You Are The One

You Are The One
Star Cinema
Cathy Garcia-Molina

Sally Malasmas (Toni Gonzaga) met Will Derby (Sam Milby) at the US Embassy when she tries to apply for a US Visa. Unfortunately, Will, being the vice-consul, turned down her application.

Unexpectedly, Sally and Will met again. Will went to the National Statistics Office to find his birth certificate. He was pointed to the Care Officer which happened to be Sally. When Sally learned about Will, she turned the table around. She made him wait from morning till the time their office closed. Knowing what she has done, her boss (Lito Pimentel) asked her to undo her mistake by doing the best she could to help Will. Unwillingly, she did till they found what they were looking for.

The next day, Sally offered her help to locate the parents of the one in the birth certificate. She had no idea that they would be looking for Will's biologocal parents. She did him the favor so that, in time, he could do the same to her. She wants to go to the US to attend to her ailing mother.

During the course of their trips, they learned more about each other. Unevitably, they fell in love. However, personal issues from both of their families separated them. Time could only tell if they'd be back to each other's arms to create a family of their own.

No doubt about it, as a romantic flick, You Are The One achieves its goal: pakiligilin ang kanyang manonood. It has all the elements of a formulaic love story: dashing guy meets a smart, hardworking girl; a sort-of love-hate relationship between them; a goal that would keep them together for a while; a trip to a certain beautiful location where they would fall in love, and; a conflict that would try to break them apart and test their relationship.

However, behind the romance lies the back of the story of each character. Will was adopted by an American couple. With that, he held a grudge towards his biological parents and had been meaning to get some answers from them. On the other hand, Sally was also resentful of her older sister whom she felt was given much importance than her by their parents. In that aspect, I feel that the film lacked enough characterization to justify what happens towards the end of the film especially with Will's character. It wasn't clearly established in the beginning that Will wasn't capable of expressing his love. It just sorta happens when conflict arises. Or maybe nakulangan lang ako or might've missed it altogether.

Aside from that, some scenes felt too staged for comfort especially the beginning and ending of the film. They lacked realism that we, Pinoys, love. They had Hollywood written all over it.

Acting-wise, Sam Milby was good enough for someone with just two movies to boot. There's a lot of room for development and for sure, he'd do better in his next projects. As for Toni Gonzaga, she has a potential to be a good commediene only that most of the times, she tries too hard esp. with her dramatic scenes. She tends to jerk her head whenever she delivers her lines as if hosting for a variety show. Her tone seemed monotonous, as well, the way she delivers her spiels in PBB before. As a couple, the chemistry wasn't that strong enough. Scene stealers, though, are Eugene Domingo (who seemed to do well whether thrown into comedy or drama) and Gio Alvarez as Sally's gay friend. Gio has his own take on acting gay - soft yet not too flamboyant.