‘The Cheating Game’: GMA Public Affairs’ first film is a romance drama with a twist

CEBU, Philippines — Get fooled, get even. That’s one life philosophy that director and best-selling author Rod Marmol goes by. Better yet, monetize the misery.

“The Cheating Game”, GMA Public Affairs’ first film offering under GMA Pictures, is in fact his form of revenge to all those who deceived him.

“Write it into a film, try to put our learnings there, hopefully viewers will learn, and at the same time create something beautiful out of that ugly experience,” said Marmol, known for his works “Cuddle Weather,” “Mata Tapang,” and “Quaranthings.”

But before Marmol came into the picture as co-writer and director, the concept was based on the experience of Peabody award-winning documentary writer and producer Shao Masula, who wanted to impart that – while she’s not absolving cheaters – no one is exempt from making mistakes. The bad decisions though, should not define an individual as there are countless chances to better oneself.

“That was really the first message of the film,” said Masula during a virtual conference. “And then because of the pandemic, the landscape of society changed and so we had to update the script. In recent years, troll farms and fake news have been hot topics. True to GMA Public Affairs’ mission of bringing relevant information and entertainment, we had to tackle these issues.”

In cinemas this Wednesday, July 26, “The Cheating Game” stars Kapuso couple Julie Anne San Jose and Rayver Cruz in this “feverish, deep-dive” into the psyche of two characters who deal differently with betrayal.  A romantic drama about the game people play after getting cheated on, it hopes to offer a more mature, relatable, and realistic side to modern-day dating.

Hope (San Jose) is an idealistic NGO worker and devoted to her fiancé, up until a sex video of her boyfriend with another woman surfaces. Heartbroken, she walks away from the life she thought was hers and starts a new career as a content producer in a company that, unknown to her, moonlights as a troll factory.

Determined to never be outsmarted by a guy again, she designs a cheat sheet on the ‘Anatomy of a Cheater’ and uses this as her guide as she starts dating again. She then meets Miguel (Cruz), a businessman who exudes all the green flags for a romantic interest. Thinking she’s stumbled upon the perfect guy, long-kept secrets soon surface as they become closer.

Rom-com with a twist

Also co-written by Jessie Villabrille, head writer for some GMA primetime series, “The Cheating Game” tackles the aftermath of a betrayal, as opposed to other films that have cheating as the main plot point.

“How do you make sure that you don’t get cheated on again? Which is why our trailer says, ‘Maloko ka minsan, kawawa ka naman. Maloko ka ulit, kasalanan mo na yan.’ It’s forgivable to be fooled once, it happens to the best of us. But again? Diyos ko, hobby na yan,” said Marmol.

He also wanted it to be a point of reflection, through San Jose’s character, how moving on in an ideal setting is not a privilege for everyone.

“For some, they can afford to go away, go to the beach to heal. But for most Filipinos who are working day in and day out, there’s no time to stop. Oftentimes, work is used as a distraction from the emotional romantic pains.”

“The Cheating Game” wasn’t the first GMA Public Affairs film to be greenlit, but it was the first to wrap. Plus, according to newly-appointed GMA Pictures’ Senior Vice President Nessa Valdellon, they wanted a romance to lead their slate of upcoming films which includes the fantasy drama “Firefly,” horror “Penthouse 77”, sci-fi romance “Version 2,” as well as the 4K documentary film “The Lost Sabungeros.”

What sold it for Valdellon with “The Cheating Game” was how it seems to start out as a rom-com, but turns out to be a thought-provoking, inspiring story with a twist, which is “what we’re trying to do in GMA Public Affairs when we make movies” especially that this year “nothing locally has done well” in cinemas.

Seen together as performers in “All-Out Sundays”, as co-hosts in “The Clash”, as well as in virtual and live concerts, San Jose and Cruz are eager for their fans to see them for the first time on the big screen.

San Jose resumed filming for “The Cheating Game” while she was simultaneously reporting on the set of the hit primetime series “Maria Clara at Ibarra” in the titular female role.

“It was a big challenge because I had to switch on and off characters. But it was a good experience because it was like putting on different kinds of clothes and shoes,” the actress recalled.

The lead stars were not yet dating when filming first began in 2020, and so they consider the delay a “blessing in disguise” as being real-life sweethearts made executing intimate, vulnerable scenes far less awkward.

Marmol shared, “My main fear coming into the project, it’s always a huge challenge directing a real-life couple because most couple celebs, it’s automatically assumed that they have a built-in dynamic. But in reality, an on-screen rapport still needs work.” — (FREEMAN)