Kathryn Bernardo Archives

November 20, 2024

by Carla Hay

Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo in “Hello, Love, Again” (Photo courtesy of Star Cinema)

Directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana

Tagalog with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place from 2019 to 2024, in Hong Kong and in Canada, the dramatic film “Hello, Love, Again” (a sequel to the 2019 film “Hello, Love, Goodbye”) features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: An aspiring nurse and a bar owner have an on-again/off-again romance and issues over where they want to live.

Culture Audience: “Hello, Love, Again” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the movie “Hello, Love, Again” and romantic dramas with entertaining characters.

Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards in “Hello, Love, Again” (Photo courtesy of Star Cinema)

“Hello, Love, Again” is an enjoyable but not perfectly made sequel to 2019’s “Hello, Love, Goodbye.” This sequel should please fans who want a certain ending to this romantic drama, which has light touches of comedy. The on-again/off-again couple in this story have the same problems but in a different country. In “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” most of the movie takes place in Hong Kong. In “Hello, Love, Again,” most of the movie takes place in Canada.

Cathy Garcia-Sampana (formerly known as Cathy Garcia-Molina) directed “Hello, Love, Goodbye” and “Hello, Love, Again” and co-wrote both movies. For “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” the other co-writers are Carmi G. Raymundo, Crystal Hazel San Miguel and Rona Co. For “Hello, Love, Again,” the co-writers are the same, except for Co, who is not one of the writers.

In both movies, the couple at the center of the story are headstrong Joy Marie Fabregas (played by Kathryn Bernardo) and romantic Ethan del Rosario (played by Alden Richards), who are of Filipino heritage but are living in countries other than the Philippines. In “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” Joy and Ethan both lived in Hong Kong, but Joy wanted to move to Canada to become a nurse. Ethan is a bartender who becomes a bar owner.

“Hello, Love, Goodbye” took place in 2019. And (mild spoiler alert) even though Joy and Ethan declared their love for each other, they parted ways at the end of the film because Joy moved to Canada, but they promised to visit each other when they could. “Hello, Love, Again” takes place in 2024 but has some flashbacks from 2019 to 2023. A turning point in Joy and Ethan’s relationship happened when Ethan went to visit Joy in Canada in March 2020, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Joy Marie and Ethan have a catch phrase—”I don’t love you”—when what they really mean is “I love you.” They also have stop watches that are of special significance to them.

In the beginning of “Hello, Love, Again,” Joy, who now uses her middle name Marie, works as a health care assistant at a nursing home facility in Calgary, Canada. She now wants to move to the U.S., where she hopes to get a better-paying job. Through a series of circumstances, Ethan ends up working at the same nursing facility. Ethan has some visa problems, so Joy Marie and Ethan pretend to be in a common-law marriage so he can stay in Canada. The movie is somewhat repetitive but still a very watchable journey of whether or not Ethan and Joy Marie will get back together.

If you’ve seen enough of these movies, you probably know what to expect. The two lovebirds have meddling friends, family members and rivals who cause confusion, jealousy or manipulations in their relationship. Ethan’s best friend Jhim Gabriel (played by Joross Gamboa) wants Joy Marie and Ethan to get back together. Joy Marie has a new love interest named Uno (played by Kevin Kreider), who lives in New York and wants her to move to New York. Meanwhile, a woman named Baby (played Jennica Garcia) has a romantic interest in Ethan.

In “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” Joy Marie’s father Celso Fabregas (played by William Lorenzo) had a prominent role in the movie, but in “Hello, Love, Again,” Celso is deceased and seen in flashbacks. Meanwhile, “Hello, Love, Again” has a flashback subplot about Ethan’s father Mario Del Rosario (played by Lito Pimentel) having a life-threatening health issue. The other family members who make appearances in “Hello, Love, Again” are Ethan’s younger brothers Edward del Rosario (played by Jameson Blake) and Eric del Rosario (played by Anthony Jennings); Joy Marie’s younger brother Joey (played by Wilbert Ross); and Joy Marie’s cousin Mary Dale Fabregas (played by Maymay Entrata).

Joy Marie’s friend in Calgary also get involved in and gossip about her love life. These pals include outspoken Amy (played by Ruby Rodriguez), who has a introverted teenage son named Tonton (played by Eric Jhon Balajadia) and gay husbands Marc (played by Mark Labella) and Marvin (played by Marvin Aritrangco). Other characters in “Hello, Love, Again” include Jhim’s goofy uncle Tito Lino (played by Jobert Austria) and a widow named Martha (played by Wendy Froberg), who has a dementia and is a nursing home patient who becomes close to Joy Marie.

Bernardo and Richards carry “Hello, Love, Again” with their charismatic performances, although the movie’s overall acting and the dialogue are sometimes clunky. Some of the supporting characters didn’t need to be in the movie and are just part of the clutter of people who have something to say about what Joy Marie and Ethan should do about their relationship. “Hello, Love, Again” has just the right amount of comedy to offset the melodrama in ways that are sweet and romantic—ultimately delivering what fans of this franchise can expect.

Star Cinema released “Hello, Love, Again” in U.S. cinemas on November 15, 2024. The movie was released in the Philippines on November 13, 2024.

October 12, 2023

by Carla Hay

“A Very Good Girl”

Directed by Petersen Vargas

Some language in Tagalog with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Philippines capital of Manila, the comedy/drama film “A Very Good Girl” features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A young woman decides to get revenge on her wealthy former boss who fired her, and secrets and lies are revealed.

Culture Audience: “A Very Good Girl” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching campy dark comedies.

Dolly de Leon and Kathryn Bernardo in “A Very Good Girl” (Photo courtesy of Star Media)

Alternating between melodramatic and campy, “A Very Good Girl “benefits from the talented performance of Dolly de Leon as a ruthless and conniving business mogul who is more complicated than she first seems to be. It’s a twist-filled revenge story. It’s also a very dark comedy that has fun with its soap-opera qualities.

Directed by Petersen Vargas, “A Very Good Girl” was written by Marionne Dominique Mancol, Daniel S. Saniana and Jumbo A. Albano. The movie takes place in the Philippines capital of Manila. At times, “A Very Good Girl” appears to be a parody of who people use social media to present images of themselves that are very different from real life.

“A Very Good Girl” begins at a charity event taking place in what appears to be a museum. A valuable gold figurine is up for sale. Molly “Mother” Suzara (played by Dolly de Leon) is a business mogul known for her shopping malls. Molly wants the figurine, and she’s used to getting what she wants.

However, Molly is surprised to learn that the figurine has already been purchased by Philomena “Philo” Angeles (played by Kathryn Bernardo), who is introduced as a glamorous socialite. Molly offers to buy the figurine from Philo, who politely declines the offer. Molly is visibly annoyed and quickly leaves the event.

Philo follows Molly outside and starts gushing about how much she admires Molly, who isn’t impressed by this flattery. She snaps at Philo the word “bullshit” every time Philo gives Molly an over-the-top compliment. Philo then offers to give the gold figurine to Molly for free. This gift seems to do the trick, and Molly invites Philo to spend some time with her.

Viewers soon find out that Philomena “Philo” Angeles is an alias for Mercedes “Mercy” Novela, who does not really want to be Molly’s friend. She wants revenge on Molly for two reasons: The first reason is because about five years before, Molly callously fired Mercy and some other employees. The second reason is much more personal and tragic and won’t be revealed in this review, but it has to do with how Mercy’s mother Angel Aquino (played by Conchita Novela, shown in flashbacks) died five years ago.

When Mercy worked in the marketing department of Molly’s company, Mercy wasn’t as glamorous-looking as she looks now, under her invented persona of Philo. The fact that Molly doesn’t recognize Mercy, years after firing her, is an example of how Molly tosses people aside and doesn’t care to remember much about them. There are several scenes of Molly treating the people around her as worthless and disposable, including her loyal young assistant Gene (played by Ana Abad Santos), who is the very definition of a sycophant.

In public, Molly (who is a bachelorette with no children) has a smiling, maternal image and presents herself as a self-made millionaire who represents positive female empowerment. At the grand opening of one of her new shopping malls, she says to the assembled media that she is naming it Mother Mall, after her beloved mother, who is deceased. Behind the scenes, Molly is really a tyrant who surrounds herself with “yes people,” some of whom she considers to be her “friends.” Molly often insists that the people close to her call her Mother.

After being fired from Molly’s company, Mercy found out that Molly blacklisted Mercy from working at other marketing agencies. Mercy considered suing Molly for unlawful termination, but the attorney she meets with declines to take her case. Mercy has currently been financially struggling by working as a virtual assistant. Most of her clients are very rude and demanding American men.

Mercy lives with her best friend Karen Merino (played by Donna Cariaga), who is one of the few people who knows about Mercy’s revenge plan. Mercy and Karen are so close, they call each other “sister” or “sis.” Mercy is the godmother single mother Karen’s daughter Lovely (played by Natania Guerrero), who’s about 5 or 6 years old and needs surgery for some health problems. Mercy calls Lovely her “niece” and acts like she is Lovely’s aunt.

The rest of “A Very Good Girl” shows how Mercy/Philo ingratiates herself into Molly’s world, all with the intent to destroy Molly. Molly doesn’t really trust a lot of people, and she seems competitive with other women, especially those who are younger than she is. Therefore, Mercy/Philo has to work extra-hard to gain Molly’s trust. As a way to do that, Mercy/Philo tells Molly that she reminds Philo of her own mother, who passed away. At the time Mercy/Philo tells Molly this sentimental remark, Mercy/Philo deliberately keeps information about her mother vague.

Someone who gets caught in the middle of these manipulations is Zab Omila (played by Chie Filomeno), a social media influencer/brand ambassador, who is very shallow and dimwitted. Zab knows a scandalous secret about Molly that involves one of Zab’s parents. Another person who becomes an unwitting pawn is Molly’s other assistant: a good-looking young man Charles Monteron (played by Jake Ejercito), who is very sexist and demeaning to women.

Some of “A Very Good Girl” gets sordid, such as scenes of revenge porn, genital mutilation, and knife attacks. Nothing in the movie is too graphic, but a lot of the subject matter might be somewhat offensive to sensitive viewers. The movie’s cinematography gives “A Very Good Girl” a look that is both glossy and noir-ish.

Bernardo plays the role as the vengeful Philo/Mercy with much more campiness than de Leon, who is by far the most talented person in the cast and is the main reason to watch this movie. Molly has some vulnerabilities that make her little more sympathetic than the average villain. In “A Very Good Girl,” Philo/Mercy is the title character, but “Mother” Molly is the one who steals the show.

Star Cinema released “A Very Good Girl” in select U.S. cinemas on October 6, 2023. The movie was released in the Philippines on September 27, 2023.

Tag: Kathryn Bernardo

Review: ‘Hello, Love, Again,’ starring Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards

Review: ‘A Very Good Girl,’ starring Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon