WE FINALLY saw “Imagine You & Me” last Tuesday only and it’s still full of people, an indication that it’s really a big blockbuster since it’s being shown in no less than three outlets at SM North Edsa. The film is, more than anything else, a fan movie with splendid production values and has no pretensions of winning awards, but it surely does accomplish its intentions. Diehard fans of AlDub love team will not be disappointed as the movie is made for them, full of the expected pa-cute and kilig moments that will surely make them scream and squeal with delight.
Aside from Shayne Sarte’s fine camera work that expertly captures on screen the scenic sights of the beautiful Lake Como where the film was shot on location, the film also perfectly mines and captures the core personas of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, banking mainly on their individual strengths. They are wisely asked to be just themselves and not to be anyone else for the movie.
The story (about a simple girl looking for her first love and a heartbroken young man with a sad past) is basically very simple and with predictable plot contrivances, but who cares? Their fans don’t go to watch their movie hankering for a complicated story but just to see their idols looking larger than life on the big screen. And screenwriters Aloy Adlawan and Renato Custodio are certainly aware of that. The movie is about OFW’s, but unlike other films about overseas workers, we don’t see them agonizing about their problems back home.
Alden is every inch a dreamboat heartthrob and he’s the living example of how incompetent the GMA folks who handled Starstruck was. Imagine, he was totally rejected in a past Starstruck batch and here he is now, a much bigger star than any of their winners or recruits. Alden also has the sensibilities of a credible actor and we hope GMA will be able to mine this well in future projects, whether or not he is paired with Maine.As for Maine, she’s projected as the kooky, zany young woman with adorable winning ways that her fans on the Kalyeserye has accepted her to be. She makes faces, does her trademark dubsmash, and drops her witty one liners and hugot lines with aplomb. Both of them are given dramatic moments and they also manage to handle these scenes quite efficiently.
The lead stars get first rate support from their co-stars: Irma Adlawan as Alden’s caring stepmother who is Maine’s boss, Kakai Bautista and Cai Cortez as Maine’s loud and meddlesome housemates, and Jasmine Curtis Smith as the surprise third wheel in the Alden-Maine romance. Most writers believe that Jasmine is a much better actress than her Ate Anne and we believe so, too. She also looks so captivating on screen. It’s just too bad that stardom seems quite elusive for her. We hope another company will give her a good project that will boost her status as a lead actress and she won’t be following in the footsteps of other actresses like Iza Calzado and Alessandra de Rossi who are both superb and excellent in any role given to them, but have yet to achieve full solo stardom and are always relegated to do strong supporting roles.
