A night of surprising twists and turns

Author: Earl D.C. Bracamonte, Contributor
Column: Life

The all-female comedy One Night Only is touted, this early, to be the sleeper hit in the forthcoming Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). It revolves around the interconnecting lives of the five protagonists, culminating in one eventful night at a seedy motel called Lover’s Hideaway.

The movie is uniquely set apart, boasting of a strong storyline with crisp dialog and biting one-liners created by master storyteller and multi-awarded director Jose Javier Reyes — a comedy of errors involving the wacky shenanigans of several characters who end up in one and the same place.

Direk Joey worked on the script of the film many years before it was brought into production. He said it is a fun movie as there are scenes culled from real life and he captures them in a comic setting. “All who went through the script the first time loved it and had fun reading the material. I guess the MMFF audience will have an even more enjoyable time watching the goings-on inside the motel,” he added.

In the movie, the girls’ paths cross when earlier events all lead them to the drive-in.

Free-spirited and money-hungry Jasmine (Katrina Halili) is all set to leave for Hong Kong with her new Chinese lover when her congressman/benefactor Facundo (Ricky Davao) decides to have his return of investment. Forced to comply with a rather angry lawmaker, she has no other choice but to give in to the demands of his hot-blooded sponsor lest she be exposed for her indiscretions.

Katrina gives crying a rest as she tackles the role of a sexy woman who knows her worth and plays with fire. “It’s a very funny movie, something I haven’t done in a long while after too much sobbing on the boob tube with Magdusa Ka and Obra. This time, I get to make people laugh at the mess we got ourselves into. The trouble my character eventually gets into will be the highlight of my predicament. I cannot reveal the entire plot, but I can assure moviegoers that this is something that will make them laugh out loud. Kikay ako dito. I’ve always wanted to do a comedy because it’s closer to my personality.”

The characters of the five female leads were written to fit their respective personalities. They agree that each play their parts with equal exposure. “Lahat naman kami dito maganda yung roles and the differences in persona allowed the film to present varying levels of comedy,” enthused Katrina.

In another part of the film, in a movie set, hunk actor Diego (Paolo Contis) wrestles with a major issue involving a reporter whom he mauled for exposing his shady past. But this is really the least of his concerns as he has his sights focused on one of the talents on the set, a naive-looking extra named Angela (Alessandra da Rossi).

“My character Angela and myself are both humorous as persons. Mukha kaming promdi pero hindi naman. Looks can be deceiving. You need to know a person for what she really is,” says Alex of her character.

While Diego manipulates the events to get Angela in bed, he remains in touch with best friend Pons (Jon Avila), a stud puppy who also works as an ad executive. He, too, is on a night out to have his way with a girl he met in Boracay, Vicky (Valerie Concepcion). After spending a fortune on her when they met on vacation, Pons realized that he’s short-changed when she passed out on him.

“My character Vicky is liberated and open towards sex. She’s my exact opposite ‘coz I need feelings towards the guy before giving in. But I’m more excited with the viewers’ response to the movie,” shared Valerie.

Unknown to Pons, another woman he dated, Vivian (Diana Zubiri), is feeling guilty because she did not give in to his demands the night before when they went out on a date. Now, she’s determined to make appropriate amends.

On the set where Diego is trying to get into Angela’s pants, the supervisor of the talents, a bull dyke named George (Manilyn Reynes) is carrying on an affair with the makeup artist, Elvie (Jennylyn Mercado), who wants to end the relationship because she wants a normal life, crushing the lesbian’s world.

All the five girls’ choices prior to the fateful night lead them to each other’s quagmire.

“Vivian is close to the real Diana Zubiri. That’s why I related easily with the role and didn’t have a difficulty acting out the part. However, in real life, friendship weighs a lot for me as against my character in the movie whose traits weren’t explored to its full extent. If I were to go out on a ‘one-night-only’ date, I’d choose Wendell Ramos so we could push through with what didn’t transpire before; during the very short time he courted me. This is my eighth film in my six years in the industry and the first one outside Seiko,” bravely declared Diana during the movie’s press confab. Her straightforward answer endeared her to the tri-media attendees who were present during the event. We all praised her for her honesty.

Diana is one of the original picks for the movie that had a controversial casting issue when some of its supposed Kapamilya stars begged off from the roles. “Hindi naman ako naapektuhan nung intriga before kasi wala namang nabago sa role ko at may tiwala naman ako sa project na ito kaya walang problema sa ‘kin,” she clarified.

A production of Canary/OctoArts Films, One Night Only is an official entry to the 2008 MMFF that opens on Christmas Day in all Metro Manila theater complexes.

Source: The Daily Tribune

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