There is an unmistakable pandering nature to JP Habac’s ‘Ex Ex Lovers,’ a film that reunites the classic love team of Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal back in the big screen. The undeniable chemistry of the leads is the foundation that keeps the film afloat despite how the film seems to cater to revisiting the same energy they have established in previous films, almost two decades ago, like ‘Labs Kita… Okey Ka Lang?’ If nostalgia is all it was going for, I suppose that’s fine. It would be a fluffy film and that’s okay but underneath it all is a gorgeous film about marriage and accountability, and beyond its nostalgic temperament, Agustin and Magdangal showcase a maturity that is something completely refreshing and new and it’s a potential that is only reached in the final act of the film.

The story is about Joy (Magdangal), a single mother whose daughter, SC (Loisa Andalio), has just been proposed to by her boyfriend Joey (Juan Karlos Labajo). Wary of their young age, Joy tries to dissuade her daughter from marrying so young. After all, her husband, Ced (Agustin), is nowhere to be found and has left Joy with taking care and raising SC all by herself. When SC insists that her mom flies to Malta to fetch Ced so he can walk her down the aisle, Joy has to revisit all the pain and resentment brought upon by her marriage to Ced, while he still carries all of his love for her since then. Joy tries to get Ced to agree to delaying the wedding while Ced has his own agenda into getting back together with Joy.

It’s the perfect rom-com premise but the film’s set up can be quite cruel. Because Magdangal is charming and has that quality to draw you in, you’re on her side when she talks about the hardships, she’s faced having to raise SC alone because Ced just went up and left them. When she gets to Malta, she finds a hardworking man who is apologetic but still treats her as if time hadn’t passed and life hadn’t come and gone. Agustin lets lose all the old 90s energy, acting cute and ends up making Ced annoying and downright insensitive. It’s played for comedy – everything from the shots to the direction of the acting, to the music – but from the audience’s seat, it’s just an uncomfortable moment. All of Joy’s misgivings are valid but neither Ced nor SC seems to care.

So much so that when Joy acts up and treats Joey unkindly, she’s really meant to look like the bad guy despite how everybody is expecting Joy to just go along with everything that they want. At some point, I was getting very angry for Joy.

It’s the perfect rom-com premise but the film’s set up can be quite cruel. Because Magdangal is charming and has that quality to draw you in, you’re on her side when she talks about the hardships, she’s faced having to raise SC alone because Ced just went up and left them. When she gets to Malta, she finds a hardworking man who is apologetic but still treats her as if time hadn’t passed and life hadn’t come and gone. Agustin lets lose all the old 90s energy, acting cute and ends up making Ced annoying and downright insensitive. It’s played for comedy – everything from the shots to the direction of the acting, to the music – but from the audience’s seat, it’s just an uncomfortable moment. All of Joy’s misgivings are valid but neither Ced nor SC seems to care.

So much so that when Joy acts up and treats Joey unkindly, she’s really meant to look like the bad guy despite how everybody is expecting Joy to just go along with everything that they want. At some point, I was getting very angry for Joy.

Then the film turns in the 3rd act of the film, when screenwriters Antonette Jadaone and Kristine Gabriel switches things around and gives Joy a chance to speak up. The whole movie abruptly shifts tone, and Magdangal and Agustin step up to the plate to play the grown up and mature characters that feels more honest to who they are today, and the film ends up tackling bigger themes that it could have been wrestling with earlier. Maybe the shift of tone allows for a bigger impact in the third act? I don’t know. But it sure made it difficult to get hooked in until the film started to take Joy’s side of the matter.

Because Marvin and Jolina are just oozing with charisma and talent. There’s no question about that. But in the film’s attempt to harken to the nostalgia and old-school charms, it made them feel childish and silly, which made their characters and the struggles they faced seem trivial when it’s not. When the film allows the two to grow up and be adults, the humor is still present, the chemistry is still palpable, but they are able to accomplish so much more, including some very powerful statements about divorce.

I found the whole first two acts quite messy and chaotic. It’s appeal to nostalgia undermined a beautiful movie that still managed to find center stage at its final act. One thing is certain, though: and that the power of Marvin and Jolina is enduring and could really use another go.

My Rating:

Ex Ex Lovers is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.