Movie Review: Girlfriend for Hire

Image courtesy of www.en.wikipedia.org

Main Cast: Andre Paras, Yassi Pressman, Donnalyn Bartolome and Shy Carlos
Director: Vanessa U. de Leon
MTRCB Rating: PG
Produced by: Viva Films

The movie is the recent Wattpad big screen adaptation, and therefore has already some captive followers. Unfortunately, many of these Wattpad novels are not exactly kind on their treatment of women. Some stories put women in very unfavorable circumstances or worse, being engaged in violent, questionable dealings and relationships with men.

A filthy rich young man, Bryle Stanford strikes a 'business' deal with Nami, a poor and pretty girl, to be his pretend girlfriend. As such, everything is for show, notably to his 'abuelito’ or Lolo Bernard (Ronaldo Valdez), who is bent on making sure that his only grandson will produce offspring who will carry the Stanford legacy.

The deal will make Nami 10K richer in weekly salary, including a condo unit at her disposal and some other generous perks. Part of the agreement though is for her to guard her emotions: to never ever fall for her benefactor Brylle. Nami accepted, given the kind of situation she is in. Although a scholar at Bryle family’s Stanford College, she is always struggling financially and had nowhere to stay. Bryle’s offer then comes as a big shot in the arm, the deal of a lifetime – or so she thought.

However, what is disturbing is the way Nami, a woman in distress is taken advantage of, with Bryle the jerk playing with her emotions most of the time. The lowly depiction of women is further highlighted in a scene when Lolo Bernard proudly shows his grandson a line-up of sexy women on his laptop for Bryle to choose from. In Lolo’s words: "Dyan ka pumili ng aasawahin mo.”

In yet another scene, Lolo casually asks Bryle, “Kumusta na ang mga babae mo?” Small wonder why Bryle grew up a jerk, huh.

Statements like those from Stanford senior don’t seem to come from a supposedly man of the academe, but more like from a street goon who after downing some cheap alcohol, talks to his equally good-for-nothing son. Do you talk that way to a beloved grandson you are grooming to inherit your fortune and legacy? Quite disturbing.

On the other hand, did lead stars Andre and Yassi give justice to their characters? More like, how can one appreciate a story whose main stars don’t know how to talk in normal decibels? There’s just too much unnecessary fighting and screaming whenever they’re together. The shouting matches escalate further even after they have both agreed and signed the contract. I mean, that’s 75% of movie time.

Andre and Yassi are guilty of bad acting and annoying delivery of their lines, too. Director failed on these aspects miserably.

Fortunately, the wattpadd story's followers will really watch it if only for the ‘kilig’ they can get. There are many awkward/ unbelievable scenes, some of them rehashed needlessly, often under the rain. Bryle nearly runs over a crying Nami one rainy night along the street where she lives. And then again, right after a shouting match, Nami and Bryle have bonding moments at the building rooftop, yes, under the rain that fell oh so suddenly.

Girlfriend for Hire would have been shown much earlier last year, but producers opted to have it on Valentine’s instead. They could have used the extra time to polish the movie to make it more pleasurable to watch.

Soon, Bryle and Nami’s constant togetherness takes a turn - and how? Will the movie redeem itself with the viewers having a wonderful ride at the end? Uh oh, given the plot of most local films - this will definitely be a no-brainer.