; pero hinde Baduy" The script is smartly written; rich with clever lines and dynamite wit. This is the better comedy than what other local comedies claim as funny. The two main characters have the habit of throwing pa-cute, pa-sweet, funny little lines which are charming enough that you'd wanna memorize one or two of those little lines they have. These are the moments that I consider as intentionally corny; yet ticklingly charming.

The film shines as a romantic movie. Molina has perfected the genre that she uniformly does, but then again, she has perfected this even long before this movie (Maybe Molina has to experiment in action or sci-fi. On second thought, no she doesn't; I love her for what she already does). Just the mere idea that Molina's skill in creating romantic movies is already in such a godlike degree, is enough for anybody to just trust this movie and leave all skepticism.

Just as the movie wants you to fall in love with both characters, I found myself fixated and in love with Toni Gonzaga too. I am not usually a fan of Toni Gonzaga, her TV game show charisma is ignorable to me. But her on screen acting presence in this movie drives me back to adoring her. Not only is she damn cute with those chinky funny eyes and cute bunny smile, her character's personality complements that as well, with a fun-lovingness and childlike giddiness. Speaking of things that are really nice to watch, Beatriz Saw was also fun to watch, she has that "the main girl's friend" chemistry perfectly executed; and she's also such a a hottie. (yum!) John Lloyd Cruz is also great as the main character. He is the quintessential male bida; the kind of everyman that every guy can easily identify with because he is so human, so honest, so true, and so candid. Unlike other typical male protagonists in mainstream tagalong cinema, he is the only one who does real acting and never seems to consciously or ridiculously make an effort to make "pa-cute" antics. Whenever he does indeed try to do pa-cute antics, he does it IN CHARACTER—and UNTO THE OTHER CHARACTER he's addressing; he does not do it to the audience in a sort of toothpaste commercial sort of way.

The chemistry between John Lloyd and Toni blend perfectly. Both characters have a very playful and witty sense of humor that makes for a great dramatic, comedic, and romantic interplay between the two.

And then there's the other characters. Usually, when mainstream tagalog movies put in a group of good-looking male supporting characters acting as barkada in their movies they tend to be either pa-cute or corny. In this movie, Molina throws in a barkada that actually acts like a barkada; they goof off, they're ridiculous, and they act like they really care for their buddy. Where these chick-magnet clowns are usually annoying in other movies or in TV, this time, the supporting actors actually act like a typical barkada; perhaps it is again Molina's directorial eye that keeps his actors flawlessly act IN CHARACTER.

The movie is near perfect; but I must confess that it kinda took me down at the near end of the movie when the characters react to a supposed problem, when there should not be any problem at all anyway. It's as if the character took the most ignorable thing and create a problem out of that; it was an obvious ploy just to make a tension at the near end, to give way to the obligatory climax. Ultimately, though, it is not such a big deal because this little issue is still arguable anyway. Another thing that (well not exactly bothered) bothered me was how John Lloyd's character (Apollo) was able to pay for all the elaborate "romantic stuff" that he does in the movie. Is this guy Bruce Wayne, or what? But again, these are all minor things that does do much to shake the film's near flawlessness.

This movie is very much worth full price. A perfect date movie at the tail end of November. If romantic movies is your cup of tea, this movie is a definite must-see. MY AMNESIA GIRL is hands down, the most romantic movie I've seen this year. And that's counting the international movies.

Finally, a film from Star Cinema that has a very clever and engaging trailer that doesn't give the story away. My Amnesia Girl was initially frowned upon by haters as the trailer promises to have been a rip-off of yet another feel good romantic-comedy movie, 50 First Dates. That type of marketing has indeed been very clever, making both fans and haters alike go into the theaters to both criticize and enjoy the film.

If it's a Cathy Garcia Molina film, you can pretty much expect solid direction and acting. She's one of the very few mainstream directors who actually respects the script given to her and gives it justice, and this film is not an exception. Albeit some problem with inconsistent lighting and weak voice sounding, all of that was forgiven with brilliant acting and a very clever and realistic script.

The story's most brilliant moments were during the first act where Apollo (John Lloyd Cruz) reminisces the ups and downs of his past relationships. The second act was, as expected, a very sugarcoated montage of the "kilig" scenes on the relationship of Irene (Toni Gonzaga) and Apollo, but was still pretty much brilliantly delivered because of tight direction. The third act could have been better, but of course, the malady of mainstream studios came and destroyed what could have been a perfect love story. The ending was obviously obligatory and predictable.

The strength of this film was the brilliant cast. This film would really have not been as brilliant as it is if not for them. Toni Gonzaga was a revelation. Her comic charm can really put a smile on people's faces. Her dramatic chops have yet to be improved, but was still delivered very effectively. John Lloyd Cruz as usual never fails to deliver a very brilliant performance. What's great about him is that he's a team player. Unlike some veteran actors who have already proved their mettle, he doesn't deliver a "I'm-the-best-actor-so-I'm-better-than-you" type of performance. All he does is just simply give justice to his character, and thus bringing out the best on his fellow cast as well. Seriously, this guy can win awards by just drinking his wine.

Over all, My Amnesia Girl is a feel good movie, no more no less. The story may have been obligatory on some parts, and there may have been minor technical glitches along the way. But all that can easily be forgiven with a solid cast and brilliant direction.