Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Review: No Other Woman


The moment I saw the trailer for Star Cinema's No Other Woman I know this one will become a hit but I still didn't expect it to be such a big box office phenomenon (sold out screenings! even on weekdays!). I didn't find it an outstanding movie to be honest but I totally get the appeal and why it resonated well with the public.

Ram (Derek Ramsay) is a furniture supplier who got the biggest break of his career by getting the account of a luxury resort. He later on meets the resort owner's daughter Kara (Anne Curtis) and they hit it off at once however Ram reveals to Kara that he's married but Kara does not care at all and they soon have an affair. Ram's wife Charmaine (Cristine Reyes) eventually discovers the affair but she's not going to give up his husband that easily.

A major reason No Other Woman struck a chord with the Filipino moviegoing public is because the subject is relatable. At one point in our lives we cheated, got cheated on, lured someone to cheat or was tempted to cheat. However, the movie didn't really delve into the issue of infidelity which is a shame because this is a particular topic that has a lot of layers into it that the movie could have explored more. If they only got this one right the story could've had a stronger backbone. The movie simply implied that "daddy issues" is the reason why the characters chose to cheat . I don't discount that parent issues could drive a person to become a cheater but the way they handled the "daddy issues" of the characters was such a throwaway that you could cut that part of the story and the movie could still stand on its own. There are deeper, more complex reasons why people who despite truly loving someone still succumbs to the temptation of cheating but you really won't really get that much of an insight about infidelity in this movie. The movie just presented easily digestible reasons why people cheat and how to deal with cheating partners.

But let's face it a lot of moviegoers watched this one to see campy scenes and this movie absolutely delivered on that aspect. The confrontations between Kara and Charmaine are really compelling and both Curtis and Reyes did well on those particular scenes. They nailed the cattiness and the controlled disgust they have for each other's character. Those moments resonated well with the audience because let's admit those moments are something that we have on mind if we are in a similar situation. This was like seeing a fantasy we have [but we don't admit] alive on screen. We could only wish we have those biting lines that we could easily throw to that person stealing our significant others, right? It's cathartic in a way that I kinda wished the movie went all out camp instead and dumped the tired melodrama.

No Other Woman ends on a predictable note which is not a surprise but it's still rather disappointing. The aftermath of the cheating was resolved in a contrived setup where things end well. I guess it's too much to expect something more from a movie like this but I just can't help but feel that No Other Woman could have achieved something more than just being an entertaining escapist movie. 7 / 10

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