Ready ka na? I’m Drunk, I Love You review
I went on an early lunch out. It’s almost time for the screening by the time I got to the theater, 25 minutes before the movie and I found myself tapping my feet constantly: shit, it’s senior’s citizen free movie day and they were having trouble with the computer; only the senior citizen ticket counter’s serving. In my head, I’m ranting: Pakshet bakla, tumakas ka lang sa opisina, kailangan maabutan mo yung 11:00 am screening, at kailangan maabutan mo ang magkapatid na Bernal sa 20 minute-film ni Tarog.
I almost ran to the theater. Surprise surprise, I was the only one in the cinema. Imagine how creepy that was. If it weren’t for Koronel Enriquez bargaining with Miguel, I would’ve remained standing off the entrance. Almost halfway through and a girl sat in front of me, followed by a guy sitting at the back. You can count the number of people inside the theater with your hands and it’s just sad really, because not a lot of people can watch the brilliance of Tarog and Habac on screen. Their combination makes it more than your money’s worth.
I’m Drunk, I Love You touches the cliché ‘stupidly falling in love with your best friend’ scenario. Boy and Girl meets, become best friends for years, girl falls in love with guy and holds that torch for him for 7 years. 7 years of one sided love, silently hoping that it would take on the next level; that the guy would see her as a girl and not just a friend. We’ve seen My BestFriend’s Wedding, we’ve heard that rustic line “oh yes, kaibigan mo ako… kaibigan mo lang ako! And I’m so stupid to make the biggest mistake of falling in love with my best friend!” What makes this film any different?
I’m Drunk I Love You however, tells the story of how it actually is: no impossibly dramatic line, no elaborate script, no absurd scenes. It paved the way for a simple, yet very realistic storytelling of what it’s actually like to fall in love with your best friend. It was an honest representation of the journey of Carson and every other person’ who felt more than they ought to
“Ready ka na?”
This question from Irma Adlawan in the movie resonates loudly. For someone who has experience in that type of cliché firsthand, it’s that question that’s on repeat. Ready ka na? 3 words, pero sobrang loaded yan. Ready ka na ba na tumigil sa pag-asa? Ready ka na ba mag-move on? Ready ka na ba bumitaw? Ready ka na ba maging kaibigan na lang habambuhay? O Ready ka na ba kalimutan ang pagkakaibigan nyo?
I read this somewhere in social media: There is a Carson in all of us. I didn’t believe that initially. Not until I find myself being transported back to the time when I fell in love with my closest guy friend. (P.S. mine didn’t last 7 years though haha 4 years ata give or take)
“Mahal kita, seven years na.”
This particular scene I find very relatable. Dumadating kasi talaga sa punto na sobra na, sobrang overwhelming na nong nararamdaman mo, nong weight ng pagtatago, ng sakit – that when you finally say the words, when you admit how you feel, it’s like “shet, nasabi ko na, makakahinga na’ko.bahala na si batman”. Ang o.a. pakinggan pero realtalk, once na nasabi mo na mababawasan yung weight on your shoulders. I think for me it was 2010 when that weight was lifted from mine. I fell in love with my closest guy friend in 2006 and I told him through text, confessed more like back in 2010. It was a slip actually; I was reading this book while texting him and I suddenly find myself overcome with emotions that I composed this elaborate text message confessing I love him more than I should. Hindi nagreciprocate yung pinagsabihan ko, pero hindi rin naman sya nag-sorry kagaya ni Dio. Pero sobrang laking bagay nong pagsasabi ko. Alam mo bakit? Kasi when I said those words? I meant them. When I said I love you, I was letting go of my control over the situation. Kumbaga nasabi ko na eh di bahala na sya kung meron o wala. At least hindi ko na sya paghihirapan itago. Alam na nya eh.
Sabi nga ni Carson: “We make a good pair eh, kaya lang hindi nya ako mahal”
Paulo Avelino was brilliant in his portrayal of Dio. Ang gwapo. Ang swabe. Pano ka ba naman hindi maiinlove don? Juskolord. But Maja Salvador? Maja Salvador WAS CARSON. It wasn’t a portrayal. It felt effortless. It was played naturally that you have to wonder, “nag-character analysis pa ba ‘to?” Kasi kuhang kuha nya eh. Kuhang kuha ng mata yung pagpipigil, yung adoration, yung sakit, yung suporta, yung pagmamahal. Syang sya niya. Ganap na ganap yung Carson ko from years ago. While watching, it was like seeing yourself from the time when you were this in love with your closest guy friend – like looking in a mirror or like a high definition slideshow of your experience playing in front of you.
And it wasn’t just Carson and Dio’s story, mind you. It was subtle but their take on Jason Ty’s story was hard to miss. That as we watch Carson and Dio in their complexities, there’s Jason on the side who served as Carson’s rock when he himself needed to find his own courage in taking a chance on love. Kudos to Dominic Roco by the way, they owe the comedic take on the film all to you. The quips, the hugot lines … millennial na millennial eh, napapanahon baks!
And the music, oh the music! The soundtrack played a huge role in the movie hitting all the right and tender parts of your heart. Each song was obviously selected with a particular scene in mind. And I guess, it’s the scene and the emotions exchanged, but this specific song has touched my heart the most:
Akala ko habambuhay tayo Akala ko hanggang dulo Kayhaba pa ng kalsada, dito na ba tayo bababa Kung ganito na nga ba ang usapan Kung dito na ang hangganan Dapat siguro nang iwasan ang maraming kamustahan Mga nakasanayan dapat nang kalimutan Hanggang dito na lang Hanggang dito na lang
More than the characters, the artists who played them, the music, the dialogues, and the premise of the story, it was the ending that totally got to me. Because it was my ending. When love isn’t reciprocated, when you’ve lay it all on the line, you bare yourself the way Carson did and you got the same response from Dio, then you ultimately find yourself at a crossroad: do you still continue being friends or do you leave it all behind to move on? What’s more important: love or friendship? Do you keep hoping that one day he will fall for you or do you let it go completely? And just like Carson, I chose the same path:
Graduate na’ko
