Is the ‘Mutya’ really Dingdong’s ‘Darlene’?

Let’s see how good you are at guessing.

Imagine that you’re a contestant in a gameshow – we’ll call it The Truth Game(show) – and the "Q&A" leading to the final round goes this way (multiple choice):

Who really is the girl in Dingdong Dantes’ (love) life?

a). Antoinette Taus

b). Tanya Gomez (Dingdong’s leading lady in the GMA soap Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga)

c). The unidentified colegiala

If you answer either a), or b). or c)., so sorry but you’re eliminated as the "weakest link," goodbye!

The correct answer is… Darlene Carbungco, the reigning Mutya ng Pilipinas (who finished among the Top 5 in the Miss Asia-Pacific Quest late last year) who is a showbiz materyales fuertes.

According to a roving Funfare DPA, she saw Dingdong and Darlene in a dinner date. She even had to look hard and look a second and third time to make sure that what – rather, who – she was seeing were them. It was them, all right.

Of course, Funfare expects Dingdong to deny this "breaking news" but my DPA will stand on his report, no matter what, come what may. "They were so sweet," added the DPA. "They had eyes only for each other."

There’s a little complication somewhere here, though. Darlene has been publicized as the girlfriend of Pampanga Gov. Lito Lapid’s actor-son Mark, so the next question crops up: Have Darlene and Mark broken up (so that she is now free to date other guys)? How long have she and Dingdong been dating? Are they "on" or only about to enter that stage?

There’s further complication here: Maricar de Mesa revealed during the presscon for her latest movie, World Arts Cinema’s Buko Pandan (directed by Uro dela Cruz of Bahay ni Lola fame, with Pyar Mirasol among the other stars), that Mark had been courting her and even paid her and her family a visit last Christmas. Mark, according to Maricar, stopped seeing her only after she confronted him about Darlene Carbungco whose beauty can equal, even surpass, that of any actress around.

I surmise that Dingdong must have been smitten (if he really is) by Darlene’s beauty when he hosted the Mutya ng Pilipinas search at the NBC Tent middle of last year where Darlene emerged as winner. I should know because I was among the judges in that contest. On hindsight, I recall that Dingdong did keep an interesting eye on Darlene everytime he (and co-host Hans Montenegro) called her name. Onstage, Darlene was a sight to behold, with a dazzle that could melt any red-blooded man’s heart.

It’s not surprising if a romance would bloom between the two. If you remember, Aga Muhlach first saw Charlene Gonzalez at the 1994 Bb. Pilipinas Pageant where Aga sat as one of the judges and Charlene won the Bb. Pilipinas-Universe crown (and went on to place among the Top 5 in that year’s Miss Universe contest held here). Aga and Charlene are now married, with twins to boot!

Dingdong and Darlene do make a handsome pair, don’t they?

Reader’s view on Hubog

I was among those who praised Joel Lamangan’s Hubog, one of the seven entries in the recently-concluded 2001 Metro Filmfest, so I welcome views to the contrary from readers, such as this one from "Jerrold Tarog" (e-mailed to me, no address given):

Alessandra de Rossi deserves a better movie. With her Best Supporting Actress Trophy nonetheless, Hubog is far from her best work. Compare her acting here with her debut performance in Azucena and you will see how promising she truly was. In Hubog, she is reduced to playing a retarded girl in a mode that any sexy starlet can play blindfolded. Yes, she is nuanced, which is precisely what makes her such a good actress. But nuance only works when the actor fits the role. In Hubog, she is terribly miscast, resulting in an almost detached and unrealistic portrayal in a movie that is utterly insincere.

Hubog is about two sisters from the slums of Manila. The older sister (Assunta de Rossi) is a hardworking but frankly clueless girl. The younger one is a retarded teen who spends her days with little kids and child molesters. There is a plot in this movie, which revolves around sexual abuse, domestic violence and corruption. But the plot is as old as the hills and thus irrelevant. What is truly preposterous about this movie is that it tries to cover its formulaic structure with a recent socio-political event to make it look serious. The audacity.

Hubog takes place in the midst of the EDSA 2 Revolution, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the entire film. Here they go again, flavoring a formulaic movie with social-realist dressing. Watch the movie closely and you’ll realize how the Revolution exists outside the characters’ lives. It is something that is happening out there, while they’re stuck inside the set doing a movie. They look like little kids left at home while the adults are out doing serious stuff.

This is the Pinoy formula. Make a checklist and see how the movie scores: Impoverished characters (played by fresh-faced, well-fed actors); sexual abuse; corrupt policemen and government officials; in the middle of the film, a sex scene that the director lingers on for box-office purposes; melodrama; breast exposure; and always in the end of the film, a chase scene, a shootout, and a violent ending. Voila, you have a movie.

Hubog is sacrilegious to three things: 1) the reality of poverty, which the film uses as a cliché background (can’t somebody make a film about and with poor people, not about miserable and horny characters in a slum setting?); 2) the dignity and tragedy of sexually-abused, retarded children which, by opting for a comedic effect ("Hamburger! Hamburger!"), the film totally mocks; and 3) the EDSA 2 Revolution which, by tacking it on the story like an afterthought, makes little of its impact on Filipino society.

Hubog was also awarded the third Best Picture at the Metro Filmfest. Go figure. Maybe the director could make a comedy about this awards show. I bet it will be a much better film.