The movie became controversial as Coleen plays Arki, a medical representative who goes to bed with Derek as Adam, a doctor to whom she’s promoting her products. Some medreps complained that this paints a bad and cheap picture of them.
“We don’t mean to offend anyone,” Derek says at the movie’s presscon. “To all medreps, I just want to let you know that I have complete respect for the work you do. Alam kong mahirap ang trabaho nyo at mahirap makuha ang tiwala ng mga doctor. But sana, panoorin nyo muna ang movie before assuming na negative ang image na ipinapakita namin about medreps. When an action movie has a corrupt cop or politician, we don’t assume all cops and politicians are corrupt. So watch it first and after you’ve seen it, I’m sure that you’d have nothing to worry about.”
To which, Direk Gino Santos adds: “I hope they watch the film before judging it. I respect all professionals and the hard work they all put into their respective professions. The film is really more about exes than it is about medreps sleeping with doctors. And if they’d watch the film, they will see that. Derek and Coleen here are former sweethearts. After ten years, they meet again. Doctor na si Derek and medrep si Coleen. They realize that they haven’t really let go of their feelings for each other. That’s what the film is all about, not us maligning medreps.”
In a way, they should be thankful to those who complained because they are somehow inadvertently promoting the movie, which got more talked about because of the controversy. “Ex With Benefits” also stars Rayver Cruz, Tirso Cruz III, Carmi Martin, Kitkat, Juan Rodrigo, Jobelle Salvador, Nina Ricci Alagao and Menggie Cobarrubias, written by Jeff Stelton based on a Wattpad Series novel.
