In Review: My Amnesia Girl

The Gist

Cathy Garcia-Molina cooks a typically CGM-formulaic (funny, entertaining, albeit predictable) Filipino flick that more than makes up for this fault by its charm and wit. And of course great acting.

The Good

• Everyone in this film is just funny and entertaining
• Great acting by the main cast, the supporting cast was also effective
• Witty lines and good delivery makes this film shine

The Bad

• Typical Cathy Garcia-Molina film, may become a boring formula soon
• Predictable plot twist ruins the film's charm, reminiscent of CGM's last flick with Toni and Vhong

Synopsis

Apollo (Cruz) is love-worn. He has tried dating all sorts of women (a perfectionist, a caring type, a mixed martial arts fighter), but much to his frustration, no one passes his picky taste. One day realizing that he too needs someone, he thinks of going back with a great love, Irene (Gonzaga), who he previously left at the altar. Upon finding Irene, he realized that Irene has amnesia and has no recollection of him and what they have been in the past. Thinking that he is provided with a clean slate, Apollo goes back to wooing Irene, unsuspecting.

Everybody Happy

Upon the first half of Amnesia Girl, you would think that you have hit a good deal with your movie ticket, and if you have then you are quite rightly so. The movie in general feels light, funny, witty, and unexpectedly brilliant. Casting Toni Gonzaga is a very logical choice as she is always the actress who can deliver both humor and drama on equal levels. Had it been Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd's frequent flying partner, the character wouldn't really seem funny, but might seem spiteful or feel a bit too acted on. With Toni, it feels effortless.

John Lloyd Cruz also fit the bill properly and we see more of his comic prowess in this film more than his dramatic prowess. The pairing seems odd however and very little romantic chemistry is actually observed, but they worked it off by both being equally funny, and believable to some extent--providing a wonderful comedic on-screen chemistry for the film.

You will also find the supporting cast extremely likeable: Beatriz Saw surprised me as believable in this film, and the rest of the gang: Joross Gamboa, Ketchup Eusebio, JM de Guzman, and even Carlos Agassi (who usually sounds off delivering his lines) were casted perfectly and were believable. Atoy Co, who plays Apollo's father, also has some speaking lines, though I find his casting a bit off, I think it's better that way.

It's a CGM Film

I now categorize Cathy Garcia-Molina's films separately from the rest of the Filipino crop that I don't watch anyways. Cathy Garcia-Molina's films have managed to separate themselves from the rest of the Filipino, and eve foreign, date film bunch by always being enjoyable to watch to a certain extent. They would soon, however, feel long as you reach past the midpoint and then the predictable comes, but nonetheless her films save themselves and her career by being charming and intelligently funny. This has been her strategy since I can remember her and she has been sticking to it that all her movies are starting to feel the same, not to mention that most of them casts Toni Gonzaga / John Lloyd Cruz--thus the very logical pairing. This formula, I swear by my knees, will soon grow old and worn and people would be dissatisfied. But as for now, they are golden and fun to watch, so let's enjoy it while the ride is fun.

Fun is the operative word, however. If you are the kind who watches a movie looking for life's heavy meaning and deep artistry and all that existential big fish, you best look elsewhere. This film is all about its charm and wit and execution, not storyline. Storyline is a bit too shallow but it's the execution that carried it to the finish safely.

I would now begin to give praises for the film's editing, screenplay, and pacing. For most of the movie, you would feel it's going a bit too fast that you are afraid it will end soon--which you don't want to happen because you are enjoying yourself too much, still. During the first half, the whole first half, I believe, everyone in the moviehouse was laughing. Past the mid point the movie begins to drag and starts to get predictable which is salvaged, thankfully, by the witty banters and one liners by everyone in the cast. The ending is typical Cathy Garcia-Molina, which is predictable but OK. I consider this but a minor setback worth mentioning rather than a real fault to be frustrated over.

I give it a passing and recommended mark of 3.75/5.