Destiny plays a big part in every great love story. And it does too in almost every Filipino romance film that we see every now and then. It is that one cliche that people seems to never get really tired of. After all, we Filipinos are all hopeless romantics. And destiny plays a big role in the story of this latest offering from Star Cinema, featuring today's hottest love team, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
Can't Help Falling In Love follows how fate will bring together two strangers, named Gab (Kathryn Bernardo) and Dos (Daniel Padilla), who accidentally got married. Gab is the typical perfect girl who's always focusing on achieving her goals, particularly in her career. She has been in a relationship with her longtime boyfriend Jason (Matteo Guidicelli) for six years, until he propose marriage to her which she immediately accepted. But soon after this, she receives a letter in the mail containing her certificate of marriage with a total stranger. Unsure of how she got married and confused with what to do about it, she tracks down her husband, Dos (Daniel Padilla), a happy go lucky guy and her total opposite. Together, they try to recall how the two of them got married and find a way to get divorced without Gab's boyfriend knowing about it.
This is director Mae Cruz-Alviar's second full length feature film with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla after their 2015 box-office hit Crazy, Beautiful You. Mae Cruz-Alviar has been one of the most promising directors of this generation. I personally loved her previous works, with Crazy, Beautiful You and Everyday, I Love You (Starring Liza Soberano, Enrique Gil & Gerald Anderson) being my top favorites. The good thing about director Mae Cruz-Alviar is that she knows how to handle her actors and actresses well. She knows how to bring them together on screen and squeeze out all the juice she could get to create those kilig-filled moments. She knows when to make the audience laugh and when to make them feel the kilig. In short, she knows how to make a good romance film. And that's what makes this film work so well. This is Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla's eight film together and after being partnered on screen for almost six years now, it is undeniable that the two have already been so close to each other. They look good together, and there is an overflowing chemistry between the two when they're on screen (and even off screen). And director Mae Cruz Alviar uses this in the film's advantage. The film is packed with scenes that would make the audiences blush and feel giddy with kilig. Audiences paid to see a good romance film, and they get exactly what they were looking for.
The film features a really strong cast. Matteo Guidicelli was okay as the story's third party, although his character isn't given much background and remained one dimensional from start to finish. His only purpose was to act as a hindrance to the main characters from being together and nothing more. You don't even feel any sympathy towards him, unlike Gerald Anderson's character Tristan in Mae Cruz-Alviar's Everyday, I Love You. It was also refreshing to see Cherry Pie Picache in the film as I haven't seen her in very long time on screen. Lotlot de Leon and Dennis Padilla were also great additions to the cast as Dos' adopted family. Kristel Fulgar was so funny as Gab's bestfriend, a must in every Pinoy romcom.
But let's all face it, the biggest strength of the film is it's leads. After being in the show business for quite some time now, I must say that Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla have both grown better in terms of their acting skills over the years, aside from the fact that the two of them are oozing with chemistry. Their roles here in Can't Help Falling In Love as Gab and Dos are probably their most mature roles to date. Not only we get to hear them play around with green jokes (yeah, that comfort room scene where we hear Gab say "Ang haba..."), we also get to hear them curse like normal young adults. Their characters are not as deep and serious as their previous roles in Olivia M. Lamasan's Barcelona : A Love Untold (2016) and it worked so well for them. Kathryn and Daniel portrayed Gab and Dos with little to no effort. I guess romcoms really is their forte. Kathryn Bernardo shines in her scenes showing her character struggling to find a resolution to her problem. My favorite scene of her would be the one where Dos left her alone in a fast food restaurant and she ends up in tears because she doesn't know what to do anymore to fix the whole marriage problem she have. For me, Kathryn really stood out in that scene and proved once again that she is one of the most talented actress of her generation. But Daniel Padilla steals the show in his take on his character, Dos. Although a lot of us may find Dos similar to his role as Kiko in Crazy, Beautiful You, his portrayal here is way better. Daniel Padilla has mastered the art of charming his way into every audience's heart. His acting was good, but his humor really made his character more enjoyable to watch. His character's funny quips suited him and his comic timing is perfect in every scene. I remember when I watched the film, the whole theater was laughing out so hard every time he throws in some quick, witty jokes here and there. He's a real charmer. He is today's definition of a heartthrob.
Even though the film follows a weird and unusual story line that's almost impossible to happen in real life, their approach in handling the plot made it somehow believable. It's actually more believable than the story line of Barcelona : A Love Untold. Also, their characters here faces the real life difficulties of marriage and the process of annulment. The film gives people an idea on how hard it is to void marriage in a country that strongly believes that marriage is sacred and cannot be broken. What I loved about the story is that instead of revealing everything right away, the film takes some time to build up some mystery around it, making the audience guess how the two characters ended up marrying each other without them knowing about it. But just like past Star Cinema romcoms, the film eventually falls into the typical romance stereotype once it reaches it's third and final act. But still, the journey that Gab and Dos had was worth the admission price. And we got what we were craving for in a KathNiel movie.
Funny, charming, and overflowing with kilig, this is by far the best KathNiel movie I've seen in the past six years. It's one competently made romcom that will sweep fans and audiences off their feet with it's magic, despite some inevitable cliches. All in all, I just Can't Help Falling In Love with this movie, no pun intended.
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ out of 5
Can't Help Falling In Love (2017)
Starring Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla
Directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar
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