No Other Woman: The Under Cleavage

Category: Movie Movers

"Ang mundo ay isang napakalaking Quiapo, ang daming snatcher, maagawan ka, lumaban ka! "  ~Carmi Martin’s character in No Other Woman.

No other choice but to linger for a while. The rain is still pouring heavily outside making it impractical to go home yet. The bookstore doesn’t seem inviting either. I better roam around first. I notice two old people talking to the cashier at the Cinema’s ticket counter. I nose around, pretending to check what’s Showing. The old man hands an ID and signs the log sheet. In Makati City, senior citizens can watch movies for free. It’s sort of the Country for Old Men “Ganito kami sa Makati!”

A few minutes later I am inside the Cinema; the earhty-smell permeating the air.

Then the film rolls. The gorgeous Anne Curtis occupies the big screen as you try not to drift to the dream land of fantasy where Anne is your mistress. And you teleports to a care-free, high-flying resorts lifestyle of the character Anne portrays.

No Other Woman: a cocktail of fashion, butt shots, under cleavage, feisty bikini cat fights, and the all time one-liners.

The new box-office hit, eclipsing the previous top grossing films like Tanging Ina and Tanging Yaman; fulfils the viewer’s fantasy of “bawal na pag-ibig”, with the sexy blend of trendy fashion, carefree lifestyle, saucy bed scenes, and a lesson or two about the consequences of having an affair. It effectively connects with the viewers.

Aside from joining the gig of infidelity movies of the quarter (My Neighbor’s Wife, Friends with Benefits, etc.); it brings to mind the recent incident involving the much-publicized confrontation between a woman and her cheating husband in one of the malls in the metro. That video went viral and was even commented upon by one of the characters in the movie citing that women today are becoming more aggressive in fighting for their relationships. In the movie, the women are portrayed as strong individuals battling for their love. The battle is not like the low-class, violent confrontations we witness in real-life; but a contest of wit and character, and a cat fight with a touch of style and fashion. It’s a sparring of showcasing who has the trendiest bikinis and the exchange of sharp one-liners (a staple of tagalog box-office movies).

No Other Woman is a story about a gorgeous resort heiress, Kara Zaldriaga (Anne Curtis) who lives by the mantra: no strings attached. Living a liberated lifestyle, she gets into relationships with men and leaves them the moment they fall in love with her—a violation of her “rule”. She meets Ram Escaler (Derek Ramsey) -- a young business man building a family--who is there hoping to grab the contract to be the furniture supplier for the resort. She gets involved with him; and as her luck turns out, he is a married man. She dismisses the idea that they are having an affair stressing that she is not his mistress. One would only become a mistress if there are emotions involved. They are just two consenting adults having fun. Yet as the consequences unfold, the two becomes too attached to each other, sinning deliciously. Kara inevitably falls in love with Ram and ponders the question: “What would you do if the man you’re in love with is already married?” She vows not to give up without putting up a fight. Earlier than that, she boasts that she is not a mistress and never will be. It makes one recall the line by John Lloyd Cruz in his hit movie with Sarah Geronimo: “I am not jealous, I was never jealous! Ngayon lang.”

The meek yet feisty Charmaine Escaler (Cristine Reyes) discovers that his husband is having an affair. Encouraged by the witty Carmi Martin (Charmaine’s mother who’s sharp lines becomes viral), Charmaine decides to assert her status being the legitimate wife and fight for her marriage. Cristine Reyes is criticized for not faring well like Anne does in terms of acting, “sexy-ness” and looks. Yet, one would be in awe at how stunning and ravenous she looks on the confrontation scene in pool side; where the two hot girls clad in their two-piece’s are about to have a cat fight. Kara, on the other hand, wears a snake-skin printed bikini, that exquisitely shows her under cleavage (or Australian cleavage as defined by Wikipedia); to which Charmaine bitch-slapped, “Bikini mo ba yan, o balat mo?” There’s no argument however, that the movie is all about Anne Curtis—it’s her shining moment. And it’s not surprising that the “princess of all media” is would be the new box-office queen.

Love triangle, Extra-marital activities, and car accidents

Ram (Derek Ramsay) serves a cautionary tale about infidelity and its consequences. He is just a man trying to build his career and family whose reputation got tarnished when he yields to temptation. One single adulterous act almost ruined his dreams, his marriage and his life. Derek Ramsay’s movie is somewhat similar to that of her real-life girlfriend, Agelica Panganiban’s movie (with Aga Mulach and Maricel Soriano)—A Love Story. Shown in 2007, A Love Story is also about a love triangle involving extra-marital affairs. The difference is that, in No Other Woman, the characters are not presented as victims but strong individuals battling for their love.

It also makes us recall I Love You, Goodbye. A 2009 Tagalog movie of almost similar theme—starring Gabby Concepcion, Angelica Panganiban and Derek Ramsay—where Derek’s character was run over by a car. His death ends the infidelity, and makes the characters come to their senses; which is similar to what happened in No Other Woman, except that in the latter, he survived the car accident. It’s so formulaic of romantic tragedy to have the characters die in a car crash. Now it brings to mind Anne Hathaway’s character in One Day and Luis Manzano’s character in In My Life.

No Other Woman shows the cliché about men being weak creatures that easily succumb into lust of the flesh and that adultery is a violation of one of the Ten Commandments. And in marriage, there should be no other woman.

Several miles away, in Quezon City a boy is trying to convince his parents to watch a movie with him. His parents are not persuaded so he took a ride to the nearest mall--the one where that infamous shooting incident took place. When he presents his ticket, he is asked to show his ID to prove his age. (Though the movie is rated A by the Cinema Evaluation Board; it is rated R-13 by MTRCB). When he enters the theatre, he is surprised it is half empty. He can only hear the suppressed giggles of the invisible crowd concealed in the dark as the characters throw their one-liner. But when the light switches on, he realizes that the Cinema is almost  full.

It is the first time he watch a movie alone. He goes home to tell his little adventures. I remember, I watched the movie by myself, too. Thanks to the downpour.

Then he asks: “Ano ba ang mas mahirap kalaban, ‘yong putang mahirap o ‘yong putang  mayaman?”

I am compelled to answer: “Pare-parehong puta lang yon. Yong mayaman bumibili ng Hermes sa mall; yong mahirap, bumibili ng Hermes sa Greenhills”.

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Image Source: google images