Philippine Showbiz Today
August 22 - September 7, 2017
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
Bela, JC perfect as
a mismatched pair in
100 Tula Para kay Stella
THE top-grossing film in
the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
is “100 Tula Para kay Stella,” the
best work of young writer-director
Jason Paul Laxamana since his
awa rd-winning “Magkakabaung.”
Just like “Kita Kita,” “100
Tula” is about lost loves and broken
hearts that viewers enjoy the most
when watching movies. And we
ourselves just adore movies about
unrequited love, like “Splendor
in the Grass,” “My Best Friend’s
Wedding,” “The Great Gatsby,”
“500 Days of Summer,” etc.
“100 Tula” is about Fidel, a
young man with a speech defect
so he becomes a loner. In a
provincial college in Pampanga,
he meets a free spirited girl, Stella,
who defends him from bullies who
humiliate him and doesn’t care if
he stutters. But naturally, he falls
in love with her but is never able
to articulate his feelings for her.
Instead, he secretly writes poems
for her.
For Stella, Fidel is only a friend,
as she has other boyfriends. She
dreams of being a famous rock
singer and neglects her studies so
she fails in all her subjects in their
first year in college, much to the
chagrin of her older sister who’s
sending her to school.
They
are
actually
a
mismatched pair. The movie
works because the two leads
are both outstanding in their
respective roles. Bela Padilla as
Stella is totally believable as the
seemingly overconfident chick
with dark lipstick and a tattoo.
She delivers her lines casually
and with a tinge of persuasive
insouciance. And you feel sorry
for her for committing so many
mistakes in her young life.
The first time we saw JC
Santos in “Esprit de Corps” as an
overbearing corps commander
and as the dog in the musical
“Kung Paano Ako Naging
Leading Lady” and we were so
impressed by him we felt he’d
soon be playing bigger roles.
We were right. His role as Fidel
is actually reminiscent of Cyrano
de Bergerac, the hero with a nose
defect who secretly writes poems
for the woman he loves. Fidel also
can’t communicate his love for
Stella and writes 100 poems for
her. But by the time he’s ready to
give it to her, it’s too late.
What’s astounding about
JC is that he gives a very relaxed
but very effective portrayal of the
underdog. It helps that he has an
easy, charming screen presence,
but it is his gentle but perfectly
nuanced performance that cannot
be praised enough. ●
- M. Bautista, Malaya
Robin, Mariel celebrate
Isabella’s 9th month
Celebrity couple Robin Padilla
and Mariel Rodriguez celebrated
their 7th wedding anniversary
side by side with their daughter’s
9th month.
The couple got married in
India in August 19, 2010. But it
was only in November last year
when their first child was born.
This, after Rodriguez suffered two
consecutive miscarriages.
Last Sunday, the couple
exchanged
sweet anniversary
messages on their Instagram
pages. Padilla expressed his
gratefulness for his wife’s love and
unceasing support.
Rodriguez, on the other
hand, said she hopes to share
the journey of forever with Padilla.
Photo of the joint celebration
which were posted by Nice Print
Photography on Facebook. ●
- ABS-CBN
7