By: Kathrine Pearl Ting and Christopher Tigno
Romance turned into a staple genre of the Philippine Cinema. It is usually what hits the jackpot when it comes to box office sales. Studio giants release them bimonthly, taking advantage of the Filipinos’ penchant for mood lifting and emotionally devastating motion pictures.
It would be typical Filipino women would be who turn out to be the most common fans of this genre, at times they even get very involved with the story. Heck, even men are guilty of this trait. Cinemas then become flooded once the latest blockbuster hits the big screen.
More often than not, the stories of these movies are run of the mill. Plots are usually recycled, with stock characters brought to life by different actors, to the same results. Boy meets girl, falls in love, encounters a
roadblock, and solves it, and lives happily ever after, casually ignoring major plot holes along the way.
However, recently, a new trend has risen in the local film industry- Adulterousrelationships that have become quite a fad with fan girls (and boys)shamelessly worshipping the movies and helping them attain certified box office stamps.
The concept of third party liaisons was just a side-story before. It was never a focal point in a movie and was simply used to thicken the plot. The “third party” character is often antagonistic; dreaded by the lead, hated by the audience. Female characters that fall in this archetype are usually depicted as a vamp; sexy and slutty at the same time; while male characters often carry the “Adonis-vibe” and exist only to make the male lead envious of his presence.
Now, the “third party” character jumps from the background role into the lead, making the audience sympathize with their predicaments even when at times they are the ones in the wrong. Having a home-wrecker asthe protagonist helps flesh out a side of the character’s story that was never seen when they were in the background.
This craze began with Regal Film’s ‘My Neighbor’s Wife’ released in September 2011, starring Carla Abellana, Jake Cuenca, Lovi Poe, and Dennis Trillo. The film revolved around two sets of married couples that are involved in a love quadrangle, with wives and husbands being swapped in the fornicating fiasco. ‘My Neighbor’s Wife’ filled seats since it featured a famous set of casts along with an intriguing storyline; although the idea may not be fresh, it rejuvenated the genre.
The film was blown out of the water by a competitor from one of Regal’s rival studios, Star Cinema as it spawned one of its highest grossing movies in the history of Philippine Cinema entitled, ‘No Other Woman’.
A film casted by Anne Curtis, Derek Ramsay, and Cristine Reyes, the film amassed almost ₱300 Million; a feat that was accomplished with the efforts of its outstanding director, witty one-liners, and a riveting premise.
Kara, played by Curtis, is a young socialite who“snakes” Ram from the clutches of Charmaine, played by Ramsay and Reyes respectively, who are newlyweds. The story is quite simple but the hype that surrounded the film was due in part to Anne Curtis’ role as the mistress, a role that was so farfetched from her usual roles that most critics didn’t think it would work. Surprisingly, it did, and her portrayal, along with the others, was praised.
And in the spirit of mistresses, Star Cinema’s most recent motion picture, ‘The Mistress’, stars the blockbuster powerhouses Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz in a different take on mistresses. Alonzo’s role as Sari is a “kabit” to Rogelio Lopez’s Henrico, husband to Regina played by Ms. Hilda Koronel and father to Eric, portrayed by Cruz.
As opposed to the typical women who latch onto a committed man are usually depicted as seductive temptresses, Alonzo’s portrayal of a mistress is a conservative, family-oriented breadwinner who does not fit the gold-digger bill. She wears clothes that seldom show skin and is very reserved and meek; very different from what people usually associate with the term “mistress”.
This concept that has escaped the bounds of the normal romantic love story has turned out to have captivated numerous audiences resulting to the new fad in the Philippine Cinema. The concept offers a new perspective and taste, more so in the movies that do not follow the usual track of the“third party” character traits.
It would still be cliché as any other love story in the local film-industry; however the change in its perspective gives off an intriguing value. People mostly want something new but sometimes a turning of the grid can also pique the human interest. After all, it would not always have to something new.
Romance would not seem all that cliché in this sense, still filling seats and creating fads, only for a different trend and purpose; this is the rising trend of the “Third Party” plots in Philippine Cinema.
And as Viva Films releases a trailer of its upcoming movie this October entitled, “A Secret Affair,” topbilled by Derek Ramsay, AndiEigenmann and Anne Curtis, cinemas are expected to fill its seats yet again and continue in cultivating this new trend. The movie also stars Jackie Lou Blanco and Jaclyn Jose.
This movie, directed by NuelCrisostomo Naval presents a story of love filled with secrets and lies and that of temptations,a film for fans of the Romance genre to look forward to.
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