MMFF 2014 Movie Review: ‘English Only, Please’ — December 27, 2014 ‘ENGLISH ONLY, PLEASE’ is that one film in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival that would make you giggle, laugh, and relate with while it touches your heart without you knowing about it. Though it uses the same romantic comedy formula you’ve seen in other hit local films, which happy ending is predictable if not necessary, English Only Please does the thing subtly, and excellently. You won’t mind if we tell you that it’s even funnier than the Vice Ganda and Vic Sotto films less the slapstick comedy. You should see the film yourself to prove our claims. Its comedy is something that the common people relates to. The usual, truthful Pinoy comedy about real-life events, mostly about love, that hit directly to the heart, hit us big time, yet we just laugh about, and in most times, we just laugh off. Directed by Dan Villegas, the film’s romance revolves around the two heartbroken individuals, a visiting half-Filipino Julian (Derek Ramsay) who soon realized he is in love with his bubbly Filipina English tutor (Jennylyn Mercado) after the latter help him translate a speech for his ex-girlfriend, also a Filipina (Isabel Oli). It was a plot not too unique yet ‘English Only Please’ done it well, way better than the hit local romcoms you know about. Even the supposed drama scenes, which other filmmakers would overdo, is done perfectly okay here. Keeping the light tone from start to finish was hard but ‘English Only, Please’ maintained it till the film’s last frames. We were even amazed by the way they used the “Traffic sa EDSA” line many times in the film without us getting annoyed. What’s more plausible about English Only Please is that it keeps viewers to remain seated, wait for the next lines that would come out of the characters’ mouths, and anticipate that the next scenes are as comedic and straightforward as the previous, if not better. The film is not without flaws however as it falters near the end but it’s almost negligible, if not forgivable. Thanks to Jennylyn Mercado’s perfect portrayal of her role, and for Derek Ramsay’s manly charm that sets his character apart from that Macho guy her leading ladies would kill for as in his recent films. It’s one of Mercado’s best portrayals so far, that’s without discounting her performance in ‘Rosario,’ also an MMFF entry a few years ago, and her excellent performances in various series aired on GMA Network since she won the first Starstruck, a reality talent search in the network. Mercado shines bright in the film that would eventually help her earn the Best Actress trophy come the awards night. Cai Cortes as Mercado’s character’s bestfriend is also remarkable. We wouldn’t mind seeing more romantic comedy films in MMFF or in local theater in general, especially if they’re as good as English Only Please.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 01:15:48 +0000
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