By Maria Rodelizza Datinguinoo
Layout by Glenice Marie Manalang and GJ Lungay
In Philippine Cinema, love team has always been a part of its history. The ‘kilig’ and x-factor
of celebrities are one of the tools they need to be pair up with other celebrity. Some people say
that it’s one of the easiest ways to earn ‘big’ while you’re in the industry. To keep pace with the
romantic trend, talent managers and publicists launch love teams as one of their oldest tricks of
the trade. Love teams usually have this trend on making a movie to make it more exciting, colorful
and marketable. That’s why movie and television producers are always on the search for the next
‘profitable’ pair they will give the audience.
How are love teams made?
According to PEP.PH (Philippine Entertainment Portal):
“Pair a winsome boy with a beautiful girl, fit them in a plot where they serendipitously cross
paths one day and not get along just yet. When they eventually do, build up that brewing romance
via a montage of saccharine-filled scenes of cuddling, holding hands, and an accidental moment
where the girl will fall from some ladder and the boy heroically catches her by her waist. Boom! Boy
and girl are in love. Throw in conflict somewhere there because the story cannot end just yet. They
separate for a time, long for each other until they realize that life is a tragedy without the other.
Romeo finds a way to get Juliet back and he does because love always, always prevails. The end.”
Hey! Don’t give me that look yet? Filipinos are very popular in terms of ‘pakilig’ movies and
vibe. They are the masterminds of all the films you’ve been playing for years now. And it includes love
teams you watched over and over again. Some love teams develop from reel to real life romance
like Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta and who would not forget Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan
Roces?
In an interview with a sociologist, Dr. Luis Carmelo L. Buenaventura, a professor in De La Salle
University Dasmarinas, it’s normal to be attracted by these media personalities because people think
they can relate to them. Dr. B uenaventura said, “I could see that many of them can relate to the
personality of the person being portrayed as a love team. “It’s like we think our lives are being portrayed
by these celebrities and feel some connections deeper.” He also added that people wish to have an
exact love story of ‘Popoy and Basha’ (One More Chance, 2007) or sometimes, it actually did happen
to some of the audiences. That’s why love teams are very popular because of the ‘kilig’ factor they
give to their avid fans.
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