Film review: You Are The One, A feel-good romantic joy ride

Popcorn may be considered as light junk food, and yet, one can’t deny its popularity. So there’s popcorn; and there’s good popcorn. Star Cinema’s latest offering, You Are The One, makes no bones about it being light entertainment. It’s a frothy romantic comedy that smartly makes use of the talent of Toni Gonzaga, and the popularity of current heartthrob Sam Milby. Under the helm of director Cathy Garcia-Molina, it creates its own special brand of magic to rise above the rest of the genre. It may be pop-corny and schmaltzy, but you can’t deny how well it works.

The film opens as Sally (Toni Gonzaga) is on her way to the US Embassy, applying for a visa to visit her parents in New York, as her mother is sick. She has an older sister (Jodi Santamaria) who’s too busy with work on the West Coast, to look after said mother, so Sally is left to make her pitch to immigration officer Will Derby (Sam Milby). Set-up for what ensues, is that she gets denied, and we then find out that Will has his own quest. Adopted at a tender age by American missionaries who were here in the Philippines, he is out to "discover" who his biological parents are. To achieve this, he heads to the Census office – where Sally works!

Even the blindest of men can see where this film will take us, but thanks to Cathy’s deft touch and winning script, we enjoy the ride. Toni is our version of Sandra Bullock, and her willingness to be a physical comedienne is brought to full force in this film. Never less than charming, Toni reminds me of a young Nida Blanca. Sam is developing as an actor, and bravely delivers more lines in Tagalog in this film. I just wish he’d hurry that process of being more comfortable with the language, as he can’t expect these tailor-made roles all the time.

Family dynamics, sibling rivalry, reasons for adoption, why we are peculiarly Filipino, why catching a piglet in a muddy pen can be romantic, and why making balat pakwan seeds is a killer on your lips – these all add to the enjoyable moments of this film. Eugene Domingo and Jodi are the stand-outs in the support roles; and it’s Toni who really makes her mark with this film.