No Other Woman – Not a Review at All

I was with my mom when I watched this movie. I have to admit, I watched it because Anne Curtis is my mom’s favorite. She watches Showtime everyday (I swear). Watching this movie was not even a question.

I have read so many reviews and comments about No Other Woman. Most of them had biases (no matter how objective they say they are). Some of them just wanted to write or blog about it, not really caring if the content had anything GREAT for the readers. So what am I doing writing about the movie when almost everybody has already done that? Well, to be different, I want to write about the things I realized because of that movie.

First off, INFIDELITY is obviously the biggest issue in the story. There’s this hot married man who, since he got married to his beautiful wife, has not LOOKED AT any other woman anymore. He has be FAITHFUL to her despite his colorful past with women. Then, there’s this sweet, beautiful wife who hails from a nouveau riche family and has dedicated her life to taking care of her husband, supporting him, and making him happy. And, or course, there’s this hugely interesting, one-of-a-kind woman who is an heiress to a great fortune and looks at the world and relationships in a different way. Putting the three characters together would be explosive (which is exactly what the movie was both as a story and as a money making product).

With that said, CHEATING is not the only thing we can pick up from the story. Of course, you will need to dig deeper for you to appreciate what the entire movie meant to you. It takes patience, but with a couple of minutes of thinking through, you will actually find that the issue of be UNFAITHFUL was not really what struck you the most in the movie. For me, it that’s exactly what happened.

Most people would think that Kara (Anne’s character) was the one who started off the entire conflict by being the temptress that she was and by luring Ram (Derek Ramsay) into an illicit affair. That’s because all this time, Ram has been LOYAL to Charmaine (Cristine Reyes), and it was only when Kara came into the picture that he went astray. I LOOK AT IT DIFFERENTLY. Sometimes, when women are in a relationship, they fear that some vamp will come and steal their men. Because of he movie, I realized that being loyal is a constant work. You always need to work on it. Being FAITHFUL does not mean that you have never looked at anyone else other than your partner. Being LOYAL does not mean that you have stopped being attracted to other people. In fact, it is the complete opposite. FIDELITY means that you look at others, you SEE other people, you become ATTRACTED to them, you might even go further and FALL IN LOVE with someone else. The difference lies on what you do with those feelings. Being FAITHFUL means that you still have these stirrings for other people, but you know well enough how to say no, turn, and walk away. That’s what RAM should have done. He SHOULD HAVE been FAITHFUL at that moment when his entire being wanted to jump into KARA’s hell fire.

As for the wife’s part, I realized that when a man cheats, it is not always the man’s fault, or the mistress’, or even the wife’s. Sometimes, it is nobody’s fault at all. Sometimes, these ugly things happen, and we cannot really blame anybody for it. We cannot say that it was the man’s fault because he was weak when it came to temptation. We cannot say that it is the fault of the mistress because she wanted a portion of a land that was not hers to claim. We also cannot say it was the wife’s fault because she let herself go, lost her individuality, and just became plain and boring. Sometimes, things happen just because they did. No one wanted them to, but they did. All we can do is fight for what’s ours, fight for what’s right, and forgive every other person who got caught.

For the part of Kara, I can’t say I have any conclusions. I guess, I can say that mistresses or other women fall in love too. It is not always about SEX and the THRILL. Sometimes, it’s about FEELINGS. Maybe if RAM had not been too nice to her, she would not have fallen very deep in love. Sometimes, they, too, are victims.

Nobody really wins when INFIDELITY is added into the equation. We all lose something. We may move on, but we will never really get back whatever was lost. I can only hope that I will never have to be in the same situation as Charmaine, Ram, and Kara were. To everyone, LOVE is BEAUTIFUL and PAINFUL at the same time. It is not always CHEATING and THIRD PARTIES that destroy a relationship. Sometimes, WE do that job pretty well. However, that is not the point. The point is that when we love, we love without question without boundary, without inhibitions. Hearts, promises, and relationships may be broken, but the DESIRE to LOVE and BE LOVED is far greater than these three.

Saturday Games

I had a movie date with my mom earlier today. It should not come as a surprise if we watched the movie offered by Anne Curtis and Sam Milby. My mom loves Anne Curtis, with or without the wardrobe malfunction. I think she loves the fact that Anne Curtis is really trying to help a lot of people. Of course, the fact that Anne is probably one of the most beautiful faces in Philippines show business is more than enough for anyone to easily become her fan.

The movie was good. It had more then a couple of dramatic moments. The conflict was mostly internal. The characters needed improvement, but at least there were no cliche lines. The chemistry looked sincere and convincing. Of course, when you’re doing a movie with your ex-boyfriend, everything gets pretty much sincere. Anyway, I had fun hanging out with my mother today.

I am also playing another game in Facebook. My previous schoolmate sent me an invitation to this game call Treasure Isle. It’s created by Zynga. I like the concept of the game. Lately, the Facebook games have been dominated by games where you have to establish and build your own island resort, or hotel, or restaurant. Treasure Isle is not like any of that. It’s like Mafia Wars because it eats up energy for you to perform tasks. However, instead of being the most powerful mafia, your tasks are to dig up certain islands to find hidden treasures. It’s quite fun, actually.

If you have Facebook, you can add me up, so we can be friends. We can probably be neighbors too in whatever game you’re into… *wink*

I’m Not Sure Why I’m Posting This, But My Mom Loves Them :)

Wrongful Suspension of “Showtime”

Whenever I chance upon it, I always watch the TV show called It’s Showtime. Ever since its pilot last November, the show has attracted a large number of avid fans and supporters. Now that the show has been suspended by the MTRCB, I feel like the momentum is lost, and even if the show airs again, it won’t be the same anymore.

If you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about, let me give you the facts. TV giant, ABS CBN, came up with a show that would promote talent and showmanship. Everyday, they would have around 3-4 groups of contestants who showcase their talents and skills, all hoping to win the 50000 PHP prize. On Saturdays, they air weekly finals wherein all winners from Monday – Friday compete with each other. Again, another 50000 PHP goes to the Saturday winner. After four weeks, they have a monthly finals wherein all winners from the weekly finals compete, still trying to win another 5000 PHP.

A lot of people joined the show because they want to show the whole country that they have untapped talents, and they deserve to be given a chance. There have been many inspirational stories that were discovered through the show. Many talented children and youth were discovered because of the show.

Unfortunately, last week, a guest judge, Ms. Rosanna Roces, offended the teachers because of her remarks and comments that were derogatory. To be honest, it wasn’t just her comments for the teachers that were rude,  most of her other comments were. Because of this, the MTRCB called for a 20-day suspension of the show.

I personally think that this is not a fair decision. The thing is, there was some truth behind Roces’ comments. Some teachers are indeed not worthy of the pedestal they put themselves in. While I have utmost respect for all my teachers, I will not deny the fact that others may have had traumatic experiences with their teachers. There is a fair number of reports about that. Our problem is that we are still narrow minded people.

Our country has tried to be as open and liberated as it can be. But we are obviously still left in the dark. We are still not mature enough to accept the truth and to digest insult. We are still vulnerable people who run around blaming everybody else whenever we get hurt. When somebody says something bad about us, we always attack back. We are still not wise enough to know how to empathize and dig through the reason why that person feels that way.

Roces was wrong because she said it on national TV, at a show where a lot of young people are watching. Yes, there is some truth with what she said, but it was just not the right channel to air her thoughts and opinions regarding teachers. We are still trying to promote education to young people. We still need for them to respect a social institution, and making those remarks about teachers can possibly affect the way that children think.

I totally empathize for all the teachers who have given so much of themselves to their students. I have learned so much from my teachers, and I am very lucky to have been educated by them. However, the teachers who reacted to Roces’ comments also need to accept that fact that not all teachers are so noble to deserve such high regard. The truth hurts, but there really are some teachers whose minds are very corrupted. Calling for a suspension of the show just shows that teachers sometimes can be selfish people. Did they think that when the show gets suspended, people can benefit from it? What happens to those contestants who have tried so hard to practice and to enter the show? What will happen to the talent that the youth are trying to promote? Aren’t teachers supposed to support that? Aren’t teachers supposed to be the ones to encourage their students to shine? I guess not.

MTRCB was right to take action against the offense made by the guest judge. The people need to be assured that they are still vigilant in guarding the quality of the shows that are aired on TV. But they were wrong to suspend and drag the entire show along with the rest of the issue. The issue is between Ms. Rosanna Roces and the teachers group that she offended. The show must go on for all the peole who want to showcase their talents and win. The show must go on for the hosts, the judges, and the staff who have worked their asses off just to give the public pure entertainment.

I hope that even with this obstacle, Showtime will still end up getting rave reviews and massive viewership when it returns. Until then, we just have to content ourselves with watching celebrities battle it out against each other.