Strange.
There’s actually a beauty hiding beneath the lightness that GMA Public Affairs’ newest primetime series, “I Heart Davao” accommodates. It is a fascinating choice, but not totally new.
In the first few minutes of the pilot episode, this lightness allows the said beauty bloom to some mesmerizing level of uniqueness; it becomes affectionate, and gets harder to resist in the presence of the developing chemistry that Hope (Carla Abellana) and Ponce (Tom Rodriquez) unknowingly create.
But this option is broadly conscious, an actual effort exposed behind the narrative’s advertised motive, and it sometimes turns forced, making the light atmosphere it tries to maintain, strained and inconvenient.
Marlon Rivera, who was at the helm of the critically-acclaimed hit, “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”, maneuvers his material and its players in an uncomfortably lazy pace.
The entire first 10 minutes of the 30-minute pilot is practically devoted to an exchange of glances, arched brows, and harmless threats between ‘Hope and Ponce’, all of which leading to Hope getting sprinkled with cocoa powder all over her face. And it’s cute, but only up to the point when the mood suddenly changes to somber, and the show suddenly gets enveloped by a gloomy atmosphere.
Interestingly, there are a couple of beautiful things that are intentionally featured within this half-hour exhibit.
The use of local language adds some authenticity to the narrative’s attempt to present a culturally-sensible story line, and it triumphs at such bid. Food, especially sweets, is essentially at the core of the plot, and while it sometimes gets awkwardly tangled up with the small, often cutesy brawls, of Hope and Ponce, it amusingly remains attractive, creating a portion in this flawed story that is unmissable to look at.
It is difficult to believe that “I Heart Davao” isn’t leading us to an interesting place. The last few moments of the premiere seems to try to manipulate emotions by abruptly dropping revelations i.e. Hope’s medical condition, Ponce and Aileen (his girlfriend, played by Cathy Remperas) breaking up, but seems incapable of bringing them in a sound resolution within the given time frame.
That’s not entirely boring and pointless at all, given how pilot episodes are usually crucial to future developments in the story; we most likely have to see the rest of the week to have the impression we aspire to get. (JE)
Rating: 2/5
