Are we all ready for the general community quarantine phase of our lives? Can someone explain and enumerate the major differences of this stage as compared to its enhanced and modified cousins, which by the grace of the Divine and the forces of the Universe, we have all survived?
Regardless of our situation, I’m pretty sure that most of us will still be confined in the comfort of our homes. So, let us just talk about entertainment, shall we? Yes, we still have free television and paid cable networks, and premium streaming apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, and other platforms to satisfy the need for movies and dramas. We can listen to our favorite songs and even concerts, musicals on the radio, and other digital formats.
What makes me truly curious, especially on the local scene, once safety guidelines and protocols have been approved, are we going to feel excited to troop back to the cineplexes with our loved ones and friends to satisfy our silver screen yearnings? When we hear someone coughing or sneezing inside a closed cinema, do we run to the nearest fire exit and declare an emergency situation and request for an immediate refund for our tickets, popcorns, and sodas?
Thus, I cannot help but wonder, what kind of Filipino movies will lure us out from the “safety” of our personal cocoons? Are there movies coming soon that has all the elements to entice us to leave our houses?
Prior to the COVI9-19 onslaught, the biggest box-office Filipino movie of all time was the Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards' OFW starrer Hello, Love, Goodbye. If we cast these two young superstars once more, will their on-screen partnership be sufficient to bring out the madlang pipol and dabarkads from their abodes and go to the cinemas? If we add Daniel Padilla, Bernardo’s real-life lover, to the movie equation, will it add more sizzle to the already potent pairing?
Just recently, an “Aga Please Say Yes” hashtag trended on Twitter, and the campaign, was a success since Aga Muhlach, agreed to be a guest in Lea Salonga’s Bayanihan Musikahan online concert.
In case a movie with Muhlach and Salonga springs to life and by some divine plan, its title happens to be The One That Got Away — a fitting title since people know who Salonga was in Muhlach’s life — will a movie that stars the dynamic duo brush all the paranoia under the proverbial rug? We have been waiting for a movie with them headlining it for the past 25 year since they made us cry buckets in Sana’y Maulit Muli.
Since there is a new appreciation and it can no longer be denied that the BL drama has become a conversation piece for most cosmopolitans and sophisticates, if a film production gambles on the genre with the likes of James Reid and Ivan Dorschner, Donnie Pangilinan and Markus Paterson or Alden Richards and Derrick Monasterio giving life on screen a different kind of love with all the requisite kilig moments, smooching and intimacies, will it attract members of the pink community and the female populace at large that is the main target market of the BL offerings?
What if the biggest Philippine gay superstar, Vice Ganda decided to go dramatic and did the remake of the Lino Brocka classic Ang Tatay Kong Nanay, will his Little Ponies give all love to this calculated reinvention of his?
Let’s face it, even if some people can afford a 72-inch flat-screen television complete with all the sound system, for most Filipinos, nothing comes close to watching their favorite stars in the cinema. But taking that big risk is another story.
Our love for movies is constant and will never cease. The Philippine cinema will be back on its groove in no time. Let us trust the process of the Universe. See you inside the cinemas and the movies soon.