Dee (Gutierrez) is a successful real-estate agent in Manila. Despite her success in her job, she’s not very successful in her love life. In fact, her last date was a disappointment. She met with this wealthy and handsome guy, but it turns out that he’s insensitive and dismissive of her. Maybe all men are the same and they are all a waste of time.
Besides, there are far more important things than love, dating, and romance, like her grandmother’s birthday. Ever since her parents died, Lola Dulce (Pilita Corrales) has taken good care of her through their small eatery. So despite the distance, Dee traveled to Albay to be with her.
There she meets Edong (Herrera), Lola Dulce’s coconut supplier. He spends most of his time drinking Tuba with his best friend Manny (Archie Alemania), and managing his coconut farm. However, he’s not like every man Dee meets. He’s kind, warm, sincere, and respectful.
Dee finds herself gradually falling in love with Edong, but they both know that their time together is limited. Her life is in Manila, and with her grandmother’s declining health, she needs to be with her more than ever.
We’ve seen this kind of film before. A beautiful city girl meets a not-so-good-looking promdi boy. At first, they’re strangers, then friends, and, eventually, lovers. Think about Empoy Marquez and Alessandra De Rossi in "Kita Kita," but make the story lighter and closer to home.
"Ikaw" thrives with its small story that makes it more relatable and grounded. It is a risk-free, direct, and familiar narrative. Sometimes, a straightforward plot with unproblematic and well-intentioned characters is enough to be entertaining. Besides, expansive rom-com movies are oftentimes difficult to watch. It can get convoluted and lost with all the intersecting and conflicting storylines.
"Ikaw" is essentially a nice, lazy afternoon watch since it requires little effort to be appreciated. It’s loyal to this feel-good romantic-comedy core, the serious drama comes at sporadically moments. It also benefits a lot from Janine Gutierrez and Pepe Herrera's comedic charm and abilities. The two really deliver on their kilig moments, but just enough flirting not to overwhelm the audience.
It was good for the most part. Halfway through the film, there’s no alarming loose end that will derail the overall message of the story. Dee and Edong are on their way to having a satisfying ending. But the film then decides it wants to subvert our expectations. So it threw a curveball at us and it came off rather unnecessarily. The plot twist upends the sentimentality it earned from the whole story. In hindsight, it feels like a cheap ploy to make the film feel more sophisticated than it is.
"Ikaw" works well as this jubilant and tiny love story. And a part of me wished that it stayed that way until its final moments. Nevertheless, director Marla Ancheta's sophomore film is good enough to spend some of your free time with. It’s gentle and sweet, and a pleasant escape from often very moody movies.
3/5
