Summary

It Takes A Man and A Woman takes place two years after the long distance relationship of Miggy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Laida (Sarah Geronimo) fails.

Two years back, Laida was working in New York when her parents separated (though temporarily) and Miggy’s father died of a heart attack. Laida’s mother went to New York to seek Laida’s comfort and Miggy called to tell her he needs her.  Knowing she can’t be in two places at once, Laida apologized to her mother for wanting to go back to the Philippines to console Miggy; and go back to the Philippines, she did.

Only to find Miggy kissing his ex-girlfriend Belle (Isabelle Daza).

Laida went back to New York not giving Miggy the chance to explain no matter how much the latter tries to but what is there to explain? duh? It doesn’t take a genius to understand what’s going on and does he take Laida for a stupid little gi.

Now, two years after they have broken up, Miggy and Laida had to work together for a special project.

Miggy has Belle. Laida has her fashion sense, New York accent and connections that they don’t have.

Things are never meant to be the same.

It Takes A Man and A Woman is directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina and is co produced by Viva Films and Star Cinema.

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Review:

The actors/actresses played their roles in such a realistic manner, you couldn’t tell they’re just actually playing a role.

For starters, I like the characters of Zoila and friends (Matet de Leon as Zoila, Joross Gamboa as John Rae, and Guji Lorenzana as Carlo), injecting appropriate punchlines  at the appropriate timing.

Sarah Geronimo is just so natural. You can’t tell whether she’s acting or it’s just how she is off-cam. John Lloyd Cruz is still that boy-next-door goody-two-shoes actor, inspite of all the mature roles he had taken on some of his recent TV series and movies.

I like how the movie was not rushed. I like how the ending of the movie was not premature.

It Takes A Man and A Woman presented the reality of a long distance relationship. No matter how the other claims to be faithful, sooner or later, s/he bound to hurt the other by betraying her/his trust. Everybody, as in everybody, is bound to hurt you: it’s just a matter of how and when.

No matter what the shortcomings of the other person are, it is not a license to cheat on them.  Whether or not the other person inflicted the pain on the other on purpose the result is the same. I wanted to slap Miggy so hard it’ll dislocate his skull. How could he stand there and tell Laida he’s sorry? It’s meaningless. How could he propose to Laida just so she’ll  accept his apology? Did he really think that ring’s gonna change a thing? Meaningless. And if that’s meaningless what else have you said to her that’s meaningless?

The movie also presented the reality that humans, no matter how good we try to be, are bound to make mistakes. We are bound to fail the people we love and the people who love us no matter how we try not to fall short of the person they want us to be. Humans are not perfect, so either we forgive them for their shortcomings or hold it against them and risk not being happy.

The movie, as typical of the most Filipino movies, is predictable.

Of course, Laida and Miggy will still be together, in the end. Who doesn’t like a happy ending? Who doesn’t like a movie which allows people to believe that people who have broken up and hurt each other in the past can still set things straight and be happy with each other once again?

But what most people fail to acknowledge is this: if the relationship didn’t work before, why would it work now? But then again, who am I to rain on their parade? Oh, well, let’s just thank God for movies: it’s the only place where love exists, next to music and a a good book.

Jessica Zafra said, “we go to movies because sometimes our lives feel like a trap and we need ro escape into someone else’s life for an hour or so. ”  Yes. We watch movies because the world is a scary place and the world is not everything that it is and should be. We go to the movies because even when we’re enveloped in the darkness of the cinema, we can imagine, we can re-write our own stories, we can make corrections.

We watch movies of this sort because we ache for something that is happy; something that is more inspiring, just bigger than the daily struggle to survive.

We hope to find in cinema the grandeur that is missing in our lives…