Don’t worry, I can’t believe that I’m starting off a year with a Tagalog movie review either, despite the huge backlog of movies I saw late last year that I haven’t reviewed yet.  Don’t worry, I’ll get around to doing those.  Eventually.

I saw the trailer for English Only, Please sometime around October, I think, and I couldn’t believe that a seemingly light and fluffy rom-com is actually part of the MMFF line up.  Also I was shocked that Derek Ramsey was still being given leading roles, after the drama with his baby Momma last year.  Color me intrigued.  So when my cousin offered to treat me to a movie, this quickly became the top choice.

Here’s my round-up of the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival’s Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Story, Best Actor and Best Actress winner, English Only, Please by Dan Villegas (cinematographer of the best of Star Cinema’s fluffiest films).

Please note that there may be spoilers.  Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

Julian Parker (Derek Ramsey) is an American based business analyst in search of a tutor who can help him translate and memorize a hate letter he wrote for his ex girlfriend Megan (Isabel Oli) who, apparently, is a “gold-digging bitch”.  Enter Teresa “Tere” Madlansacay (Jennylyn Mercado) who is an English tutor with her fair share of love problems, most of which come from Rico (Kean Cipriano), a douchebag lover who treats her like a doormat.  Romance and comedy ensues as Julian and Tere try to cope with their respective heartaches and grow closer in the process.

THE GOOD:

1. The snappy pacing.  The movie opened up smoothly and it was very easy to get onboard the film’s witty tone.  The editing was cleanly done and there was no point in the movie that I felt a scene was unnecessary.  Also, the Filipino dictionary thing was pure genius.
2. Derek Ramsey could act!  Who knew?!?  I haven’t seen a lot of his previous work but that was mostly because I find no appeal in watching adultery themed movies.  All this time I thought that Derek Ramsey was only good for eye candy, but damn.  There was this scene in the movie when his Julian was confessing his feelings for Tere and there was this tension of nervousness around his eyes that really sold it.  And there was no gratuitous topless shot of him in this movie either (the one time he shows his abs was for the lols), I almost died of shock.
3. Jerald Napoles!!!  It was a small role, but gosh darn it if it wasn’t memorable!  Very reminiscent of Rak of Aegis‘ Tolits!
4. Cai Cortez was hilarious as the leading girl’s token best friend.  She basically stole the limelight in all of the scenes she was in.

THE BAD:

1. Jennylyn Mercado had her pa-cute moments, which, I admit, had more to do with the character than anything else, but that doesn’t make them any less annoying.
2. The EDSA gag.  They sure rubbed that one in our faces.  It was funny the first three times but to drag one joke throughout the whole movie like that was just tedious.

THE UGLY:

1. That Julian was able to let Megan go just like *that*.  How is that believable?  This dude has been bitter over Megan for God knows how long and he even flew half-way across the world just to stalk her, and poof, it’s gone?  Pfft.
2. The lack of retribution for Tere’s lazy family members.  Considering that they’re spending her hard earned money on booze and tong-its, I was sort of waiting for some sort of meltdown from Tere just to address the issue.

All in all, English Only, Please was an incredibly entertaining movie.  The story was told in such a witty and charming manner that it was very easy to just go with whatever was happening on screen.  Performances were strong all around and the chemistry between Derek Ramsay and Jennylyn Mercado, however seemingly unlikely, was palpable and really made the slow burn of the romance believable.  It really is one of the better romantic movies I’ve seen in a long while.

THE VERDICT: 8/10.

*All photos are lifted from the film’s official Facebook page.