In the entertainment profession, people abound with talent, but are oftentimes short on sincerity. Some actors even stab each other in the back. That happens a lot because everyone is insecure of each other.
So, can genuine friendships be developed in show business? It is a world, after all, where everyone is competition.
But there are a few cases when actors become best of friends. Joseph Estrada and the late Fernando Poe, Jr. were buddies even if they were direct rivals.
In the late 1980s, celebrities from Parañaque started hanging out together. They were Tirso Cruz III and wife Lyn Ynchausti, Ali Sotto, Amy Austria, Pinky de Leon, her brother Christopher de Leon, plus wife Sandy Andolong.
I got to interact with them in the 1990s. I don’t know if they’ll still remember this, but I started calling them southern belles and southern gents.
But Ali Sotto moved to Loyola Grand Villas in 1998 and Amy Austria to Fairview. Both became Quezon City girls. Then, all of a sudden, they began calling themselves Legends.
Around the time the bond of the Legends was strengthening even further, there was a younger set of actresses who also became very good friends: Gelli de Belen, Carmina Villarroel and Candy Pangilinan.
When every other celebrity started having their own YouTube channel, so did they. They even created content for Viva Entertainment, the Spotify podcast Wala Pa Kaming Title.
And now, they have a movie together entitled Roadtrip. Directed by Andoy Ranay, the film opens in cinemas today (January 17).
Originally, Aiko Melendez was part of their group. But perhaps being a councilor of Quezon City must be eating a lot of Aiko’s time and that must have alienated her from the group.
Janice de Belen is what one may call a semi-regular of the group. Being the only sibling of Gelli would naturally draw her to Carmina and Candy.
In the YouTube channel of Gelli, I often see her traveling with the other girls. It’s usually a land trip that they take.
Mounting the first ever movie they are appearing together should therefore be no sweat to them. No effort shows on screen.
Aptly enough, the film is titled Roadtrip. And yes, a great part of the movie sees them on the road in what they call an “artista van” - you know, that luxury vehicle fit for a movie star.
Since they’ve traveled as a group so many times, shooting this film must be just like some of the private trips they take by land. Except this time, they have a director, a real cinematographer, and other members of the production staff.
Among performing artists, there is this method called “no acting, please.” They must have embraced this style because no one among them needs to act anymore.
Of course, they still need a conflict and a twist here and there. A real story is actually needed to differentiate it from the vlogs they shoot for YouTube.
Writing credits of Roadtrip go to Candy Pangilinan. It’s also supposed to be her story.
As per Candy’s material, Roadtrip is about a group of former classmates from way back in the grades. They study in a fictional school called St. Catherine of Sienna College.
On their last year in high school in 1991, they had planned a trip to Mt. Pulag. Part of the Cordillera mountain chain, it is the highest peak in the island of Luzon – towering at 2,928 meters or 9,606 feet.
But although they are best friends, they still have different personalities. And so even when they were young, they already had clashes. As a result, that trip to Mt. Pulag is never carried out.
After three decades, they reunite. The reunion wouldn’t have happened had it not been for a friend who died. The funeral is set in Mt. Pulag.
In the group, it’s Carmina who had always been the rich one. The “artista van” belongs to her because, well, she became a movie star. On top of that, she even marries a rich politician.
The others go on with their humdrum lives. Candy fancies herself as a celebrity since she has her YouTube channel and insists she has a huge following.
The fun part begins at the start of their journey up north – when they start loading their stuff for the trip. As a movie star and politician’s life, Carmina’s ways are complicated. Traveling light is not for her. She also has to be trailed by bodyguards loaded on another vehicle.
The viewers discover their individual personalities during this road trip. A bigger discovery is exposed toward the end. It is a surprise twist and there is no warning this would happen.
Watching Roadtrip could be a pleasure. But at times, there are sequences that tend to be stressful because they fight a lot along the way.
What makes Roadtrip come to life is the chemistry among the cast members. They are so relaxed and comfortable among each other.
Their dialogues are delivered in a natural process. And so that is the most winning point of Roadtrip – the performances. Like I mentioned earlier, there is absolutely no acting in this film. All of them just had to be themselves and wonderfully enough, it works for Roadtrip.
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