After the events of “Four Sisters and a Wedding”, the Salazar sisters return to help their younger brother with his love-related issue. As they think of a way to help him, they recall what happened ten years ago.
When Bobbie (Alexa Ilacad) and Alex Salazar (Gillian Vicencio) are on their way to see Chad (Joao Constancia), they overheard the conversation between their parents about their failing marriage.
So they immediately let their sisters, Teddie (Charlie Dizon) and Gabbie (Belle Mariano), know about it. And together, they made a plan.
They will lead an investigation to find out if their parents are really cheating on each other. If it is true, they will confront their paramours to drive them away.
Then they will be able to keep their family together, and it's happy ever after. Or so they think.
There is a lot of skepticism surrounding “Four Sisters Before the Wedding”. And it is all understandable and justified. Cathy Garcia-Molina cemented the legacy of the Salazar sisters. In the minds of avid viewers, there is no far better Teddie, Bobbie, Gabbie, and Alex than Toni, Bea, Shaina, and Angel. Even more so, how can Star Cinema top the heartfelt story about family, ambition, and love of the first film?
The answer, of course, is to bring back the first movie's writer, Vanessa R. Valdez. People might not know this, but Valdez wrote most of the country’s classic romantic-comedy movies. Her notable films are One More Chance, Miss You Like Crazy, Just The Three Of Us, and Three Words To Forever.
There is both fear and excitement watching “Four Sisters Before the Wedding”. There is fear that it might not meet the standard that the first movie sets. And there is excitement because Valdez will team up with up-and-coming young stars to bring back a classic.
The prequel turns out to be an adequate supporting film from its predecessor. It is not bad, although it is not great either.
In “Four Sisters Before the Wedding” the viewers follow teenagers Teddie, Bobbie, Gabbie, and Alex. They are all the same characters as who they were in the first film: Teddie is a giddy girl with money issues; Bobbie is a confident, responsible, and intelligent scholar; Gabbie is a kind but introverted woman; And Alex is rebellious though, she is a thoughtful and faithful sister.
These are not the characters that I expected to see. I imagine “Four Sisters Before the Wedding” will explain why each sister is different from one another. Why do they have different perspective and priorities in life? Are they orphans?
There is no answer to that questions. Maybe the four sisters were born that way. No wonder they keep on clashing with each other. But who knows?
Nevertheless, Valdez manages to expound on what people know about the other characters like Chad and Grace. However, there are plenty of totally unnecessary scenes, like the love story of Susiebeth and Toti Marie.
Honestly, the premise of the film does not make sense at all. It is an odd narrative to tackle since the first movie did not mention anything significant about the girls' missing dad. And we do not really care.
The screenplay of Valdez should have made the four sisters' relationship with each other the focus of the main story. It should chronicle their journey towards adulthood as they encounter boys, love, relationships, and the pressure of growing up.
Anyways, the cast is solid. It is so fun to see these young actresses interact with each other. Although they have really huge shoes to fill, it is a delight to observe them try and do their best with what they have.
“Four Sisters Before the Wedding” is not the movie that we needed or wanted. It is also not as value-adding as expected, but it is wrong to say that it destroys what the first film establishes. It is watchable. And it did not stray farther from its core message, which is family love. That is all that matters in the end.
2/5
