[ random movie time ] 
Honestly? Optional #MMFF viewing.

Dan Villegas’ All of You (2017) sounds like a recipe for success. It’s the 3rd Best Picture, led by tried-and-tested tandem Jennylyn Mercado and Derek Ramsey. The creatives behind the movie have delivered hits before.

And yet… It’s a miss. To be honest, I think it won Third Best Picture (and even Best Actor) not because of its individual merit, but because of how bad the rest of the competition were.

Anyway. I won’t delay. I found the chemistry of the leads –crucial to any romantic drama, really– to be lacking, and it pales in comparison to their earlier appearances (e.g. English Only Please). My mom suggests it’s because of the easy comedy of the earlier movie; I think I agree. Outside of making out and shouting at each other in All of You, there’s really nothing to suggest why the two of them are in a relationship. I found it shallow.

Therein lies the problem –the lack of depth. To be fair, the movie is great at being relatable. Every tension-filled conversation and fight scene bring to mind one’s own experiences, lover’s quarrels and family tiffs, and this makes the movie perfect for lovers looking for some perspective. And maybe because of this one good thing, the movie starts to read like one slice-of-life scene on top of each other. Here’s one relatable fight scene, here’s another. Repetitive is not the right word for it; maybe predictable?

As the movie progressed, I found myself wondering if this is all to it: a series of mistakes and miscommunications, with nothing in between. Frustratingly, each scene is a shade negative and tortuous –a lead-up to the inevitable blow-up and break-up. The time jumps did not help.

Yet even then, with its steady course to doom, the movie feels directionless. The movie lacked growth. Ramsey’s Gab changed to supposedly accommodate relationships and maturity, but I’m not sure for the better. Mercado’s Gaby stubbornly did not change, refusing to swallow her pride and take real risks, and at the end of it all I decided not to support the couple, and then also not to care.

We’re taking the MRT to an unknown destination, without any scenery or roses to make life more bearable. Tragic.

P.S. SMOKING IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH PEOPLE.

P.P.S. Visit my blog tag for more #MMFF reviews!