Review: God Gave Me You - Eat Bulaga Lenten Special
At last, I've finally got to see Maine and Alden act. Even though it is a shame that I have yet to watch them in any movies or TV shows (I know, right?), at least I have a fresh set of perspective when looking at their acting skills for this review. Without further ado, let's get started now, shall we?
Plot *Spoiler Alert*
Dani (played by Maine Mendoza) is a flight stewardess and is Matthew's girlfriend (a pilot played by Jake Ejercito). They seldom see each other due to their hectic schedule but nevertheless love each other very much. Matthew is about to propose to Dani when he gets into a fatal accident and dies. James (played by Alden Richards), who is also a pilot and Matthew's best friend, blames himself for his death and tries to alleviate his guilt by helping Matthew's loved ones in moving on. Right after Matthew's untimely death, James takes his place in fulfilling the unfinished plans and promises he made when he was still alive, which includes finishing his airplane collection and doing a bucket list with Dani. James eventually falls in love with Dani, but Matthew's dad (played by veteran actor Michael De Mesa) eventually tells Dani about the truth and forbids James from contacting Dani and him ever again. James goes to Europe for a job offer, but meets again with Dani in the airport 3 years later.
Acting
Maine Mendoza is truly a gem and her potential to become a great dramatic actress is certainly huge. However, she still has a lot to work on, but with good acting workshop, I can see it happening in the near future. I'm not trying to stir anything right now, but this girl deserves an ABS-CBN acting workshop. Let's be real, Star Magic is known for being able to bring out the best in every artist (and can even make mediocre starlets to act decently), so given the opportunity, Maine can probably even surpass Alden when it comes to dramatic scenes. For now, her acting in dramatic scenes in this Lenten Special was not so consistent, but knowing that this girl only had a one-day worth of workshop (she mentioned it somewhere in an interview), then she is indeed amazing with more room to grow. So much potential! Ang hirap kaya umiyak on the spot.
Pros: Maine's strength is her ability to move the viewers when she cries. Not everyone can do that, not even some of the veteran actors around. I think people are so used to seeing this girl happy so now when she does cry, people just couldn't help but to feel for her. For a newcomer, she is good in touching people's heart and making them feel her emotions. Another one she's good at is comedic timing, which is somewhat expected since she has been in Eat Bulaga for almost eight months now. Nevertheless, she is a pleasant surprise and can follow Maricel Soriano's steps.
Cons: Maine's weakness is her line delivery when she is crying. Some of it are almost inaudible and incomprehensible. Another one is her Bulacan accent. First of all, I'm not looking down on having a hint of an accent, or saying that she has to get rid of it, but sometimes some lines are meant to be spoken in a certain way. May diin at bigkas sa tamang punto. These crucial lines lose their weight when spoken differently because they come off as soft, when it shouldn't be. Malamya. I am positive that she can work on the delivery of lines and act her voice with more workshop, and I cannot wait to see her drop and slay those like a bomb. Lastly, inconsistency. There are some dramatic scenes where I could see her having a hard time to tear up, especially her scenes with Michael De Mesa, but when she finally does cry she can make everyone cry a river, like the scene where she was praying to God. With more acting workshop, she can kick anyone's butt in the ABS-CBN primetime and i'm pretty sure Alden can give her some tips on how to cry without crippling her face, or her mouth, too much.
Pros: Alden is a man with superb acting skills. He nailed every scenes! It's worth mentioning that this guy can make every part of himself act, including his voice and body. He has only been in the industry for a little over 5 years, yet he already perfected the art of nonverbal acting. That's amazing. Ang daming artista sa ABS-CBN na walwal parin umarte hanggang ngayon. He is damn good at crying effortlessly and even saying his lines with the right breathing pattern. Hands up.
I do not know if I can really make constructive criticism about Jake right now because he only does cameos in Eat Bulaga. Given his very limited stint, he hasn't set the bar yet, for me, to see his potential. However, by judging his drama scenes, he still needs workshop with Maine, because he doesn't strike me as someone who can be really good in heavy drama. On the brighter note, if chooses to focus on actually getting in the industry, I think he has a potential as well. There are some instances where he delivers his line on a deadpan note, but that can be fixed. Overall, being able to do his scenes convincingly is a huge feat for a newcomer like him who seldom goes in front of the camera and act.
Chemistry
Maine x Jake
Honestly, I have never felt kilig whenever I see Maine and Jake together in Kalyeserye of Eat Bulaga. I was confused about what the fuss is about. Yes, Jake is very handsome, but whenever he was with Maine, I couldn't see them together. Weird enough, in this Lenten Special, I saw their spark for the first time. I felt kilig for a second and momentarily forgot that Maine is already teamed up with Alden. Sayang. I think it has something to do with Maine being cautious with his distance to Jake during Kalyeserye that it prohibited me from seeing they actually look good together when they're inches away from each other. If given the chance, I hope to see more of Maine and Jake, but certainly not in Kalyeserye. Jake is extremely lucky for being the only love interest approved by the Aldub Nation for Aldub. He should take this opportunity because he and Maine have a good chemistry.
Maine x Alden
I was curious if Maine and Alden would still look good together outside Eat Bulaga and I wasn't disappointed. It actually amazes me how these two are filled with charisma on their own and that triples when they are together. They complement each other very well and that shows on the small screen. As always, I couldn't help but to feel good whenever they are both on the screen and squeals during romantic scenes, which always make me want for more.
Director and Cinematography
The cinematography sucks. Really sucks. But that doesn't have to do with Direk Joyce Bernal; she is brilliant, too bad the camera isn't. Everything looked kind of flat, and made me think if this show was eaten by the 1990's and was puked back to 2016. I could clearly see how Direk Joyce tried to shoot the scenes from different angles and perspective, but the camera just couldn't cut it correctly. Seriously though, GMA7 needs to change their cameras. It's disappointing and embarrassing. Calling Atty. Gozon, if you want to have more viewers, you have to invest in cameras with 2016 quality. No matter how innovative your teleseryes are, like Encantadia and Mulawin, the fact that your camera can't even do a simple Bokeh, your shows would look cheap. Can someone please petition this to GMA7 because we're 4 years away from 2020, which means that in 4 years, their camera quality is already 30 years behind. Ewww. It's weird when everyone's iPhone shoots a clearer video than one on the TV.
Again, can anyone explain to me why a 2003 movie looks better than a 2016 Lenten Special, camera quality-wise?
Going back to Direk Joyce Bernal. She is amazing. Her editing is great and the pacing of the scenes is good. I can actually tell that she is the one directing when it comes to her choice of song selection too. May dating. Tatak Bernal. I hope she directs an AlDub movie. A phenomenal love team deserves a phenomenal director whose forte is romantic comedy films (Till There Was You by Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos, anyone?). Please lang. Just because Mike Tuviera is the son of TAPE's chariman, Antonio Tuviera, who is the producer of Eat Bulaga, doesn't make him automatically qualified to direct Aldub. Just my two cents.
Random thoughts
How is it possible for Alden to cry and still look handsome at the same time? Why does Matthew's dad blames James for his son death when he is not the one who killed him? Maine looks bad when she cries hahahahhahahaha, now I feel like I can have a chance with Alden. Joke lang. Maine looks better with minimal make up and when she's letting her hair down. It doesn't make sense that Dani and James said I love you's to each other after 3 years. Jose Manalo is good at drama acting. Jake is handsome. How about you? Share your thoughts below.
