"Crazy Beautiful You,” a Photoshopped Romantic-Comedy Pic

by Randy R.I. Espinoza

My apologies to those who loved the movie, but I didn’t find much “real” value in one of the year’s most successful screen offerings that stars two of the top teen stars of local Tinseltown, Kathleen Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, otherwise known as KathNiel. Perhaps because I’m biased toward indie cinema’s in-your-face grittiness and social realism. Or is it because I’m more tolerant of the likes of KimXian & JaDine?

Okay, the main stars are probably show biz’s most popular love team, touted as the young generation's Guy and Pip (but then there’s also James Reid and Nadine Lustre, that other popular tandem who may be considered today's Vilma and Edgar, who are out to challenge the former couple's supremacy :-) ). The flick was produced by Star Cinema, the biggest movie outfit in the country. These very factors could have contributed much to the artificiality of the entire production. What do you expect? Drizzles of cheesiness all over, of course. ‘Cause that’s what sells. And that's what the fans want. So never mind the picture-perfect Pinatubo and the fascinating katutubong Aetas. They just serve as the backdrop and the decorative extras to add color and flavor and boost the production design. No real discursive analysis of family conflict and relationships but more forgive-and-forget, kiss-and-make-up, young-love/sweet-love, love-conquers-all, all's-well-that-ends-well sentiments that gloss over the serious issues.

“Crazy Beautiful You” is a romantic-comedy that tackles familial matters such as separation, estrangement, neglect, misunderstanding, and the like. Jackie (Bernardo), a rebellious girl, tries to sabotage her estranged mother’s plan to take her on a “mission” in Tarlac in attempts to tame and turn her into a better teenager/child. Turn of events finds her agreeing to cooperate and brings her under the watch of Kiko (Padilla). The narrative unravels issues between Jackie and her mom and Kiko’s alienation from his absentee mother, his devotion to his father and his original family who barely recognize him as family member, and his taking up the responsibility of taking care of his siblings. The lead characters slowly, but surely, fall in love and, despite some mishaps and some conflict, learn to dispose of old emotional baggage and end up in each other’s arms. All in the span of a week or two.

The feature is, obviously, a potboiler aimed at amassing revenues for the movie company and strengthening the teen couple’s box-office draw. No problem with that. But then it doesn’t stop with a clichéd storyline. It goes on to feature the Aetas, one of the few surviving indigenous groups in the country, and Mt. Pinatubo. Good move? Perhaps. But upon closer analysis, what the production really does is capitalize on the tourism potential of Mt. Pinatubo and the novelty and exoticness of the Aetas. What the movie actually is, is a blowup Photoshopped picture that highlights the feel-good moments and erases real-life issues. It is a big photo op for Star Cinema and its stars with the charming and friendly Aetas, and with Mt. Pinatubo in the background

Yes, let’s not forget Bernardo and Padilla’s ability to elicit “kilig” feelings from the audience from time to time. Props to the former for taking on an offbeat role; the latter doesn’t bring much emotion to his role and appears to be mimicking certain of his uncle Robin Padilla’s “macho” manners and putting in much effort in “cute” and “kilig” scenes. But the kudos belongs to the two Aeta kids who are so adorable they so effortlessly steal the scenes with their natural charm.

The protagonists’ issues are legitimate, but the katutubos’ issues are far more urgent and important than any of the characters’ angst and rants. We should not forget that the Aetas own Mt. Pinatubo and that they are a national minority group, one of the early Filipino settlers whose domain used to include much of Central Luzon and beyond, that needs to be assimilated into mainstream society, albeit in the most delicate and culturally sensitive fashion possible. And we can’t achieve that by mere dole-outs, e.g., medical missions. We should empower them while, at the same time, preserving their culture and recognizing their sovereignty. Lastly, Mt. Pinatubo is so breathtakingly beautiful it deserves more than just a few minutes of exposure.

Redeeming factor:  It makes me want to see Mt. Pinatubo and visit the Aeta communities the soonest time possible.