The best of LT

In Startalk, my co-host Lorna Tolentino and I call each other best friends. She is really a wonderful person and a marvelous actress. Now, on the occasion of her birthday – which actually falls today – let me point out to you the other aspects of her life where she has proven to be among the best, if not the best.

The best dressed

Lorna is not very tall (her height is just slightly average for a Filipina). But she has a very classic face, good skin and regal bearing. And during those glamorous days of the awards season about a decade or so ago, she was perennially voted Star of the Night. (Nobody can beat her record in this field.)

I remember a FAMAS night from way back. Since the sponsor of the supposedly Star of the Night segment was a shampoo product, they did not give importance to the dresses worn by the female stars and chose the one with the best hair. The awards presentation was held at the Westin Philippine Plaza and half of the hotel ballroom had female stars with outlandish hairstyles. And what a sight Madame Auring was. On her beehive, she stuck twigs – like these were plucked from those Christmas trees being sold along Roxas Blvd. during the season of Yuletide. But what was truly amusing were the Tivoli lights she wrapped around the twigs that blinked incessantly – until the announcement of the winner with the best hairstyle: Lorna Tolentino, who won hands down for wearing her hair in a simple bun. Everyone nodded in agreement with the choice and all the actresses that night went home carrying a valuable lesson or two on simplicity – and elegance.

Lorna is actually very classy and sophisticated. Sure, she wears expensive clothes. But it’s not the clothes that make her. It’s her style and her being a lady through and through that have made her a fashion icon all these decades.

The best actress

The turning point of her career was in Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Moral, where she plays a UP coed, who is anti-establishment — basically a confused youngster who rebels against anything. This role, if I’m not mistaken, was originally meant for Amy Austria. But Lorna does wonders with the part and eventually earned the respect of critics. There was no turning back for her. After that, she just became better and better with each project. Whether on TV or in the movies, Lorna Tolentino could do no wrong – and never did. She was and still is always correct in the way she attacks each role and this only shows how intelligent she is as an actress.

Producers actually get the best deal with Lorna because she is the type of performer they can make money out of and still have in their hands a prestigious project – thanks to the critically-acclaimed performances she delivers in each film. The best example is Maging Akin Ka Lamang where she won several acting trophies for playing a woman obsessed with a man (Christopher de Leon).

I have a long list of Lorna’s best performances and this includes the following:

Hindi Nahahati ang Langit – A Mike de Leon movie where she is at her best in her quarrel scenes with Christopher de Leon, who plays her stepbrother.

Pinulot Ka Lang sa Lupa – An Ishmael Bernal film where she has delicious confrontation scenes with Maricel Soriano.

Natutulog Pa ang Diyos – A Lino Brocka film where your heart goes out to her, especially in the part where the woman (Gina Pareño) she thought was her mother tries to make a nightclub hostess out of her.

Kailan Mahuhugasan ang Kasalanan – Another Brocka film where she is terrific in her dramatic scenes with Helen Gamboa, who plays her mother from whom she was separated as a baby.

Narito ang Puso Ko – The Chito Roño movie that gave her a grand-slam win for Best Actress.

Bayarang Puso – A Jose Javier Reyes film where you get to see another one of Lorna’s numerous talents: dancing.

Sa Ngalan ng Pag-Ibig – A Maryo J. de los Reyes drama that was originally a French film where a spouse kills all in the name of love. Lorna plays the wife here who gets rid of her husband’s mistress (Alma Concepcion) in fit of jealousy. Years later, the material was made in Hollywood as Unfaithful. It is the wife (Diane Lane) who is philandering this time and playing the jealous husband is no less than Richard Gere At this point, Lorna can go tell the venerable Gere that, well, she got a crack at the part first. And between you and me, I think Lorna did a better job than Gere.

May Nagmamahal sa Iyo – A Marilou Abaya film where your heart gets torn watching Lorna look for the baby she gave up for adoption years earlier.

Luksong Tinik – Another Joey Reyes movie where Lorna plays a con artist in this suspenseful 1999 Manila Film Festival entry (she eventually won Best Actress).

Sugatang Puso – A Metro Manila Film Festival entry where her performance (and also that of Christopher de Leon’s) was overlooked by a lot of award-giving bodies.

Magnifico – A Maryo J. de los Reyes opus where Lorna’s best scenes are those with mother-in-law Gloria Romero.

Unfortunately, I have yet to see Mano Po 5, where Lorna plays another difficult role that requires her to deliver a lot of her dialogue in Fookien.

The best friend

I head personally known Lorna Tolentino for more than a decade now, but it is only now that we are doing Startalk that we have gotten close. In the beginning, I have to admit that I was much more comfortable with Rudy Fernandez, who has a wonderful sense of humor (a facet of his not too many people know) – especially when he is needling Lorna’s best friend Telly Garcia (a very likable person loved by everyone). Every week, however, I get to see what a sincere friend Lorna Tolentino is. She is very caring, thoughtful and – most important of all – she knows how to listen.

As a friend, she looks after me and my well-being – and I couldn’t ask for more. She’s truly one of the best people I’ve ever known since I walked the face of earth many years ago and I hope our friendship goes deeper beyond Startalk and show business. Happy birthday, best friend!