Star Cinema opens the year 2018 with a bang as they bring together two of the country's box-office queens in one big movie. Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban both star in Jun Lana's comedy "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes". The film marks the reunion of Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban, who first worked together in the hit 2001 ABS-CBN teleserye "Sa Puso Ko Iingatan Ka". The film also marks the return of Judy Ann and Angelica to the comedy genre.
In "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes", Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban play devoted wives Lianne and Cindy, respectively, who got cheated on by their husbands who turn out to be gay. With their combined forces, they will make sure their exes don’t get what they took away from them: a happy ending. JC de Vera and Joross Gamboa plays Felix Reyes and Gary Reyes respectively, the cheating husbands of Lianne and Cindy. The film also features a star-studded ensemble, led by Gladys Reyes, Carmi Martin, Andrea Brillantes, Nico Antonio, Cai Cortez, Wilma Doesnt, Quark Henares and Kim Molina. The film is directed by Die Beautiful's Jun Robles Lana and is produced by Star Cinema, Quantum Films and IdeaFirst Company.
The film opens with Lianne and her friend discussing about the possibility that her husband, Gary, is having an affair with another woman. Lianne tries to get her husband's passion for their relationship by making herself sexier, even going as far as having a breast transplant. But it turns out that her husband isn't attracted to her anymore because he is already seeing someone else- another man, to her surprise. On the other hand, Cindy, is being pressured by her mother(monster)-in-law to have a baby already with her husband, Felix. Unfortunately, she wakes up one day only to find out that he has left her for another man. After a series of events, Lianne and Cindy discovers that their husbands are having an affair and decided to conjure a plan to make the lives of their exes to be miserable.
At first glance, "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes" looks like just another comedy film. But the truth is that the film is actually much deeper than you think. The film is perhaps one of the riskiest projects from Star Cinema in years, one that you wouldn't expect from the country's biggest movie company. The film bravely tackles different mature themes that are all relevant in today's society. Although most of the time, they use these themes to induce laughter from the audience, they are committed to discussing these themes in a serious and relatable manner to give lessons to the viewers. I love how the film tackles a different side of infidelity in marriages. Here, we are given two sides of the coin, the other is from Gary and Felix' point of view. They just want to be truthful to their-selves and they want to be free from everything that is keeping them from revealing their real identities. So they finally decided to come out of the closet so that the two of them can be together, which is what other people would always advise us. But on the other side of the story, we discover that their decision caused others to suffer, particularly Lianne and Cindy. Their wives are left heartbroken after learning that their husbands have cheated on them, and they are left asking themselves where did they go wrong. The film doesn't take sides between the two parties. Instead, it lets the audience realize the consequences of the actions of both parties involved and wants us to understand things from both perspectives.
The film also touches themes of the identification of the LGBT community. The film tackles the different gender identification of the LGBT to shed a bit of light to it's viewers. In one of the film's best moments - scene inside a noodle house - Gary and Felix explains to their wives their identifications. Gary sees himself as a woman while Felix identifies himself as a hetero-flexible, someone who is mostly straight but is still attractive to the same sex. This is probably the first mainstream movie that featured this type of topic in it's storyline. Aside from this, the movie also preaches audiences about the effects of social media and how one simple post online can cause negative effects to the people involved. It gives us an idea on how cyber-bullying can ruin someone else's life, if we are not careful and responsible enough in using social media. Regarding the film's humor, I must say that this is Star Cinema's freshest comedies to date. This is definitely not your regular Vice Ganda comedy. The film is infused with Jun Lana's absurd sense of humor. It pulls laughter from the audience through various aspects, one of which features Judy Ann Santos cursing out loud, a first in movie history. The movie's brand of comedy is very mature, hence the R-13 rating from the MTRCB.
The film's cast deserves a lot of credit in pulling off this film. All the cast were very effective in their roles. Joross Gamboa was believable in portraying Gary, who slowly transitions into a woman all throughout the film. This is probably his best performance to date, way better than the one from Deadma Walking. JC De Vera was also great in his portrayal of Felix. But the film really belongs to Judy Ann Santos and Angelica Panganiban, both who take great risks in their roles here. Angelica Panganiban's performance is reminiscent of her portrayal in Here Comes the Bride and Beauty in a Bottle. Her comic timing was on point and very effective. On the other hand, Judy Ann Santos breaks her reserved persona in this film to take on this very demanding role. Her character cursing out loud is probably the best moments of them. Every time we hear her, we can't help but break into laughter. But aside from their comic timing, Angelica and Judy Ann also manages to show off their acting prowess during the film's heavy moments, inducing a tear or two from the audiences.
Entertaining and thought-provoking from start to finish, "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes" promises not only laughs but so much more.
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ of 5
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