Must Be Love (2013)

Must Be Love (2012)

Watching a movie like Must Be Love is something that you can't easily tell others. So when my friend and I told others that we're watching it,  we got laughed at, which is expected and I take no offense. This is the kind of movie that you don't really take seriously, so I entered the movie house with very little expectations and surprisingly came out with a lighter step and a huge smile on my face.

If you'd judge the movie based on the poster, it's a romantic comedy about two just-got-out-of-puberty teens who are two young to talk about true love and "slowmo" moments with someone. Though the movie is truly about that, it's also about life-long friendship and self love and discovery. It's coming-of-age and RomCom rolled into one. It has its flaws, but I like it for what it is.

Patchot (Kathryn Bernardo) and Ivan (Daniel Padilla) are childhood best friends who both enjoy playing basketball and engaging in petty arguments. With the picturesque Cebu as the backdrop for their summer love story, it's a common plot of best friends falling in love with each other. It doesn't try to be what it's not. It's the big screen debut of the love team that's causing so much noise in Twitter and could attract a crazy crowd wherever they go. The movie banks on the charm that makes the KathNiel love team such a huge hit and it works!

Obviously, it's the romance that the target audience wants to get from the movie, but it's the comedy that made me enjoy it most. Unlike recent Pinoy RomComs who try too hard to be funny and resort to body gags, Must Be Love actually has witty dialogue! Most of the obvious laughs are from the comedians John Lapus and Cacai Bautista. However, it's surprising to know that Daniel Padilla could actually deliver punch lines really well! (He also plays the part of a playboy who knows he can cause any girl to swoon really well. REALLY, REALLY WELL. I wonder if it's still acting!) Yes, I laughed at the cheesy scenes, but I also genuinely laughed at the clever lines thrown by the leads and secondary characters. Or maybe I'm just being incredibly shallow.

Maybe I'm giving way too much credit to the movie, but it's really something that I enjoyed. I guess to enjoy it, you have to like the tandem first, because a lot of screentime are simply devoted to cause kilig to the viewers. I swear I swooned everytime Daniel smiles. So shoo the fangirl in me, I don't really care.

This movie may be tackling the love story of kids who are still too young to take love a bit too seriously, but this movie effectively made me feel like a teenager. I like it for its nonchalant take on teenage love and how it basks on the leads' charm. So yes, I will download this movie once the torrent is released.