Sam & Anne together at last in big-screen romance

MANILA, Philippines - They are, they are not. They are on, they are off.

Whether Sam Milby and Anne Curtis are or they are not, they are on or off, doesn’t at all matter to their fans as long as Sam and Anne are together, maybe as “special friends” or whatever.

The two look good “together.” They are both half-Filipinos, Sam with one side of him American and Anne, Australian. No wonder they click for sure because of their bi-cultural backgrounds.

In the ABS-CBN soaps Dyosa and Maging Sino Ka Man, which cemented them as a bankable loveteam, Sam and Milby have amply proven that they are more than beautiful faces...that they can also act. Anne has a Best Actress trophy to prove it, won in the 2008 Metro Manila Filmfest entry Baler (produced by Viva Films) in which she plays a fair maiden unsuccessfully prevented by her father (Phillip Salvador who bagged the Best Supporting Actor trophy) from falling in love with an indio (Jericho Rosales).

Sam himself has done a variety of roles, both on TV and in film (mostly co-starring with Toni Gonzaga and Bea Alonzo), most notable of which is a shot-in-the-USA episode for Maalaala Mo Kaya?, hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, in which he and US-based Leandro Muñoz played half-siblings (with Miguel Vera as their father) who become friends only after hurdling some trials.

Sam-Anne fans should thank Star Cinema and Viva Films for finally bringing them together in a big-screen romance-drama, Babe, I Love You, which opens nationwide on Easter Sunday.

Directed by Mae Cruz, Babe, I Love You is the story of two people from opposite worlds. Sam plays Niccolo “Nico” Veneracion, a History of Architecture professor about to become a dean. Anne plays Sandra “Sasa” Sanchez, a promo-girl. Poles apart, will the two fall for each other? Well, they do. But then, some obstacles: They have conflicting backgrounds and besides, will the match softens the heart of Sam’s mother who blames Sam for indirectly causing the death of his father?

“I play a character which is opposite of what I am although I am at ease in the academe,” said Sam.

“I can identify with Sasa but only as far as her feelings and emotion are concerned,” said Anne.

But all is fair in love, isn’t it?

In real life, Sam and Anne were once an item. Even if their romance is said to be “off,” they have remained good friends and that could lead to a possible reconciliation.

Will the off-screen love story of Sam and Anne end up the way that of Nico and Sasa does?