Is Marissa a ‘desperate housewife’?

The answer to today’s interrogative banner is a big yes.

"Yes," confirmed singer-comedienne Marissa Sanchez, "I am a desperate housewife. Very desperate!"

But Marissa hastened to add that her desperation is not similar to that of Eva Longoria, Nicolette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Teri Hatcher in the sensational US TV show Desperate Housewives.

"It has something to do with having a baby," Marissa said.

It has become nothing short of an obsession for Marissa since she and Ian Nava got married in December 2004. So far, they have been unsuccessful.

Where, rather, in whom does the fault lie?

"There’s something wrong with me," Marissa confessed. "My egg count is not enough but Ian’s sperm count is okay, normal. I’ve been undergoing egg-injection (at P10,000 per), five so far, and I won’t stop until the treatment is successful."

After her US concert tour last March with Dingdong Avanzado and his wife Jessa Zaragoza and Ara Mina, Marissa and Ian decided to take a month-long vacation in Fredericksburg, Virginia, at the house of Ian’s sister Aida (and husband Peter Wagner; also childless after being married for more than 20 years).

"Some people were telling me that another reason why I couldn’t get pregnant was that I was always stressed-out and tired," said Marissa, now in her late 30s. "So Ian and I took a good rest and worked hard on...you know what. Pero wa epek pa rin."

Asked if she would consider trying in-vitro fertilization (like Celine Dion, Julia Roberts and Brooke Shields), Marissa insisted that she and Ian would exhaust "the natural way" and resort to artificial means only as a last recourse.

Or they could dance the Pandango during the Feast of Sta. Clara in Obando, Bulacan, with other "desperate housewives."

"My religion doesn’t allow that kind of practice," corrected Marissa, a Born-Again Christian.

Meanwhile, Marissa is back in harness. On Friday, May 26, 9 p.m., she will have a show at Boulvar Lounge of Manila Pavillion where she’s expected to entertain the audience with not just songs but uplifting jokes (some of which crosses the "light-green" line). It’s going to be a "very Marissa Sanchez" kind of show, as usual.

"Walang uuwing luhaan," assured Marissa.

Recognized for her comedic talent, Marissa is working hard to highlight her "singing side" which some people seem to overlook. At the presscon for her recent show in San Francisco, a reporter praised Marissa for being a good actress but wondered why she wasn’t doing much singing (like she used to do when she was a regular on the ABS-CBN Sunday noontime show ASAP which could and should, I think, bring her back).

"I felt sad," recalled Marissa. "So I invited the reporter to watch our show and he did. He enjoyed the show so much that he consumed a 36-shot roll of film. He told me, ‘Ang husay mo pala kumanta.’ I was flattered."

Anytime soon, Marissa will record what she calls a "serious" album, in contrast to her previous album of novelty songs.

"Comedians are good at doing ‘serious’ albums, aren’t they? Two good examples are Ogie Alcasid and Janno Gibbs."

Australian import is new Ok Fine cast member

A few more episodes from now, ABS-CBN’s Monday sitcom Ok Fine Whatever will take televiewers to "the next level" as mainstays Aga Muhlach, Edu Manzano and Bayani Agbayani say goodbye to single-blessedness and say hello to married life.

Aga will have Mariel Rodriguez as wife while Edu will have ex-PBB housemate Cass Ponti. And guess who Bayani will take as his bride – yes, none other than Jacinta James, a beautiful lady "imported" from Australia.

Just who is Jacinta James?

Well, she’s a PR coordinator back in Gold Coast (the same place in Australia where live Robin Padilla’s wife Liezl Sicangco and their daughters).

How did she get into the sitcom?

"I wanted a career change. My friend, a commercial model who’s half-Filipino and half-Australian, was the one who brought me here. It was she who encouraged me to audition for the role," said Jacinta who is the first Australian to venture into local showbiz after Michelle van Eimeren, wife of Ogie Alcasid, quit showbiz and went back home with her and Ogie’s children. "I was completely nervous during the audition. But it was fun and I liked it. This is supposed to be a fun time for me."

Asked if she knew Russell Crowe, Jacinta said of course she did. I told her that I interviewed Crowe last year in New York (for his movie Cinderella Man) three days before he got involved in that ugly telephone-throwing incident at a Manhattan hotel where he was billeted.

"Oh," said Jacinta. "Another incident. Did you know that he hit on my sister at a club in Australia? The bouncer who beat up Russell Crowe was my sister’s boyfriend. The incident, which happened four years ago, was big news in Australia and was reported around the world."

Has her impression of Crowe changed after that incident?

"Well," said Jacinta, "I don’t want to judge people but my sister has given me a reason not to think highly of him."

Not having had any acting experience, much less in comedy, Jacinta said that she had "fun time" during her first shooting day and looked forward to future shoots.

"I’m a funny person," she said. "I’m very funny; I like joking around. I’m never serious, so I fit the role just fine. I’m a happy person."

The good thing is that the role doesn’t require her to speak Tagalog.

"But I do hope to learn to speak the language," said Jacinta who did photographic modeling in Hong Kong where she lived for a while.

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